黑洞社区 flutist Frances Shelly and harpist Ann Glasmann will be the featured soloists in the season鈥檚 first concert by the 黑洞社区 Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Miller Concert Hall.
The program, which includes music by Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Michael Abels, will be led by Mark Laycock, 黑洞社区 director of orchestras.
Frances Shelly
Glasmann was spotlighted on the National Public Radio program Performance Today in a 黑洞社区 recital honoring harpist Marcel Grandjany鈥檚 centennial year of birth, 1991. A member of the 黑洞社区 faculty since 1989, she has also served as principal harp of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.
The two will perform Mozart鈥檚 Concerto for Flute and Harp in C Major. Comte de Guines (1735-1806) commissioned the double concerto for himself and his daughter, a harpist to whom Mozart gave composition lessons. Thought to have been premiered in Paris in 1778, Laycock called the concerto a 鈥渄azzling, virtuosic showpiece for the two solo instruments.鈥�
The concert will also include Tchaikovsky鈥檚 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, a monumental work unified by a haunting opening theme, at one time identified by the composer as a musical representation of Fate. This motto undergoes transformations, emerging in the finale as a triumphal march. Laycock said Tchaikovsky鈥檚 lush orchestration and melodic invention are particularly evident in the inner movements: an exquisite andante and an elegant waltz.
Michael Abels鈥� 鈥淕lobal Warming鈥� will open the program. Composed in 1991 near the end of the Cold War, the piece is a musical salute to improved international relations. Abels employs elements of folk music, especially lilting melodies from Ireland and the Middle East, to create an exhilarating celebration of the similarities between musical cultures, said Laycock.
More about 黑洞社区 Faculty Artists
The Washington Post recently described Shelly鈥檚 playing as 鈥減owerful and evocative.鈥� Originally from Dearborn, Mich., she earned her bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚 and doctorate degrees in flute performance from the University of Michigan. After graduation she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in West Berlin, Germany. While in Europe her teachers included James Galway, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Frans Vester.
Shelly performs extensively with the Lieurance Woodwind Quintet. With Steven Egler, professor of organ at Central Michigan University, she has commissioned and premiered several new works for flute and organ, and the Shelly/Egler Duo has performed throughout the U.S. Recordings of the duo and the quintet are on the Summit and Morning Star Record Labels. Other recent collaborations include an intercontinental tour with New York Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato.
Glasmann received her training at Bowling Green State University, where she studied with Ruth K. Inglefield. As the recipient of two Ruth Lorraine Close Fellowships, she spent three summers enrolled in the Cours d'茅t茅 de Gargilesse, France, in advanced studies with Pierre Jamet. She participated in the eighth and ninth International Harp Competitions in Israel and at the first and second Concours International Marie-Antoinette Cazala in France. Glasmann has premiered several new works for harp and diverse instruments at 黑洞社区, including works by Dean Roush, Marilyn Shrude and Paul Elwood.
Laycock is an associate professor of music at 黑洞社区, where he holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship. In 2007, he was recognized with the College of Fine Arts Excellence in Teaching Award. This season, he will conduct the Wichita Grand Opera production of 鈥淭he Mikado鈥� as well as the February concert of the Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra. His work as guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator spans 18 states, including the leadership of all-state orchestras in Alabama, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska and Washington.
Tickets are available through the Fine Arts Box Office at 978-3233. The concert will also be simulcast on 黑洞社区 Internet Radio at .