Check out this video about The Intersection of Classical & Jazz Keyboard Festival and Competiton, put together by WVU Extended Learning.

Student Ambassador Dallas Wright attended the recent WVU Symphony Orchestra concert on April 19, which closed the 2011-2012 season with a program of vibrant, exciting dance-inspired music from Mexico, Russia, Spain, and France, as well as rock and roll by WVU’s rock cello group, “Trio.”

The program also featured “Polovtsian Dances” by Alexander Borodin, Maurice Ravel’s exquisite “Pavane” and “Three Spanish Dances” by Enrique Granados, and the stunning finale featured Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas’s an intense, rhythmic work depicting an ancient snake killing ritual!

But it was the rock cello group,”Trio,” consisting of three undergraduate cellists – Rayce Leib, Nathan Lavender and Chris Jones – that most impressed our CCA Student Ambassador.

“Sitting back down after intermission at the Symphony Orchestra concert I didn’t expect to stand again until the concert was concluded. But I was wrong when ‘Trio,’ the three-man cello group took a bow after their orchestrated piece,” Dallas said. “Everyone gave a standing ovation, not only to three of them, but the wonderful orchestra that was able to play and portray the Trio’s piece, ‘Triple Concerto,’ so well. ‘Triple Concerto’ combined metal and rock styles within a classical structure, and it was amazingly pulled off. Not only that, but to answer the crowd’s applause, the Trio and orchestra went on to do an encore.”

The rock cello ensemble has been burning up their strings since they formed. Together they compose, arrange, play, and sing their own music, in addition to performing some covers with passionate intensity.

“The Symphony Orchestra went to play two other pieces after that, one being “Sensemayá,” by Revueltas, which as Mitchell Arnold, conductor, mentioned was a benchmark piece for the group,” Dallas said. “The whole concert was extremely captivating and I don’t think it’s a performance that will be easily forgotten by any of us that were graced with hearing it or the wonderful musicians that so masterfully delivered it.”

– submitted by Dallas K. Wright

The Morgantown Community Orchestra, conducted by Alejandro Pinzón and made up of students in West Virginia University’s Community Music Program and Morgantown-area musicians, will perform a concert at the Creative Arts Center, Sunday, April 29.

The program titled “Noche Latina” (Latin Night) begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Antoinette Falbo Theatre and is free and open to the public (donations accepted).

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Young violinists from the Morgantown area who study in the Community Music Program at the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts will present a Suzuki recital at the Creative Arts Center, Saturday, April 28, at 1:30 p.m. in the Bloch Learning and Performance Hall (Room 200A).

The concert is free and the public is cordially invited to attend.

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West Virginia University’s Chamber Winds will present an unconventional concert filled with mad cows and twisted melodies on Tuesday, April 24.

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Gladys G. Davis Theatre at the Creative Arts Center.

The event is free and open to the public.

Under the direction of Professor of Music John Weigand, the Chamber Winds usually consists of only wind instruments. For this concert, a string quintet is added, as well as two synthesizers.

The highlight of this concert is “Gnarly Buttons” by John Adams (b. 1947), for solo clarinet and small orchestra. Doctoral candidate Amy McCann will join the ensemble as clarinet soloist.

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West Virginia University’s School of Music will present a Spring Choral Concert titled “Out of Africa: Folksongs, Spirituals, and Jazz” on Sunday, April 22.

The concert begins at 3:15 p.m. in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre of the Creative Arts Center.

The WVU Choirs, African Music and Dance Ensemble, and Jazz Instrumental Ensemble will perform only African music and music directly descended from African music.

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The West Virginia University Brazilian Ensemble, which includes two exchange students from Brazil and other music students who have been to Brazil, will perform a concert at the Creative Arts Center, Saturday, April 21.

The event begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Antoinette Falbo Theatre and is free and open to the public.

The Ensemble plays classics of Brazilian popular music with a contemporary take. The students work partially with written music and partially with music from oral traditions.

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The West Virginia University Symphony Orchestra will close its 2011-2012 season on April 19 with a program of vibrant, exciting dance music.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre of the Creative Arts Center.

The performance will feature dance-inspired music from Mexico, Russia, Spain, France and Rock ‘n’ Roll.

WVU’s rock cello group “Trio” is featured on the program.

“Trio” consists of three undergraduate cellists, Rayce Leib, Nathan Lavender and Chris Jones. Together they compose, arrange, play, and sing their own music, in addition to performing some covers.

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Several unique compositions, including a number of premiere performances, by students in the West Virginia University School of Music will be featured during a New Music Concert at the Creative Arts Center, Friday, April 20.

The free event begins at 8:15 p.m. in the Bloch Learning and Performance Hall (200A) and will feature works by students Rafael Langoni Smith, Alan Racadag, Timothy Kowalski, Scott Jones, Jacob Sandridge and Christopher Jones. All of the students study with WVU Composer-in-Residence John Beall.

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Congratulations to the winners of our Faculty/Student Mentored Research Awards.

Undergraduate:

1st Place
Student: Zane Cupec
Faculty: Michael Vercelli
School of Music
Project Name: Velkpele (Musical Performance)

2nd Place
Student: John Kiselica
Faculty: Alan McEwen
School of Theatre & Dance
Project Name: Theatrical Dry Ice Fog Machine

3rd Place
Student: Kiy Tywoniw
Faculty: Gerald Habarth
School of Art & Design
Project Name: Alien Host/3D video game trailer

Graduate:

1st place
Student: Morgan Milders
Faculty: Dylan Collins
School of Art & Design
Project Name: Cluster flock/Cast bronze sculpture

2nd place
Student: Ben Lauer
Faculty: Steven Neuenschwander
School of Theatre & Dance
Project Name: Technical Direction of “The Crucible”