Source: Kristin Mortenson, 785-532-3832, kmortens@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Rosie Hoefling, 785-532-2535, media@k-state.edu

Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010

MUSIC DEPARTMENT TUNES UP FOR SEPTEMBER

MANHATTAN -- The Kansas State University department of music will kick off its fall season of performances with a variety of musical events throughout the month of September.

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

* Guest pianist Irena Ravitskaya, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2, All Faiths Chapel. Originally from Moldova in the former Soviet Union, Ravitskaya is an assistant professor of music at Fort Hays State University.

* K-State Band Day Parade, 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11. The parade, which features the K-State Marching Band and 19 high school marching bands from across the state, will start near Aggieville and then head east down Poyntz Avenue to the Manhattan Town Center.

* The K-State Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14, McCain Auditorium. Directed by K-State's David Littrell, university distinguished professor of music, and assisted by Blair Williams, graduate student conductor, the orchestra will perform Mozart's Symphony No. 19 in E-flat Major, Franz Lehar's "Gold and Silver Waltz," Emile Waldteufel's "Skaters' Waltz" and Johann Strauss Jr.'s "Wine, Women and Song Waltz." The performance also features cello soloist Jacques Wood in Schumann's Cello Concerto in A Minor. Wood, who studied music under Littrell as a child, is a doctoral student in cello performance at Yale University.

* K-State' s David Pickering, assistant professor of organ, "Organ Music for a Wednesday Morning," 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15, All Faiths Chapel. Pickering will present these 30-minute recitals monthly so people can hear standard and contemporary organ music and become familiar with the organ and its repertoire.

* Recital by guest cellist Wood and K-State's Littrell, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15, All Faiths Chapel. Dedicated to the youth of Manhattan, the recital will feature literature ranging from the early Suzuki books through advanced repertoire.

* The Student Recital Series, 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, All Faiths Chapel. The one-hour concert will feature various student performers from the music department's vocal, wind, keyboard and string divisions.

* The Latin Jazz Ensemble, 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, on Bosco Plaza outside the K-State Student Union. The performance is part of K-State Family Day activities. Directed by Kurt Gartner, the ensemble includes a wind section and rhythm section with full complement of percussion. The group will perform popular Afro-Caribbean music.

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