Posting Date: March 28, 2011
KSU to present Mixed Chamber Ensembles
Ensembles will perform twice in April
By Felicia Ervin
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KSU Mixed Chamber Ensembles in performance |
The Kennesaw State University Mixed Chamber Ensembles continue to prove that not only is classical music still relevant, but it also has an audience in young, contemporary college students.
Each semester, the students of the KSU Mixed Chamber Ensembles give a final performance concert. This semester, the free concert will be on April 5 at 8 p.m. in the Performance Hall of the Dr. Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center. An encore presentation will be on April 12 at 8 p.m. The ensembles consist of six string quartets, one flute ensemble and one trumpet ensemble. There will be more than 30 selections performed, including Shostakovich’s "String Quartet No. 9" and Braham’s "Piano Trio No. 1."
For the April 12 performance, the ensemble will also be performing selections by guest artist Thomas Benjamin, who will be conducting an artist residency at KSU. Benjamin is a professor of music at Peabody Conservatory and has published more than 50 works.
The KSU Mixed Chamber Ensembles trains musicians in classical and contemporary chamber repertoire and features more than 10 ensembles. Allyson Fleck, KSU assistant professor of music, states that even though the faculty mentors the students, it’s the student's work that is being presented. “Students work under faculty membership, but the students do the bulk of the work themselves. In the end they are presenting their own work.”
As for the future of the KSU Mixed Chamber Ensembles, Fleck explains that the program is growing and will continue to do so. “We are expanding every semester with rapid growth. We’re going to keep growing and keep working on the great repertoire that’s for this genre.”