Early May means music at Manchester University
An annual rite of spring at Manchester University is music in early May.
On Sunday, May 1 there will be a preview of the Carnegie Hall-bound
A Family Portrait, composed by Professor
Debra Lynn. The performance with two pianos and percussion features the MU A Cappella Choir and guest choristers. It is 3 p.m. in Cordier Auditorium on the North Manchester campus. It is free and open to the public.
On Tuesday, May 3 the Manchester University Jazz Ensemble, A Cappella Choir and Chamber Singers will perform at 7:30 p.m. in the Manchester Church of the Brethren, 2201 East St. Admission is free and open to the community.
The Jazz Ensemble is under the direction of
Scott Humphries, MU director of bands and music education. The group will perform a variety of styles including classic swing, funk and Latin. The Cuban, bolero-style
La Luz En Ti will feature senior software engineering major Levi Lehman on flugelhorn. Guest soloists include
Tim Reed,
David Hupp and
Derrick Golden.
A Cappella Choir and Chamber Singers are under the direction of Lynn, who is MU director of choral organizations and vocal studies. Junior vocal performance major Mason Kniola will also conduct a piece.
On Wednesday, May 4 the MU Symphonic Band will present a concert entitled “May the Fourth Be With You” at 7:30 p.m. in Cordier Auditorium. It is free and open to the public.
Under the direction of Humphries, it will perform works by composers including Ralph Vaughn Williams, Anthony O’Toole and John Williams. Featured guests for the evening is Huntington Club Saxophone, an all-saxophone ensemble, which will include Humphries on both baritone and bass saxophones. In addition, senior vocal performance and biology-chemistry major Jennifer Wagner will guest conduct Clifton William’s band classic,
Dedicatory Overture.
On May 6 and 7, the
Manchester New Music Festival brings more than 30 contemporary classic music conductors to Wine Recital Hall on the North Manchester campus.
Organized by Reed, MU theory and composition coordinator, there will be five free concerts open to the public. They are 3:30 and 7 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. The featured performer is four-time Grammy Award-winning cellist
Nick Photinos.
On Friday, May 13, there will be a piano and viola recital with Pamela Haynes and Derek Reeves. It is 7:30 p.m. in Wine Recital Hall. The program, which is free and open to the public, includes sonatas by Bach, Brahms and Hindemith.
Haynes is an assistant professor of music and director of piano studies at Manchester. Reeves is the principal violist with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and is this season’s guest artist of the Manchester Symphony Orchestra.
On Sunday, May 15, the
Manchester Symphony Orchestra will present
Spaces, the world premiere of a concerto written by Conductor Debra Lynn for guest artist
Reeves. It is 3 p.m. in Cordier Auditorium. Admission for the public is $15. It is free for those 18 and under and MU students and employees.
The symphony will also perform
La jolie fille de Perth by Georges Bizet,
Die Hebrides Overture by Felix Mendelssohn and
Knightsbridge March by Eric Coates.
Our mission and values
Manchester University respects the infinite worth of every individual and graduates persons of ability and conviction who draw upon their education and faith to lead principled, productive, and compassionate lives that improve the human condition.
More about music at ManchesterApril 2022