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Program
Jeffrey Van, composer: A Procession Winding Around Me
William Neil, composer: Out of Darkness into Light
Personnel for Procession Winding Around Me:
UNCW Chamber Choir: Joe Hickman, conductor / Robert Nathanson, classical guitar
Personnel for Out of Darkness:
Nancy King, soprano / Robert Nathanson, guitar / Danijela Žeželj-Gualdi, violin / Helena Kopchick Spencer, bassoon / Laurent Estoppey, saxophone
About the works and composers:
William Neil's Out of Darkness Into Light is really a mystery play interpreting – through composed and improvisational music – the beautiful prayer-like text Malgosia Sawczuk created following her restoration work in Chicago’s St. Stanislaus Kostka Church. When asked to describe being in scaffolding so close to this great art, Sawczuk told Neil, “It’s like touching the silence in the perfect emptiness.” Neil goes on, “That sung to me. That’s what I do with music.” Observing that “restoration is an act of defiance against decay,” and inspired by Sawczuk’s work, Neil collaborated with Sawczuk to create Out of Darkness Into Light, which premiered in Chicago in April 2015. Neil’s music has been featured at the Festival of Music in Evian, France; the Electronic Plus Festival in New York; the Pontino Festival in Italy; and the New Music Chicago Festival. Neil has been commissioned numerous times to compose for festivals, orchestras, arts organizations and performers, including Nancy King, soprano; Robert Nathanson, guitar (Duo Sureño): At the Edge of the Body’s Night.
Inspired by Walt Whitman's verse – written upon the poet's return from visiting American Civil War camp – Jeffrey Van’s four-movement song cycle A Procession Winding Around followed his own visit to Gettysburg, and is full of vivid tone painting and a great breadth of texture from chamber choir and solo classical guitar. Enthralling, cathartic and deeply moving, the work takes the listener through a soldier’s anxious fear and anticipation through the violent heat of the battle to the concluding movement of reassurance and reconciliation. Van has performed in Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, and Washington, DC's Kennedy Center, and has premiered and recorded numerous works, Van's compositions include works for guitar, guitar and violin, guitar and flute, chorus, chamber ensemble, vocal solo, and organ.
Tickets
$6 general public, free to students with valid UNCW ID.
Tickets are available in advance through the UNCW Box Office (located in Kenan Auditorium) and one hour prior to performance at the Kenan Auditorium Box Office.
Advance tickets may be purchased online or by calling the box office at 910-962-3500 (M-F) Any remaining tickets will be available one hour prior to performance at the Cultural Arts Box Office.
UNCW students may obtain tickets in advance by going to the UNCW Box Office (located in Kenan Auditorium) Monday-Friday 12 - 6 p.m.
Don't forget! The box office closes 15 minutes after the start of a Department of Music event.
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For more information or to join our email list, contact us
or call 910-962-3415 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)
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Directions to Beckwith Recital Hall:
Plenty of free parking, in front of the Cultural Arts Building and across the street.
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DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC CONCERT GUIDELINES FOR UNCW STUDENTS
Arrive on time
• Arrive at the concert venue at least 10 minutes before the posted concert time. If you need to get a ticket at the box office, have your UNCW student ID ready and arrive at least another 5 sooner.
• The box office will only be open for ticket sales and distribution to students up until 15 minutes after the performance begins.
• Students arriving 5 minutes after the start time of the event will not be admitted free with their UNCW ID card, and must purchase tickets in order to be admitted. If the box office has closed, students will not be admitted into the venue.
Concert attendance and program stamping
Programs for students registered in Department of Music classes are stamped by the ushers at the end of the performance.
• If you leave before the concert ends, your program will not be stamped.
• If ushers should run out of programs, ask them to stamp your ticket stub at the end of the concert. Let your teacher know what happened.
Use of electronic devices during performances
• use of computers, tablets, phones is not allowed during performances. Anyone using an electronic device will be asked to put it away. Noncompliance may result in being asked to leave the event.