Guest Artist Concerts to Feature Faculty, Alumni

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Later this month, the department of music and dance will present performances by a diverse group of guest artists, faculty and alumni. All three concerts will take place in Bezanson Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, March 20, trombonist Kris Danielsen will perform a concert with faculty pianist Nikki Stoia that will include works by Pryor, Mozart and Jongen, plus the premiere of his own trombone sonata. Danielsen is an active freelance trombonist and educator throughout greater New England. He is currently the bass trombonist of the Valley Winds, a prize-winning ensemble based in Western Massachusetts.

On Monday, March 25, the SoundMind Ensemble will perform a program featuring works by Dvořák, Gesualdo, Reicha and Will Healy. The New York City-based ensemble features UMass bassoon lecturer Rémy Taghavi, along with Isabel Gleicher, flute; Kemp Jernigan, oboe; Eric Umble, clarinet and Patrick Jankowski, horn. The group blends new compositions with transcriptions of music of all genres, wind quintet music and pieces for other combinations as well.

On Tuesday, March 26, the Feathery Jazz Quartet, led by saxophonist Lena Bloch ‘06MM, will perform a concert featuring compositions from its album “Heart Knows” and other recent works. The ensemble, which includes Russ Lossing, piano; Cameron Brown, bass and Billy Mintz, drums, draws its inspiration from 20th and 21st century music and jazz, along with Middle-Eastern, Jewish, and Eastern-European music.