Class Acts: Faculty Featured in Music Series

Where does the music go when the classroom doors close and the lights go out in UT Dallas music classes?

It finds its way to the Faculty @ 5 series. Begun in the 2005-2006 arts season, Faculty @ 5 was created and sponsored by the music faculty and features UT Dallas faculty and invited guests performing and talking about the creative process.

The 2008-2009 season starts with faculty member and pianist Kelly Durbin in an informal jazz concert at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10. Durbin will be joined by saxophonist Wayne Delano, bass player Lyles West and drummer Dennis Durick.

“This particular group is one of my favorites to play with because they all play very creatively and listen to everything going on around them,” said Durbin. “The group has the ability to swing hard, yet you never know what other direction they will take the music – or let the music take them.”

Although the song sets are yet to be determined, the repertoire will consist of jazz standards by composers such as George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and Cole Porter in a variety of styles, as well as some originals. There will be compositions from swing, bebop and post-bop from composers such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

The next performance in the series features Mountain View College music program director Victor Soto, guest of faculty member Mary Medrick at 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20. Soto will give a piano recital of works by Liszt, Beethoven, Chopin and Brahms.

The last performance of the fall, titled “Kathryn Evans and Friends,” will blend soprano vocals with clarinet, recorder, guitar and piano. The event is slated for 5 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 19.

“I’ve performed on several continents with Kathryn Evans at guitar festivals,” said Professor Enric Madriguera. “We shared a Faculty @ 5 in 2006. It’s always a pleasure performing with her.”

The repertoire includes “Hirt auf dem Felsen” by Franz Schubert for soprano, clarinet and piano; Renaissance pieces for soprano, recorder and guitar; and selections from Evans and Madriguera’s recent concert “Music from the Spanish World” for soprano and guitar.

“We are, in addition to being educators, all working professionals in our own fields of music, mostly performance, but also composition and arranging,” said Evans, associate dean for the arts in the UT Dallas School of Arts & Humanities. “These venues allow not only a creative outlet for each performing faculty member or featured guest, but also give students the opportunity to see their professors practicing their art.”

Admission to Faculty at 5 concerts is free. All performances are held in the Jonsson Performance Hall, located near Drive C on the UT Dallas campus.

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