The Bower School of Music & the Arts is offering a concert for faculty and guests on 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25 as the kickoff for the 2014-15 artist series with “The Music of Saint-Saëns.” This event will be held at Florida Gulf Coast University’s U. Tobe Recital Hall inside the Music Building.
“The Music of Saint-Saëns” features the works of French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, including “Variations on a Theme of Beethoven for Two Pianos,” “Caprice on Russian and Danish Airs” for woodwinds and piano, “Septet in E-flat Major” for strings, trumpet, and piano, and “Carnival of the Animals,” as featured in Walt Disney’s “Fantasia” (1940).
Performer and Director Michael Baron arranged the concert.
“I chose the music of Saint-Saëns for this concert because I was looking for a program that would showcase as many faculty members as possible and also be entertaining for the audience,” Baron said. “All the pieces also make use of the piano so it is a great mixture of entertaining pieces.”
Performers include members of the Naples Philharmonic and Bower School of Music’s own Michael Baron and Priscila Navarro on piano, Patrick Neal and Geoffrey Day on violin, Lisa Mattson on viola, Si-Cheng Liu on cello, Matthew Medock on string bass, Suzanne Kirton on flute, Judy Christy on oboe, Paul Votapek on clarinet, Matt Sonneborn on trumpet, Troy Jones on percussion, and conducted by David Cole
“It is always a pleasure to perform with such talented and spirited professionals,” Jones said. “I am looking forward to this collective experience of sharing this wonderful music [with] our audience.”
Tickets are $25 and are available online on the Bower School of Music homepage or at the door the night of the event. Tickets include the concert and post-concert dessert reception. Doors open one hour prior to the show. For more information, contact Michael Baron by phone at 590-7209 or by email at [email protected].