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Concerts feature composer George Crumb

March 10, 2009

KALAMAZOO--World-renowned composer George Crumb joins the Colorado Quartet and the Quattro Mani for a series of three performances Tuesday and Wednesday, March 17-18, at Western Michigan University.

Tuesday, March 17, at 8:15 p.m., the Quattro Mani will perform George Crumb's "Music for a Summer Evening" in the Dalton Center Recital Hall. Tickets are $12 general admission, $10 for senior citizens, and $5 for students, and are available through the Miller Auditorium Ticket Office or at the door.

Wednesday, March 18, at 1 p.m., the School of Music's Convocation Series features composer George Crumb with musicians from Quattro Mani and the Colorado Quartet in the Dalton Center Recital Hall. The event is open to the public free of charge.

Tuesday, March 17, at 8:15 p.m., the Colorado Quartet performs George Crumb's "Black Angels" in the Dalton Center Recital Hall. Tickets are $12 general admission, $10 for senior citizens, and $5 for students, and are available through the Miller Auditorium Ticket Office or at the door.

George Crumb has an international reputation as a composer of hauntingly beautiful scores has made him one of the most frequently performed composers in today's musical world. From Los Angeles to Moscow, and from Scandinavia to South America, festivals devoted to the music of George Crumb have sprung up like wildflowers. George Crumb's music often juxtaposes contrasting musical styles. The references range from music of the western art-music tradition, to hymns and folk music, to non-Western musics.

The Quattro Mani, "four hands," performs repertoire for two pianos and two performers. Formed in 1989 by Colorado College lecturer and artist-in-residence Susan Grace and University of Denver music faculty member Alice Rybak, the duo has gained international recognition with performances in Spain, Korea and many cities in the United States. They have performed three times at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. Percussionists John Kinzie and WMU School of Music Director David Colson will join the Quattro Mani for the performance of Crumb's "Music for a Summer's Evening."

The March 18 evening concert features a performance of the work "Black Angels" for electrified string quartet by the Colorado Quartet. Recognized on four continents as one of the finest string quartets on the international scene and winners of both the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Naumburg Chamber Music Award, Colorado Quartet performances are noted for their musical integrity, impassioned playing, and lyrical finesse. The Colorado Quartet is Quartet-in-Residence at Bard College in New York State. The Colorado Quartet also include Bartok's "Quartet No. 3" and the Debussy "String Quartet" on their concert program.

The three program's are funded in part by the Bullock Performance Institute in the WMU School of Music.

Media contact: Kevin West, (269) 387-4678, kevin.west@wmich.edu

WMU News
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