Source: Kristin Mortenson, 785-532-3832, kmortens@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Nellie Ryan, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu

Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009

K-STATE MUSIC DEPARTMENT PLANS A VARIETY OF FEBRUARY PERFORMANCES

MANHATTAN -- The Kansas State University department of music will present several student, faculty and guest performances in the month of February.

All of the performances are free and open to the public. They include:

* A solo recital by Steve Maxwell, K-State assistant professor of tuba, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, in All Faiths Chapel. Maxwell's recital will include a concerto by British composer Martin Ellerby and Bernard Heiden's "Four Fancies," a trio for tuba, saxophone and marimba. He will be joined in the trio by K-State's Anna Marie Wytko, saxophone instructor, and Kurt Gartner, associate professor of percussion.

* Nora Lewis, assistant professor of oboe, and Susan Maxwell, bassoon instructor, will host Double Reed Day Saturday, Feb. 7. Community and student double reed players are welcome to attend the event and perform in the final concert at 5 p.m. in All Faiths Chapel. More information is available by contacting Lewis at lewisn@k-state.edu or 785-532-3821.

* An evening of new music, performed by faculty and student artists, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, in All Faiths Chapel.

* Valerie Trujillo, voice coach-accompanist from Florida State University, will have a four-day residency at K-State, presenting master classes and coaching K-State students in voice. Her residency will culminate with a recital at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, in All Faiths Chapel.

* The Tallgrass Trio, with K-State music faculty Kristin Mortenson as violinist, Abby Richmond as clarinetist, and Susan Maxwell as bassoonist, will perform a recital of classical, contemporary and jazz-inspired works by Beethoven, Poulenc, Sowash and others at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, in McCain Auditorium's Room 204, K-State's newly remodeled choral room.

* The music department's Day of Percussion will be Saturday, Feb. 21, at McCain Auditorium. The following day, Sunday, Feb. 22, the K-State Symphony Band, under the direction of Frank Tracz, professor of music and director of bands at K-State, will present a concert at 3 p.m. in McCain.

* David Pickering, the Dwight and Ruth Vredenburg Endowed Chair in Music at Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa, will present an organ recital at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23, in All Faiths Chapel. Pickering also will present a lecture-demonstration at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, also in All Faiths Chapel. The K-State Student Governing Association is supporting Pickering's presentations.

* The K-State Saxophone Studio, under the direction of Anna Marie Wytko, will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, in All Faiths Chapel. The concert will feature diverse musical selections including standard solo literature, contemporary music and jazz. In addition to the large saxophone ensemble, the Wildcat and K-State Saxophone Quartets will perform, and there will also be a collaborative effort with Slawomir Dobrzanski, K-State assistant professor of piano.

More information about the K-State music department's February events is available by calling 785-532-5740.