Bill Evans Festival, guest artists highlight Encore! 2008
Contact: Christina Chapple
1/15/08
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(1) Jazz legend and Southeastern graduate Bill Evans; (2) Jazz pianist Ellen Rowe
HAMMOND – A festival celebrating the late, great jazz pianist and Southeastern Louisiana University alumnus Bill Evans and guest artists performing on trombone, clarinet, euphonium and marimba highlight the 2008 edition of “Encore!,” Southeastern’s spring performing arts series.
Sponsored by the Department of Music and Dramatic Arts, Encore! 2008 also features dozens of concerts, recitals, operas, plays and dance programs from January through May.
Scheduled Feb. 18-20, the Bill Evans Jazz Festival honors the seven-time Grammy Award winner who was the most influential jazz pianist of his generation. Throughout his life, Evans, a 1950 Southeastern graduate, fondly remembered his college years, calling his time at Southeastern the happiest period of his life. He returned to campus for a concert 30 years after his graduation, shortly before his death in 1980.
The seventh annual festival will feature renowned jazz pianist and composer Ellen Rowe and Friends on Feb. 20, 7:30 p.m., at the Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Rowe, chair of Jazz Piano and Improvisation Studies at the University of Michigan, has performed at jazz clubs and on concert series throughout the United States and has toured in Germany, Holland Switzerland, Ireland, Poland and Australia.
Other events in the festival include the Southeastern Alumni Jazz Ensemble on Feb. 18 and Southeastern’s Jazz Combos on Feb. 19. All Bill Evens Festival events are free and are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Pottle Music Building Auditorium.
Encore! 2008 will also host guest recitals by Trombones de Costa Rica, Feb. 7; Amanda McCandless, clarinet, March 19; Martin Cochran, euphonium, March 20; and Kevin Bobo, marimba, April 23.
The spring performing arts series will also include the annual Southeastern Guitar Festival with five events during April featuring new music for guitar, traditional recitals, and eclectic presentations. James Smith, chairman of the guitar department at the University of Southern California, will be the festival’s guest artist, and concerts will showcase Southeastern faculty member Patrick Kerber, the Southeastern Guitar Quartet, and the Southeastern Guitar Ensemble.
Most Encore! events are free. For an “Encore!” brochure or additional information, contact the Department of Music and Dramatic Arts at (985) 549-2184.
The 2008 Encore! schedule includes:
Jan. 31 -- Faculty Flute Recital: Nicole McPherson, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium.
Feb. 7 -- Guest Artists Recital: Trombones de Costa Rica, 7:30 p.m. Pottle Auditorium
Feb. 18 -- Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Southeastern Alumni Jazz Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
Feb. 19 -- Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Southeastern Jazz Combos, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
Feb. 20 -- Bill Evans Jazz Festival: Headliner, Ellen Rowe and Friends, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
Feb. 20-23 -- Southeastern Theatre: “God” by Woody Allen, 7:30 p.m., Vonnie Borden Theatre. Tickets are $10, adults; $6, senior citizens, Southeastern alumni, faculty and staff, non-Southeastern students; Southeastern students free with ID.
Feb. 21 -- Faculty Tuba Recital: Andrew Larson, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
March 13-15 -- Southeastern Opera/Music Theatre, “The Marriage of Figaro,” 7 p.m., Pottle Auditorium. Tickets are $14, adults; $10, senior citizens, Southeastern alumni, faculty and staff, non-Southeastern students; Southeastern students free with ID.
March 18 -- Faculty Trumpet Recital: Logan Place, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
March 19 -- Guest Recital: Amanda McCandless, clarinet, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
March 20 -- Guest Recital: Martin Cochran, euphonium, 5 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
March 20 -- Faculty Recital: Daren Robbins, French horn, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 2 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: Patrick Kerber, faculty recital, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 6 -- Faculty Recital: David Evenson, piano, 2:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 8 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: Southeastern Guitar Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 9 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: All Styles Night, 7:30 p.m., Performance Circle
April 14 -- Southeastern Chamber Orchestra, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. General admission tickets, $5, adults; $3, senior citizens, Southeastern alumni, faculty and staff; all students free ($1 handling fee per ticket).
April 16 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: Guest Recital, James Smith, guitar, with Patrick Kerber, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 16-19 -- Southeastern Theatre: “Medea,” 7:30 p.m., Vonnie Borden Theatre. Tickets are $10, adults; $6, senior citizens, Southeastern alumni, faculty and staff and non-Southeastern students; Southeastern students free with ID.
April 18 -- Faculty Recital: Henry Jones, piano, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 21 -- Southeastern Percussion Ensembles I and II, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 22 -- Southeastern Jazz Combos, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 23 -- Guest Recital: Kevin Bobo, marimba, 7:30 p.m., Recital Hall
April 24 -- Southeastern Concert Choir, 7:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 2200 Rue Denise, Hammond
April 24 -- Moxie Dance Project, 7:30 p.m., Vonnie Borden Theatre
April 28 -- Jazz Ensemble I, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. General admission tickets are $3; all students free ($1 handling fee per ticket)
April 29 -- Southeastern Flute and Clarinet Ensembles, 5:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 29 -- Faculty Recital: David Bernard, baritone, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
April 30 -- Southeastern Guitar Festival: Southeastern Guitar Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
May 1 -- Southeastern Wind Symphony, 7:30 p.m., Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts. General admission tickets are $5, adults; $3, senior citizens, Southeastern alumni, faculty and staff; all students free. ($1 handling fee per ticket)
May 4 – Southeastern University Chorus and Women’s Ensemble, 3 p.m., First Baptist Church, 401 W. Morris Street, Hammond
May 7 -- Southeastern Jazz Ensemble II, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
May 8 -- Southeastern Faculty Brass Quintet, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium
May 9 -- Southeastern Symphonic Band, 7:30 p.m., Pottle Auditorium.
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