March 9, 1995
Classical pieces by Mozart as well as Rumanian polkas will be part of an on-campus concert series continuing this spring and featuring world renowned artists as well as SF State's own musical ensembles.
The two remaining performances of the Morrison Artists' Series, in its 43rd season at SF State, will include the classical, jazz and world music of the Leonardo Trio and the Transylvanian Mountain Boys.
"There are very few free concert series that present world class artists," said Saul Gropman, the series artistic director. "At Davies Hall you would pay upwards of thirty dollars a ticket. We've presented the Tokyo String Quartet, the L.A. Chamber Orchestra, and these are all free."
The Leonardo Trio, a group of critically acclaimed Julliard graduates, have been playing together for more than ten years.
The trio, made up of a violinist, pianist and cellist will perform works of Beethoven, Schumann and respected modern composer Wolfgang Rihm.
The Morrison Series will end its season with a performance by the Transylvanian Mountain Boys, a four-piece string band led by the French violinist Giles Apap, one of the greatest new violinists performing today, said Gropman.
"You might think from their name they play country music, but in fact they play a kind of Hungarian Gypsy music," said Gropman. "The music is improvisational, but based on Bartok and early 20th century Bohemian composers."
"The music is very spirited, very soulful and really exciting. Apap has an incredible personality, and he'll announce the program from the stage. He's very charming and an incredible violinist, so it should be a great program," said Gropman.
Morrison concerts are made possible every year by the estate of May Treat Morrison, and according to Gropman, have been held on Sundays to encourage the attendance of young families.
Unfortunately, that hasn't happened.
"Mostly older audiences have attended," he said. "What I've been trying to do is rejuvenate the audiences."
Still, recent performances have packed the 700-seat McKenna Theatre.
SF State's own instrumental and vocal ensembles will continue the music department's spring offerings with several performances.
The 30-voice SF State Concert Choir will present "Folk Songs from the World," a combination of Cuban, German, Zulu and Appalachian folk music.
J. Scott Goble, the choir director, said his selection of the repertoire was the result of experience.
"I'm sort of a folk music aficionado in some ways," he said. "But it's like anything else. It's mostly keeping your eyes open and having lots of different experiences so that you can collect pieces that would be appropriate for a group such as the concert choir. I try to diversify the programs of the choir as much as I can, but specialize within each program," he said.
The concert choir will also perform off-beat compositions in a program that covers a variety of 20th century composers like Aaron Copland and Vincent Persichetti, said Goble.
"I'm particularly interested in music that is influenced by a number of musical traditions," he said. "We'll be doing some sound poetry pieces which are really interesting. They're actually for speaking choir."
SF State's Symphony Orchestra, directed by Allan Pollack, will continue the spring series with programs of classical music.
A Mozart piece, "Sinfonia Concertante," will feature solo performances by 1994 SF State graduates, Luigi Perucchia (violin) and Charlton Lee (viola).
Beethoven's Second Symphony and Bartok's Rumanian Folk Dances will also be included in the program, said Pollack.
"The Rumanian folk dances are very rhythmic and angular and exotic. There's a Rumanian polka that's very, very wild with changing meters...it's arresting," he said.
The 45-piece SF State Symphonic Band, much like a symphony orchestra without the string and saxophone sections, will perform traditional and contemporary music.
"(The symphonic band) creates some interesting colors and sounds that one attending strictly orchestra concerts may not have the opportunity to hear," said Leroy Roach, director of the group.
The program will include a Wagner march, a three-movement setting of traditional Japanese dances and "Heroes Lost and Fallen," a 1992 composition by David Gillingham that memorializes the soldiers killed in the Vietnam War.
According to Roach, audiences that attend campus concerts are usually drawn from the surrounding community rather than the student population.
"One of the frustrating things for me here has been that we really have quality student and faculty ensembles here on campus, and the general student population does not take advantage of these opportunities," said Roach.
Other programs in the concert series will include two jazz performances by SF State's award winning Big Band.
The concert series will end in May with joint performances by the SF State Symphony Orchestra and the University Chorus.
Admission for student ensemble performances is $5 general and $3.50 for students and seniors. Morrison Artists' Series performances are free.
For more information, call the music department at 338-1358 or 338-1344.