Upcoming faculty music showcase highlights quirky talents
This semester’s Faculty Showcase of the Department of Music will feature more than just the popular classical pieces of music on instruments such as the piano and saxophone. Some of the faculty will also be performing music on unusual instruments.
The event, which will be begin at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30 in the Abbott Auditorium in the basement of Lovejoy Library, will allow the audience to hear music from nearly phased out instruments such as a glass harmonica, and also unusual instruments such as reed mouthpieces without the instruments and a wine bottle.
Linda Perry, SIUE professor of piano and concert coordinator, said the faculty will be seriously performing the music, but the audience should be prepared to laugh.
“We’re living a little dangerously on this program. On all of these odd instruments, a lot of strange sounds will be heard, sometimes even offensive sounds,” Perry said. “So we want to prepare the audience for that, that this is not a normal high-brow concert. We’re poking a little fun at the classical music scene and introducing some instruments that are not normally heard. There will be some beautiful music on it too, but there will be a lot of laughs.”
A competitive duo of soprano and double bass will be one of the highlights of the evening, she said.
The program will feature music from the P.D.Q. Bach Cantata, “Iphigenia in Brooklyn.” The music is a caricature of a traditional Bach cantata that places the Greek goddess Iphigenia in the modern New York scene.
Perry said however much the faculty enjoys playing serious, classical music; it’s always a good idea to do something different.
“It is really fun sometimes to take a step back and laugh at ourselves a little bit and enjoy music for the outrageous things it has in it sometimes,” she said.
Tickets for the showcase are available at the Fine Arts Box Office in Dunham Hall. General admission is $10, seniors can purchase tickets for $7 and students with an ID can receive tickets for free. Advanced reservations are advised because the performance frequently sells out. For more ticket information, call the box office at 650-2774.
Filed Under: Music
