On Friday night, May 2, the Humboldt Symphony plays sections of Stravinsky’s famous Firebird Suite, as well as pieces featuring two soloists, a student (pianist Emily Loeffler, playing the third movement of George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto) and a faculty member ( Dr. Gil Cline performs on trumpet for the Trumpet Concerto by contemporary American composer Robert Bradshaw.) This concert is repeated Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Then on Saturday, as the centerpiece of this musical weekend, the HSU Music Department presents guest artists Gamelan Sekar Jaya from the Bay area, performing its first-ever Arcata concert of traditional Balinese gamelan and cutting-edge compositions.
Gamelan Sekar Jaya is the only group outside Bali to receive the Dharma Kusuma, Bali’s highest award for artistic achievement. The company is renowned for its exploration of traditional and modern forms through long-term residencies with Bali’s finest musicians and dancers. The orchestra has performed in venues ranging from remote village squares in Bali to the Hollywood Bowl.
The twenty musicians play on several sets of Balinese instruments, consisting of various combinations of bronze-keyed metallophones or bamboo marimbas, gongs, drums, flutes, and other instruments. This performance also includes traditional dance.
After the Humboldt Symphony’s matinee on Sunday, two groups of student singers begin their spring concert at 8 p.m.: the Madrigal Singers with their selections of Renaissance and other vocal music, and the Mad River Transit singers performing pop, jazz and blues vocals, assisted by a rhythm section of piano, bass and drums.
The weekend extends to Monday evening, when four distinguished local string musicians play Bach, Mozart, Dvorak and an original composition. They are HSU professor Cindy Moyer on violin, string teacher Karen Davy on viola, David Davis, principal cellist for the Eureka Symphony on cello; and the Eureka Symphony’s concertmaster, Halim Beere on violin. The quartet will play a piece written by Beere, who is a recent HSU graduate in composition and violin performance.
All of these concerts (except for the Humboldt Symphony’s Sunday 2 p.m. matinee) begin at 8 p.m. in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. For ticket prices and reservations, call the HSU Ticket Office at 826-3928 or visit http://HSUMusic.blogspot.com, which also has more information on all concerts. HSU students are admitted free to the AM Jazz Band, Humboldt Symphony and Madrigal Singers/MRT concerts.