Southeastern's Encore! continues with three March recitals
Contact: Christina Chapple
3/9/06
Silverwind Duo Elena Cecconi
HAMMOND – Encore!, Southeastern Louisiana University’s annual spring performing arts series, is now in full swing with three recitals scheduled in March.
The month will be a busy one for Southeastern flutist Nicole McPherson, who will present a faculty recital on Thursday, March 16, and, with her husband and fellow Southeastern music professor Andrew Seigel, clarinet, will perform as the Silverwind Duo on March 28.
On March 22, Encore! will also host a guest recital by another flutist, Elena Cecconi.
All three recitals are free and are scheduled for the 7:30 p.m. in the Pottle Music Building Auditorium.
McPherson is completing her doctoral degree in flute performance at Michigan State University and received her undergraduate degree at Ithaca College. She is piccoloist for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and has performed with orchestras throughout Michigan, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, including a solo appearance with the Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra. Originally from New York, she was a featured soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
Cecconi graduated in Italy under the guidance of A. Pucell and is professor of flute at the Conservatory of Cagliari. She plays a Haynes golden flute that belonged to the famous Italian flutist Severino Gazzelloni.
As a soloist, she has captivated audiences in Louisiana and Mississippi and in Germany, Austria, Albania, Switzerland, Japan, and Russia. She also has performed with a variety of Italian orchestras as well as with the Albanian Radio Television Orchestra and the Budapest Chamber Orchestra.
Cecconi has won several the Palmi, Caltanissetta, and Galiçia International competitions and recorded as soloist for Edipan, Ricordi, Bayer Records, and Clarinet Classics. She plays in several chamber groups and in 1996 founded "La Variazione," an ensemble consisting of a flutist, harpist, and tenor.
McPherson and Seigel founded the Silverwind Duo in 1999. They perform and teach master classes throughout the country and are active in commissioning and premiering new works.
In their March 28 recital the Silverwind Duo will be joined by another Southeastern music colleague, pianist Kenneth Boulton. They will perform works by Jennifer Higdon, Vincent Donatelli, Carl Maria von Weber, Dimitri Shostakovich, and Jean Cartan.
A highlight of the recital will be the premiere of "Kaleidoscope," written for the duo by Sy Brandon, Millerville University professor emeritus of music. Brandon, who taught low brass, composition, orchestration, music history, electronic music, and music industry for 24 years, will be present for the premiere and will present master classes for Southeastern students during his visit. The Southeastern Flute Ensemble under McPherson’s direction will premiere his "Prelude, Scherzo and Dirge" on March 30 during a 2 p.m. performance in the Pottle Music Auditorium.
Before joining the Southeastern faculty, Seigel, a graduate of Michigan State University and a Fulbright Scholar, taught clarinet on the faculties of Michigan State University, Albion College, and Spring Arbor University. He also was the utility clarinetist with the Grand Rapids Symphony and the principal clarinetist of the West Shore Symphony. He is currently the principal clarinetist of the Gulf Coast Symphony, and has performed with Symphony Northshore, the Mobile Symphony and the Acadiana Symphony.
He recently recorded a compact disc with the Grand Rapids Symphony at Carnegie Hall and has performed throughout the United States and in Hungary, Germany, and Romania. He also plays in Southeastern's faculty woodwind quintet.
Boulton, director of Southeastern’s Community Music School, has performed on a number of critically acclaimed recordings and has appeared extensively as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and in Europe with a specialty in American music. A Seattle native, he earned his bachelor's degree from Washington State University and master's and doctorate degrees in piano performance from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Boulton routinely appears with his wife, JoAnne Barry, in recitals and lectures on music for piano four-hands, including invited performances in the annual Piano Four-Hand Fests in Indiana, sponsored by the renowned piano duet team of Weekley and Arganbright.
Also on the March Encore! schedule are the Southeastern Theatre’s March 21-25 production of Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” at 7:30 p.m. in Vonnie Borden Theatre, and Martie Fellom’s “Delicious Collection: Film and Dance” at 7:30 p.m. March 30 at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts.
For additional information and an Encore! brochure, contact the Southeastern Department of Music and Dramatic Arts, (985) 549-2184
More News...
