August 22, 2003

SMU's Meadows School Of The Arts Announces 2003-2004 Music Season

19 Concerts Offer Wide Range of Programs

DALLAS (SMU) - Internationally renowned guest performers, composers and conductors will highlight the 2003-2004 music season at SMU's Meadows School of the Arts. From classical gems to world premieres, opera to jazz, the season offers programs for every taste.

The season includes seven concerts by the acclaimed Meadows Symphony Orchestra, six by the nationally recognized Meadows Wind Ensemble, and three programs each by the Meadows Opera Theatre and the Meadows Chorale.

All concerts are held in the Owen Arts Center, 6101 Bishop Blvd. on the SMU campus. Free parking is available at the intersection of Hillcrest and Binkley Avenues and at the Meadows Museum garage, just north of Mockingbird on Bishop Blvd.

Individual tickets to the Meadows Symphony Orchestra concerts and the Meadows Opera Theatre performance of "Susannah" range from $6-$12, and subscriptions are available starting at $30. All other concerts are FREE. For information on ticketed events, please call the Meadows Ticket Office at 214.768.2787; for all other concerts, please call the Division of Music at 214.768.1951. Details for groups and performances follow.

MEADOWS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Meadows Symphony Orchestra is comprised of gifted students from around the world, a number of whom are active as international soloists or are prizewinners at major music competitions. The orchestra is conducted by Dr. Paul Phillips, SMU professor of music and director of orchestral activities. He has served as guest conductor for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Voices of Change and has recorded for the Novisse, Albany and Centaur labels.

"THE CLASSICAL STYLE"
Fri., Sept. 19 at 8 p.m.; Sun., Sept. 21 at 3 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium
Program will include Schubert's "Rosamunda Overture," Mozart's "Concerto No. 10 for Two Pianos" with guest soloists Regan Smith and Carol Leone, and Shostakovich's "Symphony No. 1."

"BEAUTIFUL BACH, BRILLIANT BRAHMS"
Fri., Oct. 17 at 8 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 19 at 3 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium
Soprano Joan Heller of the Meadows faculty joins the orchestra for a performance of Bach's "Cantata No. 202," followed by Samuel Barber's "Essay No. 2 for Orchestra." The concert concludes with the brilliant and moving "Second Symphony" by Brahms.

"TWENTIETH CENTURY CLASSICS"
Fri., Nov. 14 at 8 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 16 at 3 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium
World-renowned cellist and Meadows faculty member Nathaniel Rosen performs Hindemith's "Concerto for Cello," a work written in 1940 and rarely presented. The concert also includes one of the most popular works in the classical repertoire, Elgar's "Enigma Variations."

"STUDENT CONDUCTORS' CONCERT"
Fri., Jan. 23 at 8 p.m.; Sun., Jan. 25 at 3 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium
The concert will feature classical masterpieces performed under the baton of young conductors in the graduate program at the Meadows School.

"SACRED AND PROFANE"
Fri., Feb. 27 at 8 p.m.; Sun., Feb. 29 at 3 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium
Biblical sources inspire the first half of the concert, which includes "Fast Falls the Overtide," a world premiere written by Meadows faculty member Robert Frank, and Carlisle Floyd's song cycle "The Pilgrimage," featuring Meadows alumnus and opera singer Donnie Ray Albert. The second half showcases "The Miraculous Mandarin Suite," Bartok's dark ballet score, and Michael Daugherty's wild "Lex," performed by award-winning violinist and Meadows alumna Miroslava Ivanchenko.

"THE GRAND EVENT: MEADOWS AT THE MEYERSON"
Wed., Mar. 31 at 7:30 p.m.
Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St., Dallas
The annual concert benefiting the Meadows School of the Arts will feature the sounds of nature with Mendelssohn's "Hebrides Overture," Dvorak's "Amid Nature" and Mahler's "Symphony No. 1."

"RISING STARS"
Fri., Apr. 23 at 8 p.m.; Sun., Apr. 25 at 3 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium
A concert featuring the winners of the Meadows Annual Concerto Competition.

Subscriptions for the Meadows Symphony are $60 for adults, $40 for seniors, and $30 for students/faculty/staff. For subscribers, tickets to the Grand Event are an additional $10. Tickets for individual MSO performances are $12 for adults, $9 for seniors and $6 for students/faculty/staff. For more information, call the Meadows Ticket Office at 214.768.2787.

MEADOWS WIND ENSEMBLE

Composed of more than 60 of SMU's finest wind, brass and percussion players, the Meadows Wind Ensemble has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe and has recorded four CDs on the Gasparo label. The Ensemble is conducted by Jack Delaney, director of bands at the Meadows School, who has conducted professional and student ensembles on three continents and commissioned some 35 works by major composers.

"COME TO THE CABARET"
Fri., Sept. 26 at 8 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium; FREE
The concert will feature George Gershwin's brilliant "Rhapsody in Blue" with pianist William Ransom and Artie Shaw's "Concerto for Clarinet."

"MUSIC FOR VOICES AND WINDS"
Sun., Oct. 26 at 8 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium; FREE
Guest composer Robert Xavier Rodriguez will introduce the world premiere of his new work, "Decem Perfectum," commissioned by the Ensemble. The concert will also include Stravinsky's "Mass" and music by Olivier Messiaen. The Meadows Chorale, conducted by Alfred Calabrese, will be guest performers.

"PASSAGES"
Fri., Nov. 21 at 8 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium; FREE
Guest composers Stephen Jones and John Gibson will be on hand for the world premieres of their newest works, "Ru2or3?" and "California Suite" respectively. The program will also include a live recording of Jones' "Passages," which was commissioned by the Ensemble and premiered by them in London in April 2003.

"MAGNETICFIREFLIES"
Fri., Feb. 20 at 8 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium; FREE
The concert features the world premiere of guest composer Augusta Read Thomas' "Concerto for Horn and Chamber Orchestra" with soloist Greg Hustis, principal horn with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Thomas is composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

"AMERICAN SALUTE"
Fri., Mar. 26 at 8 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium; FREE
The program of traditional and contemporary wind repertoire will include "American Salute" with guest conductor Colonel Timothy Foley, commander of "The President's Own," the U.S. Marine Band.

"CEREMONIAL"
Fri., Apr. 16 at 8 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium; FREE
Guest composer Timothy Broege will present the world premiere of "Songs Without Words - Set Number 7," commissioned by the Ensemble. Guest performers will include conductor H. Robert Reynolds and Meadows faculty members Virginia Dupuy, mezzo soprano, and Larry Palmer, harpsichordist. The concert will also feature the music of Stravinsky, Olivier Messiaen and Bernard Rands.

MEADOWS OPERA THEATRE

Under the direction of Marciem Bazell, the Meadows Opera Theatre is dedicted to preparing young artists for careers in opera through training in singing, acting, stagecraft, language, movement and stage combat. The Opera Theatre typically produces two scene recitals and one full production annually.

"AN EVENING OF SCENES"
Mon., Nov. 24 and Tues., Nov. 25 at 8 p.m.
Margo Jones Theatre; FREE

"SUSANNAH" (full production with orchestra)
Thur., Jan. 29 through Sun., Feb. 1 at 8 p.m.
Bob Hope Theatre
Tickets: $12 adults, $9 seniors, $6 students
" Susannah," Carlisle Floyd's best known opera, is based on the Biblical Book of Susanna and is set in the rural valley of New Hope, Tennessee. An American folk-type opera, it expertly imitates Appalachian square dances and revival hymns by combining poetry and music in a way that brings seemingly ordinary characters to life, illustrating the depth and passions of human emotions and the tragedy of human weaknesses.

"AN EVENING OF SCENES"
Mon., Apr. 26 and Tues., Apr. 27 at 8 p.m.
Margo Jones Theatre; FREE

MEADOWS CHORALE

Featuring the most advanced vocal and musical talent in the Meadows School, the Meadows Chorale regularly receives invitations to perform throughout the United States. Dr. Alfred Calabrese, formerly of Brevard College in North Carolina and Emory University in Atlanta, joins SMU this year as the new director of choral activities. He is a past chorus master of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus and, from 1989-1992, he was the assistant to Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Three concerts will be held this season, as follows:
Friday, Oct. 24; Friday, Mar. 5; and Friday, Apr. 20 at 8 p.m.
Caruth Auditorium; FREE