On Wednesday, March 31, at 7:30 pm, music students will perform original compositions in the 39th Annual Composers Concert. Under the direction of Distinguished Professor James Hartway, pieces will include chamber works, a multi-media piece inspired by the Pacific Ring of Fire, and a one-act opera based on a play in which two puppets ponder the meaning of life. Repertoire will include Mind the Changing Winds (Paige Wilkinson), Kamchatka (Keith Buckner), The Village (Andrew Neer), Memories (Jacob Ficken), and Without Strings (Pete Fernandez). The recital is in Schaver Music Recital Hall (Old Main, 480 W. Hancock) and is free and open to the public.
Mind the Changing Winds is an aural representation of natural phenomena, namely that of wind moving through the leaves and branches of a forest of trees. The reflective aspect of this piece lends itself to a more figurative interpretation in which the highs and lows of the music represent shifting thoughts and feelings. Kamchatka is a multi-media piece inspired by the Uzon Caldera in Russia. The Village is a piece about the cycle of life based on three Longfellow poems. Memories is a four movement piece for percussion and string quartet that depicts anger, fear, sadness and happiness. Without Strings is based on a play by Robert Neil Porter, in which puppets ponder the meaning of human life.
Founded in 1918, The Wayne State Department of Music cultivates music as a contemporary and global art, grounded in a long historical tradition, by combining higher education with professional training and experience for its undergraduate and graduate/professional students.
Many members of the music faculty, including musicians from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and some of the area's finest jazz and vocal artists, have toured throughout the world as performers, clinicians, conductors and composers. Likewise, students in the department's ensembles have won international competitions, toured Europe and Asia, and enjoyed repeated
invitations to perform at major festivals and conferences.