FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OSU Wind Ensemble evokes icons Jan. 29 at Stewart Center
By Zachary C. Person
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State University Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Chris Chapman presents “Three American Icons” at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 29 in the Austin Auditorium at The LaSells Stewart Center, 875 SW 26th Street, Corvallis.
Works exploring real and imagined icons comprise the program. Joseph Turrin’s “The Scarecrow Overture” from his opera of the same name opens the program. The 2010 work is based on the Nathaniel Hawthorne short story “Feathertop” about a witch who brings a scarecrow to life. After conjuring mayhem and trouble, the witch is surprised to discover the power of love and a true heart.
“Three American Icons” by English composer Judith Bingham closes the first half. The work departs from traditional icons of Americana, instead evoking three scenes set against the background of the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kenned. The mid-century icons Lee Harvey Oswald, Marilyn Monroe and the infamous grassy knoll in Dallas, Texas are depicted in a quirky French Suite-style tableau of 1950’s and 60’s big band music, cult television and cultural change.
Percy Grainger’s 1937 masterpiece “Lincolnshire Posy” opens the second half of the concert. The six movement of Grainger’s “bunch of wildflowers” are all based on folk songs collected during an excursion to Lincolnshire, England in 1905-1906. Grainger resisted the whims of his contemporaries and did not attempt to modernize the folk songs. Rather, he presented them simply as the singers themselves presented them to him. Irregular rhythms, a rough-hewn folk style and brilliant, colorful orchestration abound in the true masterpiece of the wind band literature.
“Rumpelstilschzen” by Jess Turner, closes the program. Over its 19 minutes, Turner sweeps the audience into a land of make believe in three movements each depicting a pivotal part of the fairy tale store: “Spinning Straw into Gold”; “Night (The Maiden’s Lament)”; and “Rumpelstilczhen’s Furiant (Moto Perpetuo).”
General admission tickets $5 advance, $10 door. OSU students with ID and K-12 youth admitted free. Advance tickets available online at: liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/SACevents. For accommodations relating to a disability, please call 541-737-4671 at least one week in advance.
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About the OSU College of Liberal Arts: The College of Liberal Arts includes fine and performing arts, humanities and social sciences, making it one of the largest and most diverse colleges at OSU. The college’s research and instructional faculty members contribute to the education of all university students and provide national and international leadership, creativity and scholarship in their academic disciplines.