WT hosts full slate of arts related events this month

Arts related events continue to be underway at West Texas A&M University in Canyon as the spring semester is in full swing, from music and opera to dance and political science.

WT Jazz Bands to perform free concert as part of Greater Southwest Music Festival

West Texas A&M University jazz bands will be the featured entertainers at the annual Greater Southwest Music Festival. The bands will perform with guest drummer Dion Parson at 7:30 p.m. April 27 in the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Buchanan St.

Jazz Band I — under the direction of Doug Storey, associate professor of music — will perform “Groovin’ High” by Dizzy Gillespie, “Open Wide” by Don Ellis, “Minuano” by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays, “The Way You Look Tonight” by Jerome Kern and “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Louis Prima. Parson, an educator, composer and a Grammy Award-winning drummer, will be a featured soloist on the latter two pieces, and he will play his arrangement of “Saint Thomas” with a student jazz combo.

“It’s always a treat for our students to perform with a legendary, award-winning musician,” Storey said. “We all benefit from interaction with world-class artists, and the fact that we get to perform with Dion Parson in front of an audience of fans and talented students from around the region makes it even better.”

Jazz Band II — under the direction of Dr. James Barger, associate professor of saxophone — will perform “Hunting Wabbits” by Gordon Goodwin, “(It’s Just) Talk” by Metheny, “Norwegian Wood” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, “Red Clay” by Freddie Hubbard and “Hit and Run” by Denis DeBlasio.

Jazz Band I members include Dillon Martin from Odessa; Emanuel Garcia from Dumas; Zeke Roberts from Lubbock; Max Gray from Tomball; Braden Lefevre from Canyon; Adam Johnson from Springtown; Sergio Almanza from Borger; Blake Livingston from Amarillo; Norrin Hodgson from Odessa; Spencer Owens from Levelland; Gavin Poole from Clifton; Alec Jung from Midland; Justin Slaughter from Odessa; Caleb Hesse from Bushland; Joshua Galan from Amarillo; David Romo from Amarillo; Tristan Mouw from Amarillo; and Payton Hayes from Midland.

Jazz Band II members include Katie Aschoff from David City, Nebraska; Shawn Frausto from Amarillo; Zach Limb from Midland; Kaitlyn Rubinski from Amarillo; Coby Mount from Midland; Jack Sprague from Amarillo; Diego Arias from Amarillo; Blake Livingston from Amarillo; Max Gray from Tomball; James Selman from Amarillo; Richard Snyder from Amarillo; Isaiah Nanez from Dumas; Gavin Poole from Clifton; Caleb Hesse from Bushland; Samuel Bencomo from Hereford; Carson King from Rockdale; Brogan Lichte from Littlefield; J.P. O’Brien from Anna; and Catherine Dockery from Wichita Falls.

The free public concert is a highlight of the annual music festival, one of the largest such in the Southwest. More than 7,000 students in elementary through high school programs will perform between April 27 and 29.

“The festival is in its 53rd year, and as a steward, the Amarillo Symphony continues to seek out collaborative community partnerships in the arts and beyond to ensure its longevity,” said Irma Esther Borup, education and community engagement director for the Symphony.

Parson also will host a jazz clinic for festival participants at 1:40 p.m. April 28 in the Amarillo Civic Center Complex, 401 S. Buchanan St.

Dynamic French piece ‘La Navarraise’ to cap WT Opera season

A French masterpiece full of murder and melodrama will close out West Texas A&M University’s opera season. “La Navarraise” by Jules Massenet will be staged at 7:30 p.m. April 27-29 and 2:30 p.m. April 30 in the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus.

Tickets are $10 or free for WT students, faculty and staff with a Buff Gold Card. Call 806-651-2840.

Massenet’s opera is in the “verismo” mode, a post-Romantic tradition similar to the naturalism movement in literature.

“It’s an opera in real time—short, sweet and very dramatic,” said Sarah Beckham-Turner, assistant professor of music and WT Opera director. “It’s chock full of emotions and drama.”

In the opera, Anita (played April 27 and 29 by Abigail Hite, a junior music education and instrumental performance major from Nashville, and April 28 and 30 by Chloe Ridolfo, a graduate student in vocal performance from Los Angeles) is in love with the soldier Araquil (played April 27 and 29 by Francesco DiLello, a graduate student in vocal performance from Highland Mills, New York, and April 28 and 30 by Justin Williamson, a graduate student in vocal performance from Amarillo). Unable to pay her own dowry, she agrees to kill an enemy commander for a hefty but secret payday from Commander Garrido (Oscar Hample, a junior musical theatre major from Wasilla, Alaska). After her lover is mortally wounded and discovers her windfall, he assumes the worst.

“The other characters choose to treat her as either a prostitute or a murderer. Society won’t let her empower herself like a man,” said director Echo Sunyata Sibley, assistant professor of theatre. “They couldn’t let her be the hero.”

Beckham-Turner said she sought out a work that would contrast starkly with “Postcard from Morocco,” the surrealist work staged by WT Opera in the fall, as well as other recent productions.

“I thought that my students would be excited to sink their teeth into this,” Beckham-Turner said. “Plus, I wanted to do something in French. It’s notoriously hard and they all struggle with it, so it’s good for them to get the experience.”

“This is the hardest opera I’ve ever done,” Ridolfo agreed. “I never play the ingenue, so it’s an eye-opening experience to play a different character type.”

Guest music director is Dr. Sara Chiesa, adjunct instructor of vocal coaching at Oklahoma City University.

Cast members also include Joshua Moreno from Canyon, as Ramon in all performances; Kyler Hilton from Amarillo, as Bustamente on April 27 and 29 and a soldier on April 28 and 30; Conner Nall from Canyon, as Remigio in all performances; Kelton Harbison from Canyon, as Bustamente on April 28 and 30 and a soldier on April 27 and 29. Ensemble members also include Sarah Estes from Turpin, Oklahoma; Erin Hinds from Amarillo; Eduardo Guaderrama from Friona; and Taylor Lindley from Pampa.

WT choral programs to offer free Spring Concert

West Texas A&M University’s choral program will offer a concert of spiritual, folk and classical favorites in an upcoming performance. The WT Collegiate Choir, Chamber Singers and Chorale will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 25 in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus.

“A variety of music will be performed including some classics from the Renaissance to some popular songs of our time,” said Dr. Sean Pullen, associate professor of music and director of choral activities. “The concert highlight will be the ‘Choral Dances’ from Benjamin Britten’s ‘Gloriana,’ which will be performed by the WT Chorale.”

Other works will include “Ain’t Got Time to Die,” “How Do I Love Thee,” “Gloria” by Paul Basler, “Hard Times, Come Again No More” by Stephen Foster, “Sailing” by Christopher Cross, “When Will I Be Loved” by the Everly Brothers and “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”

Admission is free. For information, call 806-654-2840.

WT’s ‘Portraits of Dance’ Performances Set for April 28-30

Myths and legends, revenge tales and whimsical adventures all will come to life in the spring performances from West Texas A&M University Dance.

“Portraits of Dance” is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 28 and 29 and 2:30 p.m. April 30 in the Happy State Bank Studio Theatre inside the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex on WT’s Canyon campus. Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for seniors and non-WT students, and free for WT students, faculty and staff with a Buff Gold Card.

Twenty-six dancers will perform seven works choreographed by guest artists Salvatore Aiello and Reagan Crandall, as well as WT faculty members Crystal D. Bertrand, Staci Clay Hall, Sandra Stegelman Miller and Edward R. Truitt. The student dancers will perform tap, jazz, contemporary, ballet and modern dance pieces, set to such music as Cole Porter’s “Too Darn Hot,” Queen’s “Somebody to Love,” excerpts from Philip Glass’s score of “The Hours,” and among others.

“Choreographing these dance pieces has been a journey, an act of growth, of teaching, celebration and joy,” said Bertrand, WT director of dance. “It’s important to the Dance Program we provide our majors with dance works which showcase versatility in terms of genres, stylistic approaches and techniques. This concert is a diverse collection, and the dancers are ready to have an audience, and to bring their movement to life on stage.”

“Live in Concert,” set by Crandall, was performed by WT student dancers at the American College Dance Festival, held March 29 to April 1 at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Dance majors in the performances include Alyssa Acosta from El Paso, Sierra Cross from Lubbock, Kaleigh De La Cruz from Chicago, Emily Evans from Amarillo, Amon Fredinand from Amarillo, Krisanne Freeman from Amarillo, Marisa Garcia from Corpus Christi, Kynleigh Hilton from Lubbock, Hannah Hosnedl from Downers Grove, Illinois, Camila Jimenez from Fort Worth, Noah Johnson from Temple, Eden Lovett from Amarillo, Jayden Lucas from Amarillo, Anna Martin from Midland, Ally McPhillips from Conroe, Matthew Miller from Lubbock, Kaitlyn Roberson from Pampa, Abbi Roe from Roswell, New Mexico, Isaiah Smith from Amarillo, Lorelai Stager from San Antonio, Zakyya Taylor from Lubbock, Maddy Welch from Lubbock, and Penelope Welch from Frisco.

Non-dance majors include Mary Knowlton from Dallas, Nolan Quintanilla from Canyon, and Aidan Tsichlis from Plano. Each is a dance minor. Anthony Femath from El Paso is sound operator. Amy Lampe from Iowa Park is stage manager. Gisselle Torres from San Antonio is understudy and wardrobe supervisor.

HSQ, Rausch to find beautiful music in noisome world of politics

Politics is often described as “noisy.” But West Texas A&M University’s Grammy Award-nominated Harrington String Quartet will see if they can find harmony between political science and music in the final concert of its 2022-23 season.

As the conclusion of HSQ’s “Synergy in G” season, the quartet is teaming with Dr. Dave Rausch, WT’s Teel Bivins Professor of Political Science, to explore the similarities between musical interpretation and constitutional interpretation.

“Interpreting documents is a skill that scholars and musicians share in the daily pursuits of their professions,” said Rossitza Goza, HSQ first violinist and Harrington Lecturer in Violin in WT’s School of Music. “The physical score of a piece of music is its constitution, and through this collaboration, we’ll have the opportunity to highlight the analogies and contrasts between reading a musical constitution and a political one.”

Rausch and the quartet will speak and offer a demonstration during a 7:30 p.m. April 26 lecture in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus. Admission is free.

“Since I’m not as familiar with music interpretation — i.e., I know what I like — I will look at the numerous ways lawyers, legal scholars and judges interpret the Constitution,” Rausch said. “For simplicity’s sake, I will focus on the United States Constitution. We also will look at what the audience believes is the most appropriate way to interpret the Constitution.”

Then, the quartet will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 28, also in Northen Recital Hall. Tickets are $20 for the public or free for WT faculty, staff and students with a Buff Gold card.

The quartet will perform Florence Price’s String Quartet No. 1, Zoltán Kodály’s String Quartet No. 2 and Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16, Opus 135, the composer’s final major work, which includes a movement packed with rhythmic trickery.

“Beethoven’s composition is rife with material on the subject of interpretation, as the very rhythm of the piece is left up in the air. When such a vital ingredient of the music is undetermined, how does one go about creating a harmonious performance?” Goza said. “And because the Price and the Kodály works are considerably lesser known than the Beethoven, they also present very different interpretative challenges.”

Tickets will be available at showtix4u.com, in the School of Music office or at the door. For information, call 806-651-2840.

The quartet also includes Evgeny Zvonnikov, violin; Vesselin Todorov, viola; and Emmanuel Lopez, cello. Each are lecturers in the School of Music, as well; Lopez also is a Periman Distinguished Artist.

HSQ was established by a generous gift from the late Sybil B. Harrington to benefit the Panhandle community. From its founding in 1981, the quartet has brought stellar credentials and a refined sense of ensemble and musical integrity to performances across the nation and internationally. HSQ’s collaborative recording with the Phoenix Chorale, “Northern Lights,” was distinguished as iTunes’s Best Classical Vocal Album of 2012. In 2005, the quartet also released a Grammy-nominated album of works by American composer Daniel McCarthy on the Albany Records label.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: From opera to jazz drummer, WT hosting all kinds of art events