By Jill Yesko, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 9-24-08
Eugene Rousseau
GREENSBORO, NC – The School of Music will present three days of saxophone music, concerts, master classes and presentations honoring legendary saxophonist Eugene Rousseau.
The Rousseau Celebration will be held Friday through Sunday, Oct. 3-5, at the School of Music.
A gala concert featuring the UNCG Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Steve Haines with guest saxophonists Frank Bongiorno, Ralph Bowen, Javier Valerio, Thomas Walsh, Jack Wilkins and Eugene Rousseau, will take place at on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall.
A concert for saxophones and orchestra, featuring the world premiere of “Ductus figuratus” composed by Kirk O’Riordan in honor of Rousseau’s 76th birthday, will be held on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall.
The Rousseau Celebration concludes with a grand finale concert on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall. Works by Handel, Bach and Beethoven will be featured along with the Rousseau Celebration Saxophone Orchestra.
Other School of Music performers throughout the weekend include the Cassella Sinfonietta conducted by Kevin Geraldi, associate director of bands; the New Music Ensemble; the Chamber Singers; the Relevants Wind Quartet; Inara Zandmane; and Steven Stusek, president of the North American Saxophone Alliance.
One of the most celebrated saxophone performers and teachers in the world, Eugene Rousseau is co-founder of the World Saxophone Congress, the first such organization for an individual instrument. A Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Music at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a member of the faculty at the School of Music at the University of Minnesota, Rousseau has received guest professor appointments at the Paris Conservatory, the Hochschule für Musik of Vienna and many other schools and conservatories throughout the United States. He has appeared as a soloist with prestigious orchestras such as the BBC Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra. His performances have been heard on NPR’s Performance Today and on Adventures in Good Music by Karl Haas.
Tickets are available through the UNCG Box Office at (336) 334-4849.
For more information contact Steve Stusek at (336) 334-5127, or scstusek@uncg.edu.
