HIGH POINT, N.C., March 10, 2015 – High Point University invites the community to a series of concerts March 19-21 in conjunction with the 45th Annual Conference of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the College Music Society (CMS-MA). The events will take place in the Pauline Theatre of the Hayworth Fine Arts Center on campus. Admission is free and tickets are not required.
“While conference sessions and workshops are limited to registered CMS members, the concerts will be open to the public as part of the Year of the Arts at HPU so that everyone can have access to the music,” says Dr. JW Turner, HPU assistant professor of music and president of the CMS-MA chapter.
A list of events is provided below:
March 19
- 7:30 p.m. – Pianist Matthew Bengtson will open the conference with a concert featuring music by Alexander Scriabin, a Russian composer and pianist. Bengtson will also give a pre-concert lecture in the Pauline Theater starting at 6:30 p.m.
March 20
- 1 p.m. – Community members can enjoy a short program featuring electroacoustic music and jazz performed by Nathan Daughtrey, HPU instructor of composition, and Gina Pezzoli, HPU adjunct instructor. The concert will also feature a guest appearance by the University of North Carolina School of the Arts jazz ensemble.
- 4 p.m. – American conductor and maestro Markand Thakar will deliver the conference’s keynote address titled, “It’s Not Interpretation. Really, It’s Not.”
- 8 p.m. – A full-length concert of new music will be performed by the HPU faculty wind quartet, cellist Turner and the HPU chamber singers. The conference guest composer, Allen Anderson, will lead a pre-concert presentation and discussion at 7 p.m.
March 21
- 3 p.m. – The final concert of the conference will feature HPU instructor of flute Laura Stevens, Daughtrey, Turner and other invited guests in a short program of chamber music.
Visitors are encouraged to enter campus through the welcome center at the intersection of North College Drive and Montlieu Avenue. Parking will be available for community members behind Hayworth Fine Arts Center.
About the College Music Society Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference
Through a variety of formats, CMS regional conferences provide members the opportunity to consider the philosophy and practice of music as an integral part of higher education. CMS regional conferences allow participants to share insights and perspectives on teaching, to feature new and unusual music, to experience regional music, to discuss American musical life and culture, and to consider future directions for the art of music.