Bower School of Music will be holding the fourth concert of the 2015-16 Faculty & Guest Artist series, “The Versatility of the Clarinet.”
The performance will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5 in the U. Tobe Recital Hall.
The concert features Paul Votapek, principle clarinet of the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, along with Bower School of Music’s own distinguished professor of music, Michael Baron, on piano.
Votapek is an adjunct faculty member at FGCU and has been a member of the Naples Philharmonic since 1988. He performed at the Pine Mountain Music Festival in Michigan in 2004 and the Marrowstone Music Festival in Bellingham, Washington, in both 2005 and 2006. He has also performed with the Kairos String Quartet at the Kairos Music Festival.
Among the pieces, the duo will be performing one major work titled “Time Pieces” by the American composer Robert Muczynski. Composed in 1983, the piece is broken into four movements, changing moods quite frequently. From exiting brilliance to haunting lyricism, the piece is described as a “workout,” yet a great deal of fun to perform.
Attendees can expect other exciting musical works from the 20th century in addition to sonata of Brahms. As one of the greatest of the Romantic composers, Brahm composed two important sonatas for clarinet and piano.
“They are very deep works that are crucial to the clarinet repertoire as two of the most important pieces for clarinetists to perform,” Baron said. “For me, the slow movement is one of the most beautiful compositions ever written.”
The Faculty and Guest concert series consists of around a dozen performances throughout the fall and spring semesters. The concerts showcase FGCU faculty performers, as well as guest artists from all over the world. Music majors have a chance to work closely with each artist, and the FGCU student body is able to attend concerts of an international level on campus.
“We hope that more FGCU students attend the concerts and enjoy the cultural presentations we bring to campus.  Music is such a life-enriching experience that is crucial to the liberal arts,” Baron said.
Tickets are $10 for the general public and $7 for students. Doors to the recital hall will open 30 minutes prior to the scheduled concert time.