Three New Music Faculty Included in Free Faculty Showcase Sept. 26

Date: 9/18/06
Contact: Marc Lebovitz

Three new faculty members in the School of Music at Illinois State University will join a group of their colleagues in the annual Faculty Showcase, part of the Charles W. Bolen Faculty Recital Series, at 8 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 26, in the Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Violist Katherine Lewis and cellist Adriana La Rosa Ransom, both new to the Music faculty, will perform Beethoven's Duet in E-flat Major for viola and cello ("With two obbligato Eyeglasses").

Lewis, who also was recently appointed principal violist with the Peoria Symphony, is completing her doctoral degree at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, where she was a Brown Foundation Scholar. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Lawrence University and Master of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Ransom has her master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Minnesota and her bachelor's from the University of Missouri. Previously she taught at Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Cloud State University and the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis. She was won numerous awards and has appeared as a guest artist on notable recital series, including the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago. She has performed with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the European Musical Festival Orchestra and New Ear Contemporary Ensemble.

Saxophonist Glenn Wilson, who will join saxophonist James Boitos playing "Six and Four" by Oliver Nelson and Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood," has an extensive professional concert and recording career. As a New York City artist, he toured and recorded with Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton, Machito, Tito Puente, the Bill Kirchner Nonet, Mel Lewis, Toshiko Akiyoshi and the Bob Belden Ensemble. Wilson also has recorded and toured with rock pianist Bruce Hornsby. He has recorded six solo albums and appeared on 21 others as a sideman. He recently completed his master's degree in jazz performance from the University of Illinois. Wilson continues to record for Sunnyside and tours regularly with his group, The Jazzmaniacs.

The faculty showcase will begin with flutist Kim Risinger and harpsichordist Paul Borg playing J.S. Bach's Sonata in B minor. Borg will then be the pianist with tenor Christopher Hollingsworth performing Francesco Paolo Tosti's "Non t'amo più."

Clarinetist David Gresham and his wife, pianist Momoko Gresham, will perform "Le Tombeau de Ravel: Valse-Caprices for clarinet and piano" by Arthur Benjamin.

Pianists Carlyn Morenus and Paul Borg will perform "Scenas Infantis" by Octavio Pinto, followed by pianist David Feurzeig playing Bach's Prelude from Partita no. 1 in B-flat Major, Eubie Blake's "Charleston Rag" and Bach's Gigue from Partita no. 1 in B-flat Major.