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University Symphony Orchestra
with cellist Bongshin Ko and
University Singers

March 10, 2005 :: No. 148

Who: Cal State Fullerton Department of Music
What:

University Symphony Orchestra, Kimo Furumoto, director
with cellist Bongshin Ko and
University Singers, John Alexander, director

Joan Tower, composer, offers a pre-concert lecture
a part of the Merging Voices: Women in New Music Festival

When: Joan Tower: pre-concert lecture 3 p.m. Sunday, March 13, 2005
Concert: 4 p.m. Sunday, March 13, 2005
Where: Little Theatre, California State University, Fullerton
800 N. State College Blvd. (Nutwood and State College Blvd.) Fullerton
Program: Gustav Holst .......................... Psalms No. 86 & 148
Lili Boulanger ........................ Psalm 24 & Soir Sur La Plaine
Maurice Ravel ........................ L’aurore
Joan Tower ............................ For the Uncommon Woman
Antonin Dvorak ...................... Cello Concerto, op. 104 in B minor
Background:

In collaboration the fourth annual Merging Voices: Women in New Music Festival, Cal State Fullerton’s University Orchestra together with faculty cellist Bongshin Ko and the University Singers present a special concert—A Celebration of Women in Music. In conjunction with the concert renowned composer Joan Tower will offer a special a pre-concert lecture.

With conductor John Alexander opening the concert, the University Singers and Orchestra will offer selections by Holst, Ravel and two unpublished works by Lili Boulanger which were premiered by the Pacific Chorale under the direction of John Alexander. The second half of the orchestra concert, with Kimo Furumoto at the helm, highlights two extraordinary women in music — Joan Tower and her work For the Uncommon Woman, and cellist Bongshin Ko who recently returned from a whirlwind tour of Europe. She will be performing one of the public’s favorite concertos, Dvorak’s concerto in B minor.

Born in 1938, Joan Tower is at the forefront of today's contemporary music scene. Her bold and energetic music, with its striking imagery and novel structural forms, continues to win large, enthusiastic audiences. In addition to commissions from nearly every major orchestra in the United States and several around the world, she has received grants from the Guggenheim and Koussevitsky Foundations, among others. She was a founding member of the Da Capo Chamber Players, winners of the 1972 Naumburg Award, with whom she played piano. She is currently the Asher Edelman Professor of Music at Bard College, where she has taught since 1972. In her work For the Uncommon Women Tower pays tribute to adventurous women who take risks.

"Achieving an identity in music depends on risk," explains Tower. "If you don't take any risks, your particular compositional talents never shine through. Of course, the word 'risk' is a very complicated and subjective one, and it can lead you to compose music that is alternately aggressive, lyrical, simple, or complex. Creating 'high-energy' music is one of my special talents; I like to see just how high I can push a work's energy level without making it chaotic or incoherent."

Praised by critics for her “mastery of the instrument” with “great warmth and beauty,” cellist Bongshin Ko has appeared worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician. She has performed and taught at music festivals throughout the world, including Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Kronberg Cello Festival, American Cello Congress, Silva Centennial Celebration and Seoul International Music Festival. She has collaborated in performance and recording with Sir George Solti, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gunter Schuller and others. Serving as a chairperson of the American String Teachers Association Annual Solo Competition regional finals Ko is assistant professor of music, and teaches cello at California State University, Fullerton.

The University Orchestra, directed by Kimo Furumoto, is dedicated to the training of outstanding instrumentalists in the performance of a wide range of styles in the orchestral repertoire. In addition to the regular concert series, the orchestra collaborates in performances with university choruses, Opera Theater, CSUF faculty-artists and internationally renowned guest artists. Students are regularly presented with numerous opportunities to study orchestral repertoire in master class settings with CSUF faculty artists, regional professional orchestra musicians from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra as well as internationally acclaimed performers and teachers including Yo-yo Ma, Fredell Lack, the Turtle Island String Quartet and others.

The 55-voice University Singers have toured Europe, as well as Canada, Hawaii and the United States. Under the direction of John Alexander, they performed with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and this year marks the fifth consecutive season they’ve joined the Boston Pops on their Holiday Pops concert tour. Internationally acclaimed for their exquisite musicianship they have been invited to perform at conferences and conventions throughout the world.

Admission: $15 ($10 with advance titan discount & $6 with advance
CSUF student discount) At the door all tickets $15
Box Office: Tickets available at the Performing Arts Center box office 657-278-3371. Hours: 11 a.m.–4 p.m., Mondays-Fridays and one hour prior to performance. Or online at: www.tickets.com
Website: http://www.fullerton.edu/arts/events/
Media Contacts: Elizabeth Champion, College of the Arts at 657-278-2434
echampion@fullerton.edu


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