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UMass Presents Faculty Concerts by de Guise-Langlois, Spiridopoulos

All faculty concerts are now free and open to the public

AMHERST (MA) - The UMass Amherst Department of Music and Dance continues its presentation of concerts by their distinguished faculty in mid-October.

On Wednesday, October 11 at 7:30 p.m., clarinetist Romie de Guise-Langlois will present a special performance titled Voices of Inspiration. She will be joined by fellow faculty members Jamie-Rose Guarrine, soprano, and Edward Arron, cello, along with guest pianist Jeewon Park, piano. Featured works on the program include Bernstein’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Glinka’s Trio Pathétique for clarinet, cello and piano in D minor, Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen ("The Shepherd on the Rock"), and Five Miniatures for Bb Clarinet and Cello by former Department Chair Philip Bezanson.

Faculty member Gregory Spiridopoulos will present his own faculty concert, All in the UMass Family, on Sunday, October 15 at 4:30 p.m. The title is fitting, as Spiridopoulos will be joined on the program by his wife, hornist Sheffra Spiridopoulos, and other faculty spouses like violinist Allyson Michal (wife of Josh Michal), violist Lesley Hogg (wife of Morihiko Nakahara), percussionist Erica Drake (wife of Matthew Westgate), and cellist Karl Knapp (husband of Jamie-Rose Guarrine), all professional performers in their own right. The eclectic group also includes two members of the department’s academic faculty, Jason Hooper (music theory senior lecturer, on trombone) and Emiliano Ricciardi (assistant professor of music history, on violin), plus wind studies director Westgate and former faculty member Ben Smar (both on trombone).

The program feature a range of innovative chamber works like Romeo and Julia Variations (based on Prokoviev’s Romeo and Juliet) by Daniel Schnyder, Sliding and Stringing Along for Violin and Trombone by Charles Small, Suite for Alto Trombone and String Quartet by Corrado Maria Saglietti, and Ohio River Journal for trombone and percussion by David P. Jones.

            Both performances will take place in Bezanson Recital Hall, located in the UMass Fine Arts Center, 151 Presidents Dr., Amherst, MA. The Department of Music and Dance is pleased to announce that beginning this fall, all faculty recitals will now be free to all audiences.