RICHARDSON, Texas (Aug.17, 2005) — The School of Arts & Humanities at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) will open its Classical Concert Season on Sept. 9 in the University Theatre with a celebration of the music of composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein.
The featured work on the program will be a performance of the concert opera Trouble in Tahiti. Robert Xavier Rodríguez will direct the Musica Nova ensemble with guest artist bass-baritone George Cordes of the New York City Opera; Dana Ayers, mezzo-soprano; Suzanne Byrd, mezzo-soprano; Todd Hart, tenor; and Neil Mowles, baritone. Instrumental soloists will include Forest Aten on clarinet and Jeff Lankov, assistant director of the ensemble, on piano.
UTD opens its classical season with a tribute
to composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein.
Bernstein once stated that Trouble in Tahiti was “my first experiment in the field that engaged my interest enormously, namely the point, based on my conviction that the true, nourishing, fertile, alive, vital American roots were in the American musical comedy, and that serious work could grow out of this.”
The program also will include Masque from Symphony No. 2Age of Anxiety, Four Episodes from West Side Story and Clarinet Sonata. Cyrus Durgin, a Boston critic, called Masque “the finest single movement in the American idiom and feeling that I have ever heard . . . a triumph of rhythmic interplay, subtle and unexpected accents, a marvelous distillation of the movement of jazz.”
In West Side Story, Bernstein returns to musical theater to create, in his own words, “a musical that tells a story in musical comedy terms … never falling into the ‘operatic’ trap.” Clarinet Sonata, Bernstein’s first published work, premiered in Boston in 1942.
Tickets for the concert are $15 for general admission and free at the door to UTD students with a valid identification. Ticket office hours for advance purchase are from 2 to 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays. To purchase tickets using Visa, MasterCard or Discover, please call 972-883-2972.
More information about the concert can be found at http://ah.utdallas.edu/season0506/tahiti.htm.
For information about the many musical, arts, theatre, dance and other performances and exhibitions held throughout the year at UTD, please call 972-UTD-ARTS (972-883-2787), e-mail utdarts@utdallas.edu, or visit the School of Arts and Humanities’ Web site at http://ah.utdallas.edu/. Persons with disabilities needing special accommodations may call 972-883-2982, Texas Relay Operator: 1-800-RELAYVV.
About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls more than 14,000 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s Web site at www.utdallas.edu.