BOONE—Music by women composers will be performed March 2 at Appalachian State University. The annual concert coincides with Women’s History Month. It will begin at 8 p.m. in Broyhill Music Center’s Rosen Concert Hall. Admission is free.
Performing will be faculty and students from the Hayes School of Music.
Two jazz compositions by Betty Roe open the program. Vocalist Jennifer Snodgrass and bassoonist Jon Beebe will perform “Euphonium Dance” with lyrics by Jacqueline Froom and
“Madam and the Minister” with lyrics by Langston Hughes.
Roe, a native of North Kensington, London, is best known for her solo songs, church and choral music, revue songs, musicals and music for schools. She also has written several short jazz songs usually performed as a set.
Elizabeth Raum’s “Romance for Horn and Piano” will be performed by Karen L. Robertson, horn, and Christina Hayes, piano. Raum’s works include three operas, more than 60 chamber pieces, 17 vocal works, choral works including an oratorio, several ballets, concerti and major orchestral works. She is considered one of Canada’s most “accessible” composers, writing for varied mediums and in diverse styles. Written in 1992, Raum’s composition was commissioned by the Concours de Musique du Canada.
The first movement of Madeleine Dring’s “Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano” will be performed by Alicia Chapman, oboe, Jon Beebe, bassoon and Junie Cho, piano. Born in London, Dring was an actress, musician and composer. She specialized in smaller-scale compositions such as songs, solo piano and chamber works.
Violist Eric Koontz will perform two compositions by American composer Tui St. George Tucker – “Partita” and “Cassation.” St. George Tucker, who died in 2004, was a composer and recorder player. She was music director of Camp Catawba for Boys, located in Blowing Rock, from 1947-1970. She inherited the camp in 1985 and lived there until her death.
Oboist Josephine Borchert and clarinetist Miranda Penley combine for Marion Bauer’s “Suite, Op. 25, No. 1” written in 1932. The American composer helped define America’s musical identity in the early 20th century. She wrote for piano, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestras and vocalists, publishing more than 160 compositions. She taught at New York University and The Juilliard School.
The Appalachian Treble Choir will close the evening with “Ubi Caritas” by Carolyn Kellert, “Eternity” by Chelsea Stith and “Sigh No More, Ladies” from Emma Lou Diemer’s “Three Madrigals.” The choir is conducted by Priscilla Porterfield. Elizabeth Hill will provide piano accompaniment.
Kellert is director of choral activities at Galesburg High School in Illinois and on the state board of the American Choral Directors Association.
Stith is a graduate student in Appalachian’s music therapy program. She earned a bachelor of music degree in piano performance and a bachelor of arts degree in composition from Meredith College.
American composer Diemer taught composition and theory at the University of California, Santa Barbara where she was instrumental in founding the school’s electronic/computer music program. She was named a professor emeritus at UCSB in 1991. She has written compositions for orchestra, chamber ensemble, keyboard, voice, women’s and men’s chorus, and electronic media.
About Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The transformational Appalachian experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and embrace diversity and difference. As one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina system, Appalachian enrolls about 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
