Bill Evans, guitar festivals highlight 'Encore! 2007' at Southeastern
Contact: Christina Chapple
1/18/07
HAMMOND – Festivals celebrating the late, great jazz pianist and Southeastern Louisiana University alumnus Bill Evans and the art of the guitar highlight the 2007 edition of “Encore!”, Southeastern’s spring performing arts series.
Sponsored by the Department of Music and Dramatic Arts, Encore! 2007 also features dozens of concerts, recitals, operas, plays and dance programs from February through May.
Scheduled Feb. 26-28, the Bill Evans Jazz Festival honors the seven-time Grammy Award winner who was the most influential jazz pianist of his generation. Throughout his life, Evans, a 1950 Southeastern graduate, fondly remembered his college years, calling his time at Southeastern the happiest period of his life. He returned to campus for a concert 30 years after his graduation, shortly before his death in 1980.
The sixth annual festival will feature renowned pianist, composer, and arranger Bill Dobbins of the Eastman School of Music on Feb. 28.
As a pianist, Dobbins has performed and recorded with jazz artists such as Clark Terry, Al Cohn, Red Mitchell, Phil Woods, Bill Goodwin, Dave Liebman, Kevin Mahogany, Paquito D'Rivera, Peter Erskine, and John Goldsby. A prize winner in the 1972 International Gaudeamus Competition for interpreters of contemporary music, he has received several jazz compositon grants from the Ohio Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Other events in the festival include Southeastern Alumni Jazz Ensemble on Feb. 26 and Southeastern’s Jazz Combos on Feb. 27.
The 2007 Southeastern Guitar Festival will feature five eclectic events during April. The festival will open with a concert by the Southeastern Guitar Quartet that will include music by Southeastern composer-in-residence Stephen Suber. The “All Styles Guitar Night on the Circle,” an evening of jazz, folk, light pop, and classical guitar under the stars at the Pottle Performance Circle, will be back by popular demand. The festival also will include a concert by the Southeastern Guitar Ensemble and a solo recital by award winning recording artist Martha Masters, who will present a masterclass for Southeastern students.
Most Encore! events are free. For an “Encore!” brochure or additional information, contact the Department of Music and Dramatic Arts at (985) 549-2184.
The 2007 Encore! schedule includes:
February
Feb. 1 -- Faculty Piano Recital: Kenneth Boulton and JoAnne Barry, piano duet; 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
Feb. 5 -- Guest/Faculty Recital: Samuel Savage and Joy Ratliff; 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
Feb. 6 -- Guest Recital: Thaddeus and Susan Brys, cello and piano, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
Feb. 9 -- Faculty Recital: Rachel Ciraldo, flute; 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
Feb. 12 -- Guest Recital: University of Southern Mississippi Trio, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
Feb. 13-17 -- Southeastern Theatre: “The Oldest Profession” by Paula Vogel (rated R), 7:30 p.m., Vonnie Borden Theatre. Tickets: $10, adults; $6, senior citizens/faculty/staff/non-Southeastern students; Southeastern students free with ID
Feb. 26 -- Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Southeastern Alumni Jazz Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
Feb. 27 -- Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Southeastern Jazz Combos, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
Feb. 28 -- Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Bill Dobbins and Friends, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
March
March 4 -- Faculty Recital: Richard Schwartz, saxophone; 3 p.m., Music Recital Hall
March 21-24 -- Southeastern Opera/Music Theatre, “Too Many Sopranos” by Edwin Penhorwood, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Tickets (available at the door): $14, adults; $10, senior citizens, faculty/staff/alumni, non-Southeastern students; Southeastern students free with ID
March 28 -- Faculty Recital: Henry Jones, piano; 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
March 29 -- Faculty Recital: Fluriano Trio (Nicole McPherson, Andrew Seigel, Henry Jones), 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
April
April 2 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: Southeastern Guitar Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
April 4 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: All Stars Guitar Night on the Circle, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Performance Circle
April 16 -- Southeastern Percussion Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
April 17 -- Faculty Recital: Andrew Seigel, clarinet; 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
April 18 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: Guest artist, Martha Masters; 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
April 19 -- Southeastern Symphonic Band, 6 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
April 19 -- Southeastern Concert Choir, 7:30 p.m., TBA
April 19 -- Multimedia Dance Concert: “Dance for Thought”; 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts
April 23 -- Southeastern Jazz Ensemble I, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts
April 23-27 -- Moxie Dance Project, TBA
April 24 -- Southeastern Jazz Ensemble II, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
April 24-28 -- Southeastern Theatre: “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare (rated PG), 7:30 p.m., Vonnie Borden Theatre. Tickets: $10, adults; $6, senior citizens/faculty/staff/non-Southeastern students; Southeastern students free with ID
April 25 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: Southeastern Guitar Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
April 26 -- Southeastern Wind Symphony, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts
April 29 -- University Chorus and Women’s Chorale, 3 p.m., TBA
April 30 -- Southeastern Jazz Combos, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Music Building Auditorium
May
May 1 -- Southeastern Chamber Orchestra, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts
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