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All faculty concerts are now free and open to the public

AMHERST (MA) – In November, the UMass Amherst Department of Music and Dance presents two chamber concerts by members of its distinguished faculty. Both performances take place at 7:30 p.m. in Bezanson Recital Hall, located in the UMass Fine Arts Center, 151 Presidents Dr., Amherst, MA. Beginning this fall, all faculty concerts are now free and open to the public.

On Thursday, November 2, members of the UMass faculty and guests join together to present “Salon Music,” a special performance of two great chamber works led by Director of Wind Studies Matthew Westgate.  The featured works include William Walton’s Facade: An Entertainment, a series of poems by Edith Sitwell over an instrumental accompaniment, and Kurt Weill’s Little Threepenny Music, a concert suite from his famous opera. The concert includes performances by faculty members Edward Arron, cello; Cobus du Toit, flute; Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, alto saxophone; Eric Berlin, trumpet; Greg Spiridopoulos, trombone; and John Bottomley, tuba. Jamie-Rose Guarrine and William Hite will provide the narration for Facade. Guests appearing on the program include Emily Rose Kaplan, flute; Lauren Kinane, clarinet; Rebecca Eldredge and Debbie Chen, bassoon; Lily Kaufman, tenor/soprano sax; Daniela Garcia, trumpet; Erica Drake, percussion; and Elise Feingold Jackendoff, piano.

On Wednesday, November 15, the Music and Dance faculty present an eclectic program of chamber works titled “From Haydn to Hoedown.” The title refers to two of the concert’s featured works – Haydn’s London Trio No. 1 and Svante Henryson’s rousing Off Pist. The program also includes Beethoven’s Ghost Trio, Bruno Mantovani’s L'oeuf and Russell Peterson’s Trio No. 2 for Flute, Alto Sax, and Piano. Faculty performers include Elizabeth Chang, violin; Edward Arron, cello; Cobus du Toit, flute; Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, saxophone; and Nadine Shank, piano.