CFA Music News

UK Chorale performs "O Nata Lux" in Bologna, Italy. A transcript and translation of the lyrics can be found here.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 20, 2013) — The sounds of the University of Kentucky School of Music are being featured on international stages this month in China and Italy as the UK Symphony Orchestra and UK Chorale tour miles away from their home stage.

UK Chorale wrapped up a six-day trip to northern Italy on May 11. During their European tour, the ensemble was able to perform for audiences in Milan, Lake Como, Padua, Bologna, Ferrara, Venice and Verona. In addition to performing in such celebrated venues as St. Mark's Basilica, UK Chorale also participated in a clinic with composer, jazz pianist and educator Ivo Antognini in Lugano, Switzerland.

The UK Chorale is the premier mixed choral ensemble at UK. It consists mostly of upperclassmen and graduate students. While a majority of the singers are music majors, there are a number of other academic disciplines represented. UK Chorale prides itself in performing a wide variety of choral literature from Renaissance to 21st century. The 44-voice ensemble, the recipient of regional and national awards, has toured extensively over the years with performances in France; Washington D.C.; the Bahamas; and New York City. UK Chorale has collaborated with numerous artists including The King's Singers, violinist Mark O’Connor, the Boston Pops Orchestra and tenor Ronan Tynan.

UK Chorale performs under the direction of Jefferson Johnson, director of UK Choral Activities.

To see photos and video of performances from the trip, visit the UK Chorale's Facebook page for the tour: www.facebook.com/UkChoraleGoesToItaly. 

Three days after UK Chorale departed, UK Symphony Orchestra boarded an airplane for its own 12-day tour of China. The trip includes performances at five of China's premiere concert halls, including a final concert at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing. The last concert will be broadcast live throughout the country by China Central Television. UK Symphony Orchestra's concert program for the tour features American music by such popular composers as George Gershwin, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein. It also includes New World Symphony by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák, who wrote the work in 1890 when living in New York.

Since UK Director of Orchestras John Nardolillo took the conductor's podium of the UK Symphony Orchestra, it has enjoyed great success accumulating recording credits and sharing the stage with such acclaimed international artists as Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell, Marvin Hamlisch, as well as Pink Martini and the Boston Pops. UK Symphony Orchestra has also received acclaim for recording projects, including the live recording of In Times Like These with folk icon Arlo Guthrie. UK Symphony Orchestra is one of a very select group of university orchestras under contract with Naxos, the world's largest classical recording label.

The UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts has achieved awards and national and international recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as for music education, composition, theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

"A Woman is a Sometime Thing" performed by Reginald Smith Jr. in UK Opera Theatre's production of "Porgy and Bess." Video courtesy of Smith. A transcript for this video can be found here.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 3, 2013) — Just over five years ago an aspiring young vocalist traveled by Greyhound bus from Atlanta to the University of Kentucky to audition for the School of Music. Now, graduating choral music education and vocal performance senior Reginald "Reggie" Smith Jr. returns to campus by airplane from Germany to walk in UK Commencement ceremonies Sunday, May 5, before heading to a new adventure with the Houston Grand Opera.

Growing up in Georgia, the singing bug first bit Smith in church where he sang in the choir. "I grew up singing in the church under the best choir director I ever had, my mother of course! You can't cut corners when your mother is the director," Smith said.

And, it was his mom's guidance that would also bring the world of opera eventually into her son's consciousness, though he had no other formal music training.

"Fortunately, my mother always taught us to respect all people and their customs. We were encouraged to try and experience new things," Smith said. "So, my brother and I joined the elementary choir at the same time. After some years, my brother stopped singing in school choirs, but I kept it up. It was because of a choir trip to see Tosca at the Atlanta Opera, starring now UK faculty member Cynthia Lawrence, that I saw my first opera in 10th grade. I fell in love with everything about it. I was bitten by the opera bug, and the rest, as they say, is history."

As Smith began to consider colleges, he considered who was teaching, how the program was perceived, and what their alumni were doing after graduation. "I knew I wanted to study with Dr. Everett McCorvey because he is one the best voice teachers in America and runs one of the best opera programs in America, too. His students and many other UK Opera Theatre alumni are singing all over the world."

But realizing a good music degree can be expensive, he also paid close attention to scholarship funding that was available and traveled to UK by bus to audition for the program and compete in UK's Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition in hopes of getting some financial relief. "When I was told that I won first place in the competition and a tuition waiver, it meant the world to me. As a youth from a low-income home in the inner-city of Atlanta who dreamed of studying music, I was flabbergasted and truly amazed to see that someone who I never met before believed in my dream so much that they, along with the university, would pay my tuition in college."

As an undergraduate, Smith chose to major in both vocal performance and choral music education to help make a difference.

"Growing up, I was always interested in teaching. I knew I wanted to be a teacher," Smith said. "It wasn't until I went to high school that I realized I could be a music teacher. Around my junior year of high school, my voice teacher in Atlanta told me that I should consider being a voice major in college. So, for a while I thought about how I would choose one or the other until I decided that I love doing both equally. I love to sing for people. I love to teach people music and see them 'get it.' For me, regardless of singing or teaching, I love to share my joy and passion for music to all people. These degrees simply give me a variety of ways I can impact someone's life. I could do it on the stage or in the classroom. Both ways are A-OK with me."

To hear more about Smith's UK experience, click play below.

Video by Amy Jones and Kody Kiser/UK Public Relations and Marketing.

When he wasn't in the classroom, Smith could be found on both local and international stages showcasing his talents. "I have so many great memories from performing at UK. I have done a slew of choral concerts, recitals, several operas and even a few plays with the Department of Theatre. I enjoyed singing in the Bahamas with UK Chorale. That was a great opportunity. But I think my favorite role at UK in the opera department was Falstaff in Verdi's Falstaff. It is such a fun role to sing. I look forward to singing it again, and building on the skills I have learned at UK."

To see a piece of Smith's performance in UK Opera Theatre's production of Falstaff, click play below. 

Video courtesy of Smith. 

As he finished his classes, Smith chose to do his student teaching this spring in Germany to expand his skills. Already well familiar with the public school systems in America, he wanted to know what else was out there.

"I think the way we teach music in America is great. However, I wanted to broaden my knowledge of the content areas and have more tools in my toolbox, if you will. So, I chose to go to Germany because they had such a rich culture and musical history," Smith said. "I can listen to Beethoven on a CD and tell my students this is how it goes, or I could go to Bonn, Germany, visit Beethoven's house, see his piano where he wrote many of his famous works, hear these works performed in the same place where he heard these works performed, and then I can tell my students about that."

Though at times it was challenging, Smith wouldn't change his student teaching experience. "As the Germans would say, it was 'wunderbar!' I had a wonderful experience in Cologne, Germany. There were some challenges at first with the language, but, fortunately, I studied German at UK for two years before going. Unlike most students that go abroad, students in the COST (Consortium for Overseas Student Teaching) Program at UK through the education department are actually teaching in schools instead of just attending them. This creates an interesting and exciting dynamic to learn, grow, and become a better global citizen."

Returning to campus just this week, Smith will participate in the Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony for the Colleges of: Arts and Sciences, Communication and Information, Design, Fine Arts, Health Sciences, and Social Work at 6 p.m. Sunday, May 5. Then after a few summer performances, he will head for his new home in Houston and the Houston Grand Opera Studio Program.

Like many graduating opera/voice students, Smith spent much of the fall auditioning for opera companies and summer programs. He auditioned for Houston Grand Opera's Studio Program in the fall and was asked to come back and sing at their finals competitions. However, the finals were taking place while Smith was doing his student teaching.

"Fortunately, I was able to go to Houston and do a final audition before flying to Germany," he said. "After the finals were over in Houston, I got an email offering me a position in the studio program. It was late at night when I got it in Cologne. So, I thought that maybe it was a dream. When I woke up the next morning, I went to see if the email was still there. It was there indeed, and I was accepted in the Studio Program at Houston Grand Opera."

As a studio artist in Houston, Smith will have the opportunity to work this fall with some of the best vocal coaches, conductors and operatic staff members in America. He will have language classes, voice lessons, potentially some piano lessons, and more, including opportunities to perform. "What I find to be the coolest part is the studio artists also sing roles in their main stage productions with, as I often think of them, the 'opera stars.'"

The baritone added, "I will try not to be star-struck on stage. The show must go on!"

All UK Commencement ceremonies — the graduate and professional ceremony as well as the two undergraduate ceremonies — will take place in Rupp Arena. The schedule is as follows:

9 a.m. — Graduate and Professional Ceremony

1 p.m. — Undergraduate Ceremony for the Colleges of: Agriculture; Business and Economics; Education; Engineering; and Nursing.

6 p.m. — Undergraduate Ceremony for the Colleges of: Arts and Sciences; Communication and Information; Design; Fine Arts; Health Sciences; and Social Work.

More than 2,000 undergraduates and 500 graduate and professional students are expected to participate in Sunday's exercises; approximately 2,840 undergraduate,1,040 graduate and 460 professional degrees have been submitted to the UK Board of Trustees for approval.

All Commencement ceremonies will be streamed live online at www.uky.edu/uknow, the university’s daily news website. Videos of each ceremony will also be uploaded to the university's YouTube channel, during the week following Commencement.  UK's cable channel 16 will air rebroadcasts of UK Commencement ceremonies at a later date.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 2, 2013) — John Cody Birdwell, director of bands at the University of Kentucky, has been elected into the membership of the American Bandmasters Association (ABA). Founded in 1929, with John Philip Sousa as honorary life president, the organization recognizes outstanding achievement on the part of concert band conductors and composers.

The current membership of the ABA is comprised of approximately 300 band conductors and composers in the U.S. and Canada, who are elected into the organization through a selective and rigorous nomination process. Birdwell was nominated by ABA past presidents James Keene, director of bands emeritus at the University of Illinois, and Paula Crider, associate director of bands emeritus at the University of Texas, and current ABA President David Waybright, director of bands at the University of Florida. The ABA induction ceremony will take place in March 2014, in Montgomery, Ala.

Birdwell is a native of New Mexico and has served as director of bands at UK since 2004. At UK, his primary responsibilities include conducting the UK Wind Symphony, supervising doctoral and master degree programs in wind conducting; teaching graduate courses in instrumental conducting, history and literature; and supervising the administration of the UK Bands program in the School of Music at UK College of Fine Arts. Prior to his appointment at UK, Birdwell served as director of bands at Texas Tech University, director of bands at Utah State University, assistant director of bands at the University of Illinois, and director of bands at Northern Michigan University.

Under Birdwell’s leadership, the UK Wind Symphony performed at the 2013 National Conference for the College Band Directors National Association in Greensboro, N.C., and in May 2008 the ensemble successfully completed a 10-day concert tour of the People’s Republic of China as part of festivities leading up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Several of the UK Wind Symphony recordings have been nominated for Grammy consideration.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 22, 2013) — Several University of Kentucky School of Music students took home honors, including wins in six categories, at the 2013 Mid-South Region of the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition held April 5-6, at Western Kentucky University, in Bowling Green, Ky. UK vocalists competed against singers from schools in Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa, Georgia, North Carolina, Indiana, Arkansas and other areas.

UK students taking honors at the competition were:

· vocal performance junior Gabrielle Barker, a soprano from Lexington, placed third in the Upperclass Music Theater Division;

· music senior Phillip Bullock, a baritone from Berea, Ky., placed first in the Advanced Singers Division;

· vocal performance freshman Alyssa-Marie Detterich, a soprano from Orange, Calif., placed first in the Freshman Women, Classical Division and the Music Theater Underclass Division

· doctoral candidate Thomas Gunther, a baritone from Muscatine, Iowa, placed first in the Post Advanced Singers Division;

· vocal performance junior Evan Johnson, a tenor from Pine Island, Minn., placed first in the Junior Men, Classical Division and the Music Theater Upperclass Division; and

· vocal performance and arts administration freshman Mary-Catherine Wright, a soprano from Lexington, placed second in the Freshman Women, Classical Division and the Music Theater Underclass Division.

Barker, Detterich, Gunther and Johnson study under Endowed Chair, Professor of Voice Cynthia Lawrence. Bullock and Wright study under Angelique Clay, assistant professor of voice.

Other UK opera students that competed at the regionals were: vocal performance freshman Elizabeth Frodge, a soprano from Richmond, Ky.; vocal performance and political science freshman Tanner Hoertz, a baritone from Lexington; arts administration junior Key'Mon Murrah, a tenor from Louisville, Ky.; vocal performance junior Lakin Simons, a soprano from Paducah, Ky.; and vocal music education junior Joseph Utter, a baritone from Chicago.

Frodge, Hoertz and Simons study with Clay, Murrah studies with Lawrence, and Utter studies with Mark Kano.

The National Association of Teachers of Singing Inc. (NATS) encourages the highest standards of the vocal art and of ethical principles in the teaching of singing and promotes vocal education and research at all levels, both for the enrichment of the general public and for the professional advancement of the talented. Founded in 1944, NATS is the largest association of teachers of singing in the world and boasts more than 6,500 members in the United States, Canada and more than 25 other countries around the world.

The UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts has achieved awards and national and international recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as for music education, composition, theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 19, 2013) — Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate, is presenting its first-ever Arbor Celebration and will feature the critically acclaimed University of Kentucky Wind Symphony, under the direction of John Cody Birdwell, in a free concert of works inspired by nature as well as traditional band music. Ashland's Arbor Celebration is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 21. The event is free and open to the public.

Ashland's 17 acre estate in the center of Lexington has more than 400 trees, some of which date back to the 1800s when Kentucky statesman Henry Clay lived there. Arbor Celebration festivities begin at 1 p.m. and will include Free Tree Talk and Tours on the half hour with arborist Dave Leonard; an Adopt a Tree program featuring 100 Ashland trees that individuals may adopt for $50, $100, $250 or $500, which will help maintain a tree for a year; and Graeter's ice cream. 

The UK Wind Symphony concert will begin at 3 p.m. on Ashland's back lawn. The program will include an assortment of popular traditional band music selections, like John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever," as well as other marches, patriotic pieces, overtures and family-oriented concert selections. Many of the pieces performed will be inspired by nature in honor of Ashland's Arbor Celebration. In case of rain, this concert will be moved to the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall.

The UK Wind Symphony is made up of the finest wind and percussion performers in the UK School of Music in the UK College of Fine Arts. As the centerpiece of a band program that has served the Commonwealth of Kentucky for more than 100 years, the UK Wind Symphony is considered to be one of the finest university concert bands in the United States. Several of the recordings of the UK Wind Symphony have been nominated for Grammy Award consideration in recent years, and during the summer of 2008, the ensemble participated in a 10-day concert tour of the People's Republic of China and performed for thousands of Chinese citizens in the cities throughout the country in celebration of China's hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Most recently, UK Wind Symphony was one of nine ensembles selected to perform at the 2013 College Band Directors National

Association.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 18, 2013) — More than 300 performers from the University of Kentucky School of Music and the community will present Benjamin Britten’s powerful War Requiem at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 19, at the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall. The free public event brings together UK's finest musical and vocal talents in a rare combined performance.

Under the direction of John Nardolillo, Marcello Cormio and Lori Hetzel, conductors, with assistance from Jefferson Johnson, the UK Symphony Orchestra, the UK Chorale, the Lexington Singers and the Lexington Singers Children’s Choir will come together in a performance of Britten’s work, 100 years following the composer’s birth. Joining the orchestra and choirs for this performance will be guest vocalists doctoral candidate Catherine Clarke Nardolillo, soprano; alumnus Justin Vickers, tenor; and doctoral candidate Thomas Gunther, baritone.

War Requiem was written in 1962 for the dedication of the new cathedral building at St. John’s in Coventry, England. The original building was built in the late 14th century and destroyed in a German air raid in 1940. Britten was a passionate pacifist, and War Requiem demonstrates his statement against war. He set the Latin requiem mass honoring the dead, in the tradition of Mozart and Berlioz, and inserted excerpts of poems by Winfred Owen, an English poet and solider who was killed during World War I. The work requires a large group of performers, making it a rarely seen piece.

“We don't think the War Requiem has been performed previously in Lexington, and certainly not in the last 20 to 30 years,” Nardolillo said. “It calls for three conductors, a large chorus and orchestra, a chamber orchestra, three vocal soloists, organ and children's choir.”

Britten, born in 1913, was an English composer, conductor and pianist perhaps best known for Peter Grimes and The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Britten composed in a variety of genres from orchestral to opera to film.

Since Nardolillo took the conductor's podium of the UK Symphony Orchestra, it has enjoyed great success accumulating recording credits and sharing the stage with such acclaimed international artists as Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell, Marvin Hamlisch, as well as Pink Martini and the Boston Pops. UK Symphony Orchestra has also received acclaim for recording projects, including the live recording of In Times Like These with folk icon Arlo Guthrie. UK Symphony Orchestra is one of a very select group of university orchestras under contract with Naxos, the world's largest classical recording label. UK Symphony Orchestra is one of several ensembles housed at the UK School of Music in the UK College of Fine Arts.

MEDIA CONTACT:  Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716 or whitney.hale@uky.edu

Video by UK Public Relations and Marketing

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 15, 2013) — After three months of rehearsal and working with a team of Broadway professionals, University of Kentucky's Department of Theatre will mount its own production of the popular Tony award-winning Spring Awakening: A New Musical April 18-28, at the Guignol Theatre.

A rock musical, Spring Awakening is a provocative exploration of the journey from adolescence to adulthood. The musical is  set in 19th century Germany and chronicles the explorations of teenagers while singing "a love song to sex, drugs, and rock and roll."

While set in a very different time, the message of Spring Awakening began captivating Broadway audiences in 2006 with its timeless story.

"I kind of considered Spring Awakening to be my generation's Rent, it really speaks to my age group," said theatre senior Michael Sheehy, who portrays Melchior. "The situations and the problems that these characters are going through in the play are so relevant and current to the issues myself, the rest of my class, and the rest of my friends are currently facing."

Castmate Lindsey Austin, a broadcast journalism junior who plays Ilse, agrees. "It is a mature matter that is still relevant today. Kids are still going through puberty and still trying to figure things out. And parents are still unsure of what to tell them. I hope that people take away how open we are being about it."

UK's cast had lots of help to prepare to take on and communicate such heavy, often unspoken topics. From preparing to sing rock and roll rather than traditional musical fare to making the characters their own and tapping into raw emotions, the cast was able to learn from the knowledge of such professionals as Jonathan Groff, Alexander Rovang, Sheri Sanders, Jeromy Smith and Lyndy Franklin Smith, all of whom have tasted success at the Broadway level.

In February, Sheri Sanders presented a two-day workshop on rock musicals for the cast. The actor, singer and audition coach is the author of Rock the Audition, which prepares musical theatre performers for musicals that utilize a more radio-based soundtrack.

Video courtesy of UK Department of Theatre. A transcript of this video can be seen here.

The next month, the cast welcomed to campus Tony-nominated actor Jonathan Groff, who originated the role of Melchior for Spring Awakening. The visit gave the UK students the opportunity to get tips on how to make the characters their own, but gave them invaluable insight on the genesis of the musical.

"I was front of center, two feet from them, and they were completely fearless and just in it. It was really unbelievable to watch," said Groff. "And I was a total wreck. I just, pretty much from the minute it began, started like openly weeping. Halfway through I was thinking I am going to have to get up and leave, because I feel like I am hyperventilating because I was so emotional."

The visit was also powerful for the students. "We got to learn things that you wouldn't be able to learn from anyone else who was doing a tour or had been the second cast, because he was there when it started and workshopping it. There were things he told us that we would have never known," said theatre senior Abby Sheridan, who portrays Anna.

UK's Melchior had a similar experience, even if it was a little intimidating at first to perform in front of the actor who played his role. "He (Groff) gave me great advice afterwards, where he told me 'Try not to watch what I have done, try not to do what I do. I am watching what you're doing, and what you're doing is beautiful. Try to make Melchior your own,'" Sheehy said.

In addition to visits from Sanders and Groff, the UK cast has also benefitted each day from the expertise of their directors, Jeromy Smith and Lyndy Franklin Smith, who were Broadway actors and dancers, as well as roommates of Groff around the same time he appeared in Spring Awakening. The couple currently serves as adjunct faculty at UK in musical theatre and directors of Town and Village School of Dance.

"It is so inspirational, because the reason why I am in school is to eventually become what they have done, to be able to be on Broadway, to be able to move to New York and to do all this stuff. And to be able to have direct one-on-one contact with them every day is the best experience, not only for the networking and the people they know and the fact that they've done it, but just the stories they have, the advice they have to give, the life experience they can share, what it's like to be in New York, what it's like to audition for these shows. It's this completely different beast than what I am used to. So having exposure to that before I go out there, it's comforting," Sheehy said.

Rounding out the team molding this cast is Musical Director Alexander Rovang. Rovang's recent credits include the Chinese tour of Fame, Sawdust Palace with Susan Marshall & Co., Monkey: Journey to the West at the Spoleto Festival, and John Mercurio’s multi-award winning show Academy.

And all the time, work, mentoring, and yes, even blood, sweat and tears, seem to have prepared the UK cast for opening night.

"To be here with this cast that is doing it at UK, there is something that is very special about this group and special about the kids doing these parts. They're just nailing it. The audiences aren't ready for what's about to happen to them when they come see this play," Groff said.

Based on the play by Frank Wedekind, the book and lyrics for Spring Awakening were written by Steven Sater and music was by Duncan Sheik.

Please be advised this production contains mature themes, strong language and sexual content.

Tickets for Spring Awakening can be purchased for $15 general admission and $10 for students. To reserve tickets, call the ticket office at (859) 257-4929 or visit online at scfatickets.com.

To see a trailer for the UK Theatre productio of Spring Awakening, click play below. 

Video courtesy of UK Department of Theatre. A transcript of this video can be found here. 

The UK Department of Theatre at UK College of Fine Arts has played an active role in the performance scene in Central Kentucky for more than 100 years. Students in the program get hands-on training and one-on-one mentorship from a renowned professional theatre faculty. The liberal arts focus of the bachelor's degree program is coupled with ongoing career counseling to ensure a successful transition from campus to professional life.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 11, 2013) — The Hepcats Swing Dance Club and the University of Kentucky School of Music invite the public to get hep to the jive and boogie woogie on down to this spring's Big Band Swing Dance. Dancers, nondancers and music aficionados of all ages are welcome to attend the event beginning at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at the UK Student Center Grand Ballroom.

Music showcased at the dance will include original arrangements of the great big bands of the big band swing-era, including charts from Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Fletcher Henderson, Jimmie Lunceford, Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw.

The Kentucky Jazz Repertory Orchestra (KJRO) will be the featured band for the Big Band Swing Dance. KJRO consists of the finest and most talented faculty, alumni and musicians from Kentucky area colleges and universities and is directed by Miles Osland, director of UK Jazz Studies and professor of saxophone, and Dick Domek, recently retired professor of music theory, in the UK School of Music. The 17-piece big band is especially suited for and highly skilled at recreating authentic swing era arrangements.

Featured vocalist for the event is Kristina Ploeger, a UK doctoral student in choral conducting. Ploeger has performed at many jazz residencies and is well versed in jazz repertoire. She’ll perform such classics as "Do Nothin’ ‘til you Hear From Me," "I’m Beginning to See the Light," "The Lady is a Tramp" and "Don’t Get Around Much Anymore." 

The Big Band Swing Dance will also showcase the talents of the Rhythm Cats, a Lindy Hop performance group sponsored by the Hepcats and led by Mike and Mary Richardson. The Rhythm Cats have performed and competed at regional and national level swing dance competitions. The group specializes in the original swing dance styles of the 1930s and 40s, Lindy Hop and Balboa. The event will also feature a dance contest, sure to please those in attendance with lots of tricks, dips and high flying maneuvers.

The evening’s festivities will begin with free swing dance lessons at 7:30 p.m., and then music and dancing will begin at 8:30 p.m. and run until midnight. Complimentary refreshments will be provided. Tickets to the dance are $15 in advance or $20 at the door.

For more information on the Big Band Swing Dance or the Hepcats, visit the Hepcats' website at www.Luv2SwingDance.com or contact Mike Richardson by phone at 859-420-2426 or by e-mail at info@Luv2SwingDance.com.

The UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts has achieved awards and national and international recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as for music education, composition, theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 9, 2013) — For its third year, University of Kentucky Opera Theatre (UKOT) is able to present a double-bill performance featuring the university's undergraduate opera students' talents. There will be two one-act operas, Arthur Sullivan’s "Cox and Box" or "The Long-Lost Brothers" and Giacomo Puccini’s "Suor Angelica." The performances will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 12 and 13, at the First Presbyterian Church, located at 171 Market St. in downtown Lexington.

Sullivan's "Cox and Box," an English operetta set in Venice, features five talented men of the undergraduate program. Junior Jacob Waid and senior Philip Eschweiler, who last appeared as the Phantom and Raoul in UKOT’s main stage production of "The Phantom of the Opera", play the title characters, who each rent a single room to Sergeant Bouncer, played by senior Markel Reed, unbeknownst to the other. "Cox and Box" is co-directed by Gregory Turay, artist-in-residence and UK alumnus, and Patrick Joel Martin. Music direction is being provided by John Greer, principal vocal coach for UKOT.

Puccini's "Suor Angelica," sung in Italian with English supertitles, is performed by 13 women of the undergraduate program. "Suor Angelica" recounts the fall, redemption and final transfiguration of its central character, performed by Brittany Nicole Jones, winner of the 2012 Alltech Outstanding Transfer Award. The opera is directed by Professor in Voice and Endowed Chair for Vocal Performance Cynthia Lawrence and music direction is by Marcello Cormio, a doctoral candidate in conducting. Twelve players from the UK Symphony Orchestra will perform the opera's music under the baton of Lucia Marin, a doctoral candidate in conducting.

Tickets for "Cox and Box" and "Suor Angelica" are $9 for students and $13 for adults. A processing fee will be added upon transaction. Tickets are available through the Singletary Center Ticket Office in person, by calling 859-257-4929, or visiting www.scfatickets.com. For more information call 859-257-9331.

The UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, and theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 8, 2013) — The University of Kentucky School of Music, the UK Department of American Studies and the Appalachian Association of Sacred Harp Singers welcomes special musical guests Tim Eriksen, of "Cold Mountain" fame, and Trio de Pumpkintown for a campus residency this week. The community can take in a Trio de Pumpkintown concert and learn more about shape-note singing from Eriksen at free public events scheduled for April 11.

Eriksen and his trio, featuring Peter Irvine on percussion and Zoe Darrow on fiddle, will perform songs from his latest album, "Josh Billings Voyage." The Trio de Pumpkintown concert will begin at noon Thursday, April 11, in the Niles Gallery, in the Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center.

Later that day in the Niles Gallery, Eriksen will also lead a shape-note singing school from 7 to 9 p.m. Everyone is welcome to learn to sing and lead early American shape-note music from the "Sacred Harp" tunebook from one of the genre's most acclaimed instructors.

Eriksen, best known for the soundtrack for the film "Cold Mountain," is celebrated for transforming American tradition with his startling interpretations of old ballads, love songs, shape-note gospel and dance tunes from New England and the Southern Appalachia. He combines hair-raising vocals with inventive accompaniment on banjo, fiddle, guitar and bajo sexto, a 12 string Mexican acoustic bass. Eriksen creates a distinctive hardcore Americana sound that ranges from the bare bones of solo unaccompanied singing to the lush, multi-layered arrangements on his latest album "Josh Billings Voyage."

As an ethnomusicologist and teacher, Eriksen's work includes extensive research on shape-note music in New England and the venerable Sacred Harp four-part harmony tradition. He is a founder of what is currently the world's largest Sacred Harp singing convention, in Northampton, Mass. In the words of Paste Magazine editor Josh Jackson, "No one has done more to help revive Sacred Harp singing among a younger generation."

Eriksen has taught hundreds of workshops and seminars in shape-note harmony singing, American music history, ballad singing and instrumental accompaniment. He has worked at festivals, universities, museums and arts centers, including appearances at the Smithsonian Institution, Harvard University, the Society for Ethnomusicology Conference, Colours of Ostrava Festival in the Czech Republic, and the Early Music Festival in Jaroslaw, Poland. His students have ranged from kindergarteners to Nicole Kidman, Elvis Costello, Sting, a group of 50 Romanian extras in the film "Cold Mountain," and the senior citizen members of the Young at Heart Chorus.

"Josh Billings Voyage" is a collection of multicultural folksongs from an imagined New England village called Pumpkintown. Combining love songs of the sea, fiddle tunes, ballads, shape-note and Afro/Celtic gospel, much of the trio’s music comes from Pumpkintown’s diverse early inhabitants; Yankees, Africans, Native Americans, Irish, Scottish and Germans. Also influential are the sounds of the cotton trade, which brought many of the town’s youth to Southern India via Zanzibar and back.

For those who cannot make it to the UK events on April 11, Eriksen and the Trio de Pumpkintown will also be performing 7 p.m. Friday, April 12, at Willie’s Locally Known, in Lexington.

For more information about the UK events, call (859) 257-4912 or email Donna Kwon, assistant professor of ethnomusicology, at donna.kwon@uky.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, KY. (April 4, 2013) —Join the University of Kentucky School of Music for the spring World Music Concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at the Singletary Center for the Arts Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.

This spring's World Music concert will feature music and dance from areas around the world, including China, Korea, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Ireland and Appalachia.

To begin, Allison Duvall and the McTeggart Ceili Club will get your toes tapping with their Irish set dances including both soft and hardshoe numbers. A performance by virtuosic Chinese erhu and pipa players, Xiaowan Chu and Melinda Lio, is also on tap for the evening.

From the university, the UK Bluegrass Ensemble will perform traditional Appalachian, gospel and folk favorites under the direction of Tanner Jones. The UK "Performing World Music" classes, led by Erin Walker, a lecturer in the School of Music, will play several Caribbean calypso tunes on steel pans.

Additionally, Donna Kwon’s UK Korean Ensemble will showcase a dazzling "samulnori-style" piece. This ensemble performs mainly percussion-based music on the janggo (hourglass drum), buk (barrel drum), jing (large gong) and swe (small gong). Kwon is an assistant professor of ethnomusicology in the School of Music at UK.

Finally, the World Music Department will include, for the first time, the guitar talents of Andrew Rhinehart, and the acrobatics of the UK Capoeira Club performing the Brazilian martial art, capoeira.

The UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts has achieved awards and national and international recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as for music education, composition, theory and music history.

For more information on the World Music Concert, call Erin Walker at 859-257-4900 or email at ewalk@uky.edu. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 2, 2013) — The University of Kentucky School of Music and the Hilary J. Boone Center will present "Piano Spring," a set of two lunchtime piano concerts from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Thursday, April 4 and 18, at the Boone Center. Both concerts are free and open to UK students, faculty and staff, but reservations are required for dining or free concert seating.

"Piano Spring" will feature classical masterpieces performed by UK piano students at the Boone Center, located at the corner of Rose Street and Columbia Avenue.

To make reservations to attend "Piano Spring," contact Boone Center member and guest liaison Sandra Burton at (859) 257-1133 or sandra.burton@uky.edu.

"Piano Spring" is a production of the Keyboards, Voice and Strings Division of the School of Music within the UK College of Fine Arts.

The Boone Center is home to more than 20,000 square feet of meeting and dining space on the UK campus. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 28, 2013) — Each year VSA Kentucky recognizes outstanding young musicians, ages 14-25, with disabilities and supports and encourages them in their pursuit of a career in music. These emerging musicians receive a $500 educational scholarship, professional development mentoring sessions with professional musicians and performance opportunities. University of Kentucky vocal performance junior Gabrielle Barker is the 2013 VSA Kentucky Young Soloist Award recipient for the state.

Barker, a native of Lexington, Ky., studies under Endowed Chair, Professor of Voice Cynthia Lawrence at UK Opera Theatre in the UK School of Music.

Barker focused on voice even during high school, winning vocal competitions, participating in All State Choir and ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) Choir, and being a part of the Governor's School for the Arts.

"I love to act and sing, so I am particularly interested in an opera career," Barker said. "I believe that nothing should hold a person back from their dreams, so I try to take every opportunity that I can to make them happen. Performing has taught me a lot about myself. I am happy to share my gift with others."

As VSA Kentucky Young Soloist, Barker is also entered in the VSA International Young Soloist competition. The competition is open to both individual musicians and ensembles of two to five members. In order for ensembles to be eligible, at least one member must have a disability. All genres of music are accepted, including, but not limited to, classical, jazz, hip-hop/rap, rock/alt rock, pop, indie, bluegrass, folk, country, R&B/blues, Latin and World. The VSA International Young Soloists Competition annually selects up to four outstanding musicians, two from the United States and two from the international arena. These emerging musicians receive a $2,500 award, professional development opportunities, and a performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts has achieved awards and national and international recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as for music education, composition, theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

You can find a transcript of this video here. Video by UK Public Relations and Marketing. 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 20, 2013) — The University of Kentucky Wind Symphony is among an elite group of ensembles that were invited to perform at the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) National Convention on March 22, at University of North Carolina - Greensboro. Under the direction of John Cody Birdwell, UK Wind Symphony is one of only nine university concert bands out of a pool of 45 ensembles that was selected to play at the conference.

Being chosen by a national panel of esteemed wind conductors to perform at CBDNA National Convention is one of the highest honors a university wind band and its conductor can receive.

"In our profession, this is the highest honor that an ensemble can receive," Birdwell said. "Performing at the CBDNA, it is such an honor, it brings a great amount of recognition to the university and to our program, and there's nothing quite like it."

The invitation for the UK Wind Symphony to perform at the CBDNA National Conference was issued in April 2012, and UK will be joined at the conference by performing groups from the University of Maryland, University of Cincinnati, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Louisiana State University, University of South Carolina, St. Olaf College, University of North Carolina – Greensboro, and Lawrence Conservatory of Music.

UK will perform at 2:30 p.m. Friday, March 22.  "The program we selected is a very exciting program, four incredible pieces of music, one world premiere," Birdwell said.

The UK Wind Symphony performance at the CBDNA will consist of "Millennium Canons" by 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Puts, Gustav Holst’s landmark composition "Hammersmith," the world premiere of "Concerto Maxo Mosso" for saxophone quartet and wind symphony by contemporary British composer Michael Mower, and First Symphony for Band by Pulitzer Prize winning composer William Bolcom. 

The featured solo ensemble for the world premiere of "Concerto Maxo Mosso" will be the award-winning and internationally acclaimed Osland Saxophone Quartet, which includes two UK School of Music faculty members, Miles Osland, director of UK Jazz Studies, and Lisa Osland, adjunct professor of saxophone, as performing artists.

The 55 members of the UK Wind Symphony depart for Greensboro today and will perform a concert tour with stops in Tennessee and North Carolina en route to the national conference.

In addition to playing CBDNA and the tour, UK Wind Symphony was thrilled to get the opportunity to meet and work with the composer of "Concerto Maxo Mosso," Michael Mower, in preparation for their world premiere performance of his work.

"He's going to come in and rehearse the piece with us and help us prepare it for the tour and the performance at the conference, and so it's going to be a very exciting opportunity for us," Birdwell said.

The UK Wind Symphony is made up of the finest wind and percussion performers in the UK School of Music in the UK College of Fine Arts. As the centerpiece of a band program that has served the Commonwealth of Kentucky for more than 100 years, the UK Wind Symphony is considered to be one of the finest university concert bands in the United States. Several of the recordings of the UK Wind Symphony have been nominated for Grammy Award consideration in recent years, and during the summer of 2008, the ensemble participated in a 10-day concert tour of the People's Republic of China and performed for thousands of Chinese citizens in the cities throughout the country in celebration of China's hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

The UK Wind Symphony performs frequently on campus in the Singletary Center for the Arts. Concerts are free and open to the public.

The CBDNA is devoted to the teaching, performance, study and cultivation of music, with particular focus on the wind band medium.

To hear John Cody Birdwell talk more about the CBDNA National Convention and his colleague Lori Hetzel, conductor of UK Women's Choir, talk about the choir's trip to the national convention of the American Choral Directors Association, listen to the interview with Carl Nathe from "UK At the Half" at the bottom of the page. A transcript of the interview can be found here.

For more information on UK Wind Symphony, contact the UK Bands at (859) 257-2263 or visit www.ukbands.org. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 18, 2013) — Members of two University of Kentucky School of Music student vocal groups, acoUstiKats and Paws and Listen, were recognized for their excellence at the third annual a cappella competition, Voices in Harmony, hosted by Lexington Catholic High School. The UK ensembles competed against 17 a cappella groups from Kentucky and Ohio universities and regional high schools March 1-2.

Voices in Harmony is a pop a cappella event that features a series of concert competitions and workshops. Participating ensembles not only perform and compete, they also gain experience by observing performances of other groups and by attending a series of workshops and a personalized group clinic. The 2013 competition featured House Jacks as performers and clinicians.

The acoUstiKats, comprised of 16 members of the UK Men's Chorus, took the Best Overall Ensemble Award and Best Choreography Award at the competition. Member Nick Johnson, a music education sophomore from Frankfort, Ky., won Best Vocal Arrangement.

To see the acoUstiKats sing "On, On, U of K," click play on the video below.

Lexington native and music education sophomore Brianna Carnahan, one of Paws and Listen's 16 members selected from the UK Women's Choir, took first place among all vocalists as Best Soloist.

The acoUstiKats are coached by undergraduate choral music education majors Jordan Lindsay and Johnson, and are advised by Jefferson Johnson, director of UK Choral Activities. The group performs numerous concerts each semester for university, church and community functions, as well as at every UK Men’s Chorus concert. Specializing in doo-wop and a cappella pop styles, acoUstiKats has recorded two CDs and is one of the university’s most visible ensembles.

Paws and Listen performs pop music, as well as a mix of doo-wop, vocal jazz and show tunes. The ensemble is coached by undergraduate choral music education majors Lisa Braswell and Christin Michael, and is advised by Lori Hetzel, associate director of UK Choirs/Choral Music Education. This group is highly esteemed both on and off campus and performs at numerous prestigious and high-profile events throughout the year.

Paws and Listen and the acoUstiKats are part of the choral program at the UK School of Music in the College of Fine Arts. The school has achieved awards and national and international recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as for music education, composition, theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 15, 2013) — From the elementary school gymnasium to rural extension offices around the Commonwealth, the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts has demonstrated excellence in serving the people of Kentucky.

Just last month, UK Opera Theatre took home the 2013 Friend of Music Award for the Schmidt Opera Outreach Program (SOOP) from the Kentucky Music Educators Association for its service to the state. SOOP is just one of several outreach and service programs provided by the college and the UK Department of Theatre, UK School of Art and Visual Studies and the UK School of Music.

In 2003, UK Opera Theatre and the Lexington Opera Society, under the direction of Professor Everett McCorvey, established an opera outreach and education program. Since 2007, under the new sponsorship of the William E. Schmidt Foundation, the arts have now become accessible to the children of Kentucky through SOOP. Using fairy tales, children's stories and American history, accompanied by the operatic music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioachino Antonio Rossini, Jacques Offenbach and others, SOOP has introduced more than 120,000 Kentucky students in more than 270 schools and 68 counties to the fundamental components, basic terminology, and the glorious melodies of opera.

With the intent to build tomorrow’s audiences and performers, each school is provided with a thorough study guide that helps teachers prepare the students before the show's arrival and provides activities for students to do before and after the show. The stories typically have a moral or character skill that is incorporated in the message. After each show the cast hosts a “Question and Answer Session,” during which the children have a chance to see how props work, how costumes get changed, and how singers perfect their craft.

To see video of the origins of the SOOP project, click play below.

A transcript for this video can be found here.

In addition to SOOP, UK School of Music is serving Kentuckians from their childhood to their senior years through more than 20 programs. Other outreach programs provided by the school include:

· UK String Project, a program offering affordable weekly class instruction on stringed instruments for children and more recently adults;

· Broadway Bound, a weeklong workshop developing new skills in the performing arts for first through eighth graders presented by UK Opera Theatre and KCTC (Kentucky Classical Theater Conservatory) Summerfest;

· Academy for Creative Excellence, a year-round training program in singing, acting, dancing for the musical theatre performer from first through 12th grade;

Academy For Creative Excellence from Will McGill on Vimeo.

· Kentucky Band Camp, a camp with nationally known clinicians and instructors to provide leadership skills and inspire both the new and experienced drum major from UK Bands;

· James Campbell Drumline Camp, a camp for the individual drummer, cymbal player, “pit” percussionist, or the entire drumline;

· Tubas Around the World, a guided world tour performance that introduces elementary to high school students to the music of the United States, France, England, Russia, Italy, Germany, Poland, Nigeria, Brazil, Australia, Mexico and Kentucky, presented by the UK Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble;

· several concert band programs and workshops including the High School Invitational Concert Band Festival and the UK High School Honors Wind Ensemble;

· several workshop and concerts dedicated to particular instruments and musicians, including Day of Percussion presented by UK Percussion Studies, Trombone Day presented by the UK Trombone Studio, and Brassfest presented by UK Bands;

· several choral programs and classes including Male Chorus Day for choral ensembles featuring the UK Men's Chorus and acoUstiKats; "Choral Literature" for advanced high school, college, graduate and pre-professional students; and the Creative Choral Workshop, a clinic for choral directors; and

· several programs for educators including the Keyboard Ensemble and Technology Seminar for collegiate, professional and private piano/music teachers and Orff Schulwerk curriculum workshops.

Details on the various UK School of Music outreach programs can be found at http://finearts.uky.edu/music/outreach. In addition to educational workshops, clinics and classes, UK School of Music offers more than 200 public recitals and concerts with a vast majority of them free to attend.

Like UK School of Music, the UK School of Art and Visual Studies strives to share its talents with the community offering courses and workshops through the UK Fine Arts Institute and the Donovan Scholars Program. Through the Fine Arts Institute, the school provides an assortment of classes and workshops for adults in the community who wish to further their creative skills. Designed to fit into the working schedules of most adults, the noncredit courses range from metal working to digital photography. UK Fine Arts Institute offers courses three times a year geared toward beginners and advanced artists and the students' work is often featured at the school's popular Open Studio event in December.

In partnership with the Donovan Scholars, the school offers classes in oil painting, drawing, watercolor painting and more for beginners for persons aged 65 and older at UK including opportunities to exhibit their work in one of UK's several galleries.

In addition to giving Donovan Scholars and Fine Arts Institute participants an opportunity to show their work, UK School of Art and Visual Studies provides the community with several free public exhibitions each year by their faculty, staff and students at Barnhart Gallery and Tuska Center for Contemporary Art, as well as Open Studio when the school opens all its classroom and studio spaces to the public to visit. UK art students even helped create Take It Artside, a free public application developed with the Gaines Center for the Humanities, to help Kentuckians find fine arts events in their vicinity with their own smartphone.

A transcript for this video can be found here.

Similar to the UK School of Music and the UK School of Art and Visual Studies, UK Department of Theatre brings the world of theater to many Kentuckians. Focused primarily on the state's children and youth, each year UK Theatre presents several matinees, community performances and touring productions. Through these performances UK Theatre hopes Kentucky's students learn the direct impact that theatre can have on a community.

The UK Department of Theatre, which is now home to UK's dance minor, also offers classes targeting high school and college dancers ages 14 and up. The UK Summer Dance Intensive each year helps experienced dancers grow creatively through college-level contemporary modern dance, ballet, body-conditioning, improvisation and choreography classes. During the program, participants collaborate and create their own dance works in the movement labs. A performance of the choreographic work is presented at the conclusion of the program to family, friends, students and UK community.

In addition to providing programs on campus and touring performances, UK College of Fine Arts can be found year round in some of the state's communities through the Kentucky Fine Arts Extension Program with UK College of Agriculture. Part of the Cooperative Extension Service, the program is responsible for developing and promoting support for arts education and development in Kentucky counties. The Kentucky Fine Arts Extension Program creates opportunities in the arts for citizens that will stimulate creativity, promote participation, and recognize artists, arts educators and arts supporters at all levels and mediums.

Led by dedicated agents in Greenup, Muhlenberg, Pike and Whitley counties, the Kentucky Fine Arts Extension Program supports and develops performing, visual and literary arts; provides life-long learning opportunities in all the arts; expands opportunities for showcasing and publicizing the arts; and plans new structures and facilities and uses existing venues to create a cohesive and dynamic arts culture that is easily accessible to all citizens.

The pioneering extension program in the arts enjoyed critical acclaim for its work only two years into its development when the first county program, Pike Arts, took the Government Award at the Governor's Awards in the Arts in 2007.  The award was given for the arts extension program demonstrating the power of the arts in strengthening communities and the economic benefit the arts can provide.

For more information on any of these outreach programs and to learn how the College of Fine Arts can help serve your community, visit http://finearts.uky.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 11, 2013) – James Campbell, University of Kentucky Provost's Distinguished Service Professor and director of UK Percussion Studies, is one of only three musicians who will be inducted into the 2013 Music for All's Bands of America Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Music for All National Festival on March 16, in Indianapolis, Ind. Campbell and the other inductees are being recognized for greatly impacting Bands of America, the nation's band activity and music education.

Professor Campbell is responsible for much of the modern look and sound of today’s drum corps percussion ensembles. With a legendary background as an instructor and arranger for the Guardsmen, of Schaumburg, Ill., and the Rosemont Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps, of Rosemont, Ill., from the 70s through the 90s, Campbell’s drum corps credits include winning three High Percussion Awards and two World Championships during his tenure with the two corps, as well as being named to the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame.

Campbell also is credited with helping to introduce world music concepts and contemporary performance practice into marching percussion arrangements. As an equipment designer, he has helped design the modern tenor drum array, holds two patents for drum head design and pioneered the use of the front ensemble (pit) percussion.

At UK, the Percussion Ensemble under Campbell's direction has won the prestigious Percussive Arts Society (PAS) Collegiate Percussion Ensemble Contest four times. The feat earned the ensemble featured performances at PASIC (PAS International Convention). Campbell's other university groups, the UK Indoor Drum Line and UK Steel Band, have received the highest recognition in their fields. At the PAS 2005 Composition Contest, the professor took first place for his work, "Garage Drummer," scored for multiple percussion solo with CD accompaniment.

Individually, Campbell's current and former students at UK have been selected as finalists in the PAS International Solo Competition nine times, including five first place honors. Many of his alumni are now faculty at other institutions or performers in major ensembles across the country.

Campbell has toured extensively throughout North and Central America, Europe and Asia. Locally, he also continues to perform with the Lexington Philharmonic and the Kentucky Jazz Repertory Orchestra. Campbell has published works for concert and marching percussion with Alfred Publishing Co., where he serves as percussion team author for the Expressions Music Curriculum, as well as numerous other music publishers.

Music for All’s mission is to create, provide and expand positively life-changing experiences through music for all.

Campbell is on the faculty of the UK School of Music in the College of Fine Arts, which is known for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as for music education, composition, theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 6, 2013) – The University of Kentucky Percussion Ensemble will downsize and perform as UKPG, the UK Percussion Group. This concert, which is free and open to the public, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 7, at the Singletary Center For the Arts Recital Hall.

UKPG, a smaller chamber group, performs cutting edge percussion literature written for smaller forces.

"The music UKPG plays demands unflinching intensity of concentration, vigorous athleticism and, at times, the quiet slow balance of martial arts," says James Campbell, director of UK Percussion Studies.

Chamber percussion performance is a specialized field, and requires a number of skills not normally required for the performance of symphonic or solo music. The percussionists of UKPG develop a close intimacy of shared musical experience, moving into a zone that is not often experienced when a conductor is leading them. They make on-the-spot musical decisions and perform spontaneous gestures, which turns the music into a conversation between the performers.

The members of UKPG are drawn from the UK Percussion Ensemble, nationally recognized for its excellence and innovative programming.

The upcoming UKPG concert will feature five works, each placing extraordinary demands on the performers — both musically and physically. The program begins with Ivan Trevino’s “Bloom," written for a quartet of marimbas. Also included on the program are “Postludes” by Elliot Cole, "The Frame Problem" by James Romig, “Sun” by Baljinder Sekhon, and Mei-Fang Lin’s “Flux” written for marimba and electronic soundscape. Doctoral candidate Jonathan Sharp, is featured in all the pieces on this concert as part of his doctoral chamber percussion recital.

For more information on the UK Percussion Group concert, contact James Campbell, director of Percussion Studies at UK School of Music, at (859) 257-8187.

The UKPG is one of several ensembles housed at the UK School of Music in the UK College of Fine Arts. The school has garnered national recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, theory and music history.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 1, 2013) — University of Kentucky School of Music, WRFL and Outside the Spotlight present "An Evening with Peter Evans." Trumpeter Peter Evans is considered one of the best improvisers in his field. Evans' visit to the Bluegrass will include a clinic and concert by the acclaimed musician.

A clinic in improvisation with Evans will be presented at noon Monday, March 4, in Room 22 of the Fine Arts Building. A solo concert featuring the artist will follow that evening at 8 p.m., at Mecca, located at 948 Manchester St. Both events are free and open to the public.

Evans is one of the most consistently accomplished and challenging improvisers in the world. Based in New York, he currently works in a wide variety of areas, including solo performance, chamber orchestras, free improvised settings, electro-acoustic music, jazz and composition.

As a musician, Evans has broadened the expressive range of the trumpet in both solo improvisation and group contexts. He currently performs with Peter Evans Trio, Quartet and Quintet, Moppa Elliott's terrorist bebop band Mostly Other People Do the Killing, the hyperactive improvisation duo Sparks (with Tom Blancarte), and a duo with trumpeter Nate Wooley. Other collaborators have included Evan Parker, Peter Brotzmann, Barry Guy, Jim Black, John Zorn, Mats Gustafsson, Axel Dörner and the International Contemporary Ensemble. 

In 2009 and 2010, Evans and was named as one of the top five "Musicians of the Year" in All About Jazz New York.

To see selections of previous Evans' performances, visit www.moreismorerecords.com/videos.html.

The UK School of Music in the UK College of Fine Arts has garnered national recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 28, 2013) — Alltech is teaming up again with University of Kentucky Opera Theatre to present the Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition. The competition, featuring talented, young opera vocalists from around the country, is a chance for students to sing for thousands of dollars of scholarship money. The event will begin 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3, at the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall. The competition is free and open to the public.

Millions of dollars in prizes have been awarded to many past competitors in this competition. This year's prizes include:

· Alltech Graduate First Prize: $12,000 cash prize, full tuition and a full graduate assistantship to UK;

· Alltech Graduate Second Prize: $8,000 cash prize, full tuition and a full graduate assistantship to UK;

· UK Undergraduate First Prize: $6,000 and a matching tuition waiver from UK; and

· UK Undergraduate Second Prize: $3,000 and a matching tuition waiver from UK.

The 2013 Alltech Opera Scholarship Competition will be judged by a panel of professionals in the field of opera from all over the U.S.

The Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition is open to new voice students who plan on attending the UK School of Music beginning in the 2013-2014 academic year. The singers must complete an application to the university by the time of their audition and be selected from their audition to compete for the scholarship. They must also be acceptable for admission to UK and enrolled as a full-time student during the 2013-2014 academic year to receive an award.

Co-sponsors for the Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition include Bryant's Rent-All and Lexington Opera Society.

For more information on the Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition, contact UK Opera Theatre at 859-257-9331 or visit the competition online at http://finearts.uky.edu/events/college-fine-arts/alltech-opera-scholarship-competition.

UK’s successful opera program is part of the UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu