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Music Performances at Keene State: November 2019

MANA Quartet
MANA Quartet

Jazz, Latin, classical, folk – and more! November’s Music Department concert calendar has something for everyone. The month kicks off with a performance by the MANA Quartet, a chamber saxophone group, and features music from around the globe. Read on for a listing of other November events. For more information, contact the Music Department at music@keene.edu.

Wednesday, November 6, 7:30 p.m.
The MANA Quartet
Alumni Recital Hall, Redfern Arts Center

The MANA Quartet, known as one of the best chamber groups in the country and one of the best saxophone quartets in the world, will present music from Bach to today. Called a “groundbreaking ensemble” by the Los Angeles Chronicle, the MANA Quartet is Michael Hernandez on soprano saxophone, Michael Mortarotti on alto saxophone, Diane Hunger on tenor saxophone, and Thomas Giles on baritone saxophone. The group is currently in residence at San Jose University. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for seniors, and free for Keene State students.

Wednesday, November 13, 7:30 p.m.
Guitar Orchestra and Latin American Ensemble
Alumni Recital Hall, Redfern Arts Center

The Keene State Guitar Orchestra and KSC Latin American Ensemble, Cotopaxi, will present a concert, “Globalism in Music: Sounds of China, Cuba, South America, and Europe.” The concert is directed by Dr. Jose Lezcano, professor of music, and will feature guest harpist Franziska Huhn and guest alumnus Logan Gabriel. The Guitar Orchestra’s program includes an arrangement of a Chinese folk song, “Bai Mudan” (the White Peony), and Leo Brouwer’s “Cuban Landscape with Rain,” a complete Vivaldi concerto„ Renaissance Bourrees and Pavanes by Michael Praetorius and Pierre Attaignant, and an arrangement of a Chopin Valse.

Cotopaxi will play folkloric indigenous music of the Andes on authentic indigenous panpipes – charangos – and Western instruments—guitars, flutes, harp, and brass instruments. Huhn will play music arranged by Lezcano for the ensemble and harp, duos for guitar and harp, and solos originally composed for the Paraguayan Harp.

Lezcano is a twice Grammy-nominated composer and guitarist with performances at important venues and festivals on four continents, and a frequent performer on chamber music series in New England and Florida. In 2016 he received an Ewing Arts Award from the Keene Sentinel in recognition of his international performing and teaching career and of his contributions to the arts in the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for seniors, and free for Keene State students.

Thursday, November 14, 7:30 p.m.
Percussion Ensemble, “A Survey of Afro-Cuban Rhythm”
Alumni Recital Hall, Redfern Arts Center

Congas, bongos, timbales, claves, cowbells and drum set playing rhumba clave, son clave, cascara, bembe, tumbao: everything from traditional dance music to West Side Story has been infused with these distinctive rhythms. The program will feature Amadeo Roldan’s 1930 Ritmicas, considered the first notated works for the modern percussion ensemble. The Keene State College Percussion Ensemble will also play Afro-Cuban influenced songs by Mongo Santamaria, Pat Metheny, David Garibaldi and more. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for seniors, and free for Keene State students.

Sunday, November 17, 3 p.m.
Junior and Senior Voice Ensemble
Alumni Recital Hall, Redfern Arts Center

Junior and senior voice majors will be performing a variety of pieces and styles including classical and musical theatre, featuring such composers such as Schumann, Bellini, Wolf, and Hamlisch. Some of these students are preparing for their own recitals as well as preparing for graduate school auditions. Joined by collaborative pianist, Dr. Christopher Evatt, this will be a great opportunity to see and hear the result of hard work, dedication, and commitment these students have given to their vocal studies at Keene State College. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for seniors, and free for Keene State students.

Monday, November 18, 2-3:30 p.m.
Effective Assessment in the Backwards-Designed Music Program
Redfern Arts Center, Room 120

Jake Sturtevant, the music director at Falmouth High School, will give a presentation and workshop that will describe and provide examples of backwards-designed assessments in a 9-12 instrumental classroom, including defining your standards, building an authentic assessment, and developing lessons, feedback tools, and practices to help students progress. Participants will also have the opportunity to define their own standards and brainstorm assessment strategies in a music classroom. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Sandra Howard at showard1@keene.edu or 358-2344.

Wednesday, November 20, 7:30 p.m.
Keene State Orchestra
Main Theatre, Redfern Arts Center

Join the Keene State College Orchestra as they play music by Brahms, Bizet, Beethoven, and more. Professor and cellist Rebecca Hartka will play Rachmaninoff’s painfully beautiful Vocalise. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for seniors, and free for Keene State students.

Thursday, November 21, 7:30 p.m.
Keene State College Concert Band
Main Theatre, Redfern Arts Center

The Keene State College Concert Band will present “Old and New,” a concert featuring wind ensemble music from the earliest decades of both the 20th and 21st centuries. Featured composers include Gustav Holst and Percy Aldridge Grainger and modern wind band composers like Jess Langston Turner, John Mackey, David Biedenbender, and Michael Markowski. The program begins with two works by Holst, and listeners will instantly recognize the compositional maturity developed between his early work (1911) and his later work (1928). Whereas the first applies traditional techniques to folk music in a pleasant, earthy way, the second is rich, complex, almost vocal, and innovative for its time. The second half of the program focuses on living composers and contains some of the liveliest and also most sonorous music on the program. John Mackey’s “This Cruel Moon” blends traditional phrasing and instrumentation with modern sonorities to create a sense of aching yearning. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for seniors, and free for Keene State students.

The KSC Concert Band, under the direction of Dr. John Hart, comprises musicians ranging from first-year students to veteran performers, drawing from students, faculty, staff, and the greater Keene community. Those interested in joining should contact the director, Dr. John Hart at John.Hart@keene.edu.

Friday, November 22, 7:30 p.m.
Keene State Jazz Combos
Alumni Recital Hall, Redfern Arts Center

Keene State College Jazz Combos presents an autumn concert of traditional and contemporary music. The combos are comprised of students from all disciplines who enjoy learning and sharing the art of performing live music. Bassist Steve Cady directs and arranges for three separate combos, which will present material ranging from Irving Berlin to Chick Corea and Johnny Rivers to Motorhead. Join us to enjoy some great jazz music! Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for seniors, and free for Keene State students.

Sunday, November 24, 3 p.m.
Keene State Saxophone and Brass Ensembles
Alumni Recital Hall, Redfern Arts Center

Keene State College Saxophone and Brass Ensembles will perform a variety of works from composers spanning the last five centuries. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for seniors, and free for Keene State students.

Monday, November 25, 4 p.m.
Opera Workshop
Alumni Recital Hall, Redfern Arts Center

Keene State’s Opera Workshop program, in partnership with the Colonial Theatre, will present a fun, interactive performance featuring music from Mozart’s hilarious Magic Flute, Handel’s gripping Agrippina, and Gershwin’s perennial favorite Porgy and Bess. This performance is the public culmination of a series of local school workshops in collaboration with the 2019-2020 MetLive in HD program, designed to engage audiences with opera by demystifying the art form. Artistic direction by Dr. Matthew Leese and collaborative pianist Dr. Christina Wright-Ivanova. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for seniors, and free for Keene State students.

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