KSC Chamber Orchestra Features Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue"
KEENE, N.H., 04/04/08 - The Keene State College Chamber Orchestra, conducted by KSC artist-in-residence Don Baldini, performs A Gershwin Celebration, a collection of works by George Gershwin and other great American composers, on Wednesday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m. at the Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond. Admission is $10 for the general public and $5 for KSC students, senior citizens, and youth ages 17 and younger. Tickets are available through the box office at 603-358-2168 or online at www.keene.edu/racbp.
KSC music faculty member and pianist Maura Glennon will be performing Gershwin’s renowned “Rhapsody in Blue” on a restored 1985 Steinway 9-foot grand piano. The piano was recently acquired by the Redfern Arts Center with help from donors and friends.
Several KSC student soloists will be featured during the performance. Heath Bailey from Keene, N.H., will perform Gershwin’s “Embraceable You” on flugelhorn. Two selections from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess opera will feature Kimberly Harte of Ellington, Conn., singing “Summertime,” and Heather O’Connor of Bethany, Conn., singing “My Man’s Gone Now.” Additional selections from Porgy and Bess, Gershwin’s “Piano Preludes I and II” orchestrated by Nelson Riddle, “American Salute” by Morton Gould, and “A Tribute to Cole Porter” will be played.
Baldini came to KSC after appearing for 13 years with The Tonight Show Orchestra and touring with Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Peggy Lee, and the Harry James and Toshiko-Akyoshi/Lew Tabakin Bands. Baldini currently appears with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the Dartmouth Symphony, Opera North, the Keene Chamber Orchestra, as well as several local chamber music and jazz groups. In addition to conducting the KSC Chamber Orchestra, he also directs the KSC Jazz Ensemble, which will perform on Wednesday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. in the Redfern Arts Center.
Glennon has performed throughout the United States and abroad as a collaborative pianist and as a soloist with the Florida Orchestra, Monadnock Chorus Orchestra, Keene State College Orchestra, and Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra of the Czech Republic. Recent performances include a series of chamber music recitals throughout New England with violinist Kathy Andrew and cellist Judith Serkin, and a cello and piano recital in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall with cellist Astrid Schween of the Lark Quartet. Glennon is an associate professor of music at Keene State, where she has taught applied piano, keyboard literature, piano ensemble, accompanying, opera workshop, and chamber music since 1998.
The KSC Chamber Orchestra is comprised primarily of KSC students and includes some community members.
