UAH Constellation Concert Series opens tonight
A collection of musicians with varied influences and playing an eclectic mix of instruments are set to perform at the Constellation Concert Series, presented by The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
But the players have one thing in common besides music.
“All three events feature our own music faculty as solo artists and collaborators,’’ said Ron Guthrie, UAH performing arts operations coordinator.
The series features three shows, starting tonight, January 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Roberts Recital Hall, 1510 Ben Graves Drive, on the UAH campus, with a collaboration inspired by the literary sphere.
Soprano Dr. Amalia Osuga, assistant professor of voice, and pianist Aimee Fincher present “Let the Dancing Drink Your Sorrow,” an exploration of the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay and Elinor Wylie.
The concert also features UAH faculty artists Silvana Matthews, viola, and Sophia Suante, marimba.
Osuga founded Her Art in Song, a grant-funded project to highlight the poetic and musical voices of women through performance, education and research.
One of the contributors to the concert is Dr. Joshua Burel, chair of the UAH Department of Music, Theatre and Film. He, along with fellow composers Mary Howe, John Duke, Jodie Goble, William Bolcom, Julianna Hall, Judith Lang Zaimont and Eric Ewazen, set the poems of Millay and Wylie to music.
For February and March, Constellation offers a new mini-series titled “New Music for New Ears,” a project supported by a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.
What Is Noise, a six-member New Music chamber ensemble, previews works from their upcoming album, “Temporal Echoes,” on Monday, Feb. 24, at The Speakeasy @ Campus 805, 2620 Clinton Ave. W., at 7:30 p.m. The house opens at 6:30 and guests are encouraged to arrive early if they’d like to order from the Straight to Ale menu.
Along with Burel on violin, members of the innovative ensemble are Anastasia Christofakis, clarinet; Lindsey Goodman, flute; Keith Hendricks, percussion; Justin Page, cello, and Cholong Park, piano.
The Rule of Thirds wraps up the series Thursday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. back in Roberts Recital Hall. Comprising the trio are Phil Weaver, classical guitarist and UAH instructor; Gabe Larose, acoustic and electric guitar and vocals, and Joanna Moger, violin. The concert features electronics by Automattika’s Matthew Westmeyer, UAH studio facilities manager and lecturer in music technology.
According to a representative from UAH, the evening promises variety, fun and seriously professional musicianship in a relaxed atmosphere.
“It’ll be kind of like a listening room with a lot of different styles and textures presented in a way that you’ve never really heard before,” Weaver said. “Matt’s a real whiz with the electronics. Gabe is one of the most popular performers in town, and Joanna’s the go-to rock violinist in Huntsville.”
Weaver says his wife, Ingrid von Spakovsky Weaver, pianist and UAH instructor, will bring the grand piano into the mix for a combination piece with him and Westmeyer.
For more information on the UAH Constellation Concert Series, visit uah.edu/music/events.
