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New Music Festival Features Two Guest Composers: Johnterryl Plumeri and Allen Vizzutti (April 21-29, 2009)
Youngstown State University celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Dana New Music Festival on April 21-29 with two special guests: Johnterryl Plumeri — a talented conductor, film composer, and string-bass performer — and Allen Vizzutti — renowned for his trumpet pedagogy, compositions, and versatility. Trumpet player Eric Brewer from Dallas will be the Guest Performing Artist.
Johnterryl Plumeri
Returning Dana Guest Composer Johnterryl Plumeri studied with principal bass of the New York Philharmonic — Robert Brennand — and conductor/composer Antal Dorati — a student of Bela Bartok. Plumeri recently conducted the Moscow Philharmonic in a CD recording of Tchaikovsky's last three symphonies and just finished a commercial video with the group featuring Plumeri's own The Pride of Baltimore for oboe and orchestra.
Johnterryl Plumeri lives in Santa Monica, California where he continues to write music for film; he also performs in Tampa, Florida with his professional jazz trio that includes pianist David Goldblatt and drummer Joe La Barbera (the group's current CD, Blue in Green received enthusiastic reviews). For this year's Dana Festival, Plumeri composed a new work for faculty flutist Kathryn Thomas Umble to be premiered at the Wednesday evening 8:00 p.m. Concert Gala in Bliss Recital Hall. His Sand Without Water for Flute, English horn, and Strings, and the Romance for Clarinet, Strings, and Harp will be performed featuring Dana Faculty member Alice Wang on clarinet. All three pieces will be conducted by the composer.
Eric Brewer
Guest artist Eric Brewer will play Dana faculty Robert Rollin's Rondo Capriccioso for trumpet and strings. Rollin wrote the original version for trumpet and piano for Youngstown trumpet virtuoso Susan Sexton. This version will be performed at the Butler noon hour concert, April 22 and the 11 a.m. convocation April 24 in Bliss Hall with pianist Anthony Ruggiero, who performed on the original premiere. The new version for strings, written especially for Brewer, will be performed on the Wednesday evening concert. Rollin's Three Fugues, J. S. Bach in Memoriam will be performed on the Friday Morning Convocation by the Youngstown State University Clarinet Choir, under the direction of Dana Faculty clarinetist, Alice Wang.
Brewer has a Bachelor of Music from Baldwin-Wallace College where he studied with the Cleveland Orchestra's James Darling, and a Masters degree from Yale where he studied with Allan Dean. He has served eight years as principal trumpet of the Utah Festival Opera Company, and as soloist with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra in California. He recently moved to Dallas where he is a member of The Imperial Brass Quintet, an active free-lance performer, and teaches trumpet in the Allen Independent School District. Brewer is originally from northeast Ohio where he was a professor at the Kent State Ashtabula Campus.
New Music Society
Also to be performed by the Festival Chamber Orchestra on the Wednesday night Gala is the premiere of On a Rooftop by senior composition major Ryan Coffey. The piece was commissioned by the New Music Society.
Richard Zacharias, local composer and member of the New Music Guild, Inc., will be on hand for two world premieres: the complete Sonata for Viola and Piano in three movements to be performed by senior violist Wendy Portis, and grad student pianist Timothy Webb; and A Little Invention for clarinet and euphonium, which he will perform himself with euphonium player, Daniel Brandt. Brandt, a junior composition major, will hear a performance of his Rhapsody on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by the Youngstown State University Tuba Ensemble, directed by Dr. Brian Kaiser on the Butler Institute Wednesday noon hour program. Junior Brandon Loewit will perform a piano Prelude by Alexander Scriabin on the Wednesday evening concert.
Dana School of Music Faculty
Works by George Crumb and Arvo Pärt will form the centerpiece of the 2:00 p.m. Sunday (April 26) two-piano recital offered by Professor Dror Biran and Dr. Zahari Metchkov of the Dana Faculty in Bliss Recital Hall.
Dana School of Music Web Page •
Allen Vizzutti
Guest Composer Allen Vizzutti will appear on the Dana Symphonic Wind Ensemble concert, 8 p.m., Wednesday, April 29 at Stambaugh Auditorium. Vizzutti holds degrees from Eastman School of Music where he was in the Eastman Brass Quintet, and received the only Artist's Diploma awarded a wind player in Eastman's history. He has performed internationally with artists such as Chick Corea, Doc Severinsen, Chuck Mangione, Woody Herman, the New Tokyo Philharmonic, and the Budapest Radio Orchestra. He has many solo recordings, and has also made a name for himself as a composer. Dana faculty pianist Caroline Oltmanns will also be a guest on that program
All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Dana School of Music at 330-941-3636.
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