Encore! 2006 features Bill Evans Fest, acclaimed pianist
Contact: Christina Chapple
1/11/06
HAMMOND – A guest appearance by acclaimed pianist William Chapman Nyaho and the annual Bill Evans Jazz Festival highlight the 2006 edition of “Encore!”, Southeastern Louisiana University’s spring performing arts series.
Sponsored by the Department of Music and Dramatic Arts, Encore! 2006 also features dozens of concerts, recitals, operas, plays and dance programs from January through May.
Nyaho, who will launch the university’s celebration of February as African-American Heritage Month, will present a free recital of classical piano music written by composers of African descent on Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Pottle Music Building Auditorium.
A native of Ghana, West Africa, Nyaho is a graduate of the Honour School of Music at Oxford University, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Texas. Following a four-year residency as a North Carolina visiting artist, he taught at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette from 1991-2002, where he was honored with the 1998 University of Southwestern Louisiana Distinguished Professor Award and the 1998 Acadiana Arts Council Distinguished Artist Award.
Nyaho has given recitals and solo performances with orchestras in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and the United States, including Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center. He was featured on radio and television broadcasts in Ghana and Switzerland and on National Public Radio, and developed and hosted “The Bach Show” for the Louisiana classical radio station KRVS.
The fifth annual Bill Evans Jazz Festival, scheduled Feb. 20-23, honors the late jazz pianist, one of Southeastern’s most renowned alumni. He recorded more than 70 albums, won seven Grammy Awards and earned an international following. Throughout his life, Evans 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 festival will feature as headliner events performances and master classes on Feb. 21 by the Leon Anderson Trio and Feb. 23 by the Andy LaVerne Duo. Anderson, director of Jazz Studies at Florida State University, was the Southeastern’s College of Arts and Sciences 2005 Alumnus of the Year. The Andy LaVerne Duo features pianist Andy LaVerne, a former student of Bill Evans, and noted guitarist John Abercrombie.
The festival will also include performances by the Navy Band of New Orleans Jazz Ensemble, and Southeastern’s faculty, students, and guests.
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 2006 Encore! schedule includes:
Jan. 23 -- Faculty Recital: pianists Kenneth Boulton and JoAnne Barry, 7:30 pm, Pottle Auditorium
Jan. 24 -- Guest Recital: Thaddeus and Susan Brys, cello and piano, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
Jan. 31 -- Guest Recital: Jason Ham of the West Point Military Academy, euphonium, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
Feb. 1 -- Guest Recital: William Chapman Nyaho, piano, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
Feb. 7-11 -- Southeastern Theatre: “True West” by Sam Shepard (Rating PG-13), 7:30 p.m., Vonnie Borden Theatre. Tickets: $10, adults; $5, seniors/faculty/staff/non-SLU students; SLU students free with ID
Feb. 13 -- Southeastern Chamber Orchestra directed by Yakov Voldman, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
Feb. 21 -- Bill Evans Festival: Southeastern Faculty and Non-Music Faculty Jazz Ensemble 4 p.m., Pottle Auditorium; Leon Anderson Trio, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
Feb. 22 -- Bill Evans Festival: Southeastern Faculty and Guests Jazz Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
Feb. 23 -- Bill Evans Festival: Andy LaVerne Duo, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
March 8-11 -- Southeastern Opera/Music Theatre, “An Evening of American Chamber Opera (“La Divina” by Thomas Pasatieri and “The Face on the Barroom Floor” by Henry Mollicone), 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium. Tickets (available at the door): $12, adults; $8, seniors/faculty/staff/alumni, non-SLU students; SLU students free with ID
March 16 -- Faculty Recital: Nicole McPherson, flute, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
March 21-25 -- Southeastern Theatre: “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett (PG-13), 7:30 p.m., Vonnie Borden Theatre. Tickets: $10, adults; $5, seniors/faculty/staff/non-SLU students; SLU students free with ID
March 22 -- Guest Recital: Elena Cecconi, flute, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
March 28 -- Faculty Recital: Silverwind Duo (Nicole McPherson, flute; Andrew Seigel, clarinet), 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
March 30 -- Dance Multimedia Concert, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts
April 3 – Faculty Recital: Faculty Brass and Brass Quintet, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 4 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: Trio Sonacion, An Evening of Guitar and Song, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 6 -- Southeastern Wind Symphony directed by Glen Hemberger, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts
April 7-9 -- Southeastern Theatre: premiere of “The Disputed Questions” by Matt Rossano (PG), 7:30 pm, April 7-8; 2 pm, April 9, Vonnie Borden Theatre
April 11 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: Spring Break Guitar Night at the Circle, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Performance Circle
April 24 -- Faculty Recital: David Evenson, piano, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 25 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: guest artist Robert Wetzel, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 26 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: master class by Robert Wetzel, noon, Pottle Music Building, room 124
April 27 -- Leggworks Jazz Dance, 7:30 p.m., Vonnie Borden Theatre; Southeastern Guitar Festival: Southeastern Guitar Ensemble directed by Patrick Kerber, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 30 -- Concert Choir directed by Alissa Mercurio Rowe, 3 p.m., TBA
May 2 -- Southeastern Gospel Music Ensemble directed by Kenya Lawrence Jackson, 7 p.m., TBA
May 3 -- Southeastern Chamber Orchestra directed by Yakov Voldman, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts
May 4 -- Two O’Clock Big Band directed by Richard Schwartz, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
May 5 -- One O’Clock Big Band directed by Richard Schwartz, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
May 7 -- Northshore Chorale and University Chorus directed by Roger Henry, 3 p.m., TBA.More News...