"Music with a Splash" Vocal concert @ SUU (CC: Jan 21 - 22)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 01/07/11
Michael French
Public Information Coordinator
College of Performing and Visual Arts
Southern Utah University
Office: 435-865-8667
Cell: 805-260-8797
michaelfrench@suu.edu


FOR CALENDAR EDITORS: SATELLITE SALON SERIES – “MUSIC WITH A SPLASH”
WHAT: The Satellite Salon Series features soprano Kathleen Roland and painter Brian Paul Hoover joining series creator Dr. Lynn Vartan, percussionist, for the weekend event. The trio will work with students in an interactive master class, and then join forces on a highly innovative concert, “Music with a Splash.” Roland and Vartan will introduce youngsters to the wonders of the human voice and percussion in the family-friendly “Music Unwrapped.”

WHO: Southern Utah University, College of Performing and Visual Arts,
Music Department

WHEN: January 21 & 22, 2011

TIME: Master Class, Fri., Jan. 21, 2011 at 3:30pm
“Music Unwrapped,” Sat., Jan. 22, 2011 at 10:30am
“Music with a Splash,” Sat., Jan. 22, 2010 at 7:30pm

WHERE: All events: Thorley Recital Hall, Music Building, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT

TICKETS: Phone: Arts Hotline: (435) 865-8800 or visit: www.suu.edu/arts

PRICES: Free and the General Public is encouraged to attend.

SUU’S SATELLITE SALON SERIES
OFFERS “MUSIC WITH A SPLASH”
JANUARY 21 & 22, 2011

Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah: Music and painting come together for SUU’s truly unique and engaging Satellite Salon series, in a special two-day series of events developed by members of the music and art and design departments featuring series creator, Dr. Lynn Vartan, percussionist, and painter Brian Paul Hoover, an SUU Professor. They will be joined by guest artist, soprano Kathleen Roland. The trio will participate in a master class and Q&A at 3:30pm on Friday, January 21, 2011. On Saturday, January 22, 2011, Vartan and Roland participate in a family workshop, “Music Unwrapped,” at 10:30am, and a concert entitled “Music with a Splash” at 7:30pm. All events will take place at Thorley Recital Hall located on campus in the Music Building. All events are free and opened to the general public.

This Satellite Salon Series is comprised of three events over a two-day period. On Friday, January 21, 2011, at 3:30pm, in a master class setting, Kathleen Roland and Dr. Lynn Vartan will demonstrate vocal techniques and Roland will interact with some students and coach their own vocal performance. Roland and Vartan will be joined by Brian Paul Hoover and the trio will discuss their careers as working artists. The master class is targeted to college and high school age students. On Saturday morning January 22, at 10:30am, the casual “Music Unwrapped” features Roland and Vartan interacting with youngsters as they introduce them to the wonders of the human voice and percussion. The session features hands-on elements, so younger students can hear and experience their own voices. Noisy younger children are welcome to attend with their parents who can walk them around the family-friendly event which is geared to young children, families and the community. The third and final event is a free concert.

The weekend’s highlight will be “Music with a Splash,” a concert highlighted by a vibrant collaboration for the trio. The concert’s first half will feature Kathleen Roland and Dr. Lynn Vartan performing works that showcase both the human voice and various percussion instruments. The program for the first act includes Dominick Argento’s Letters from Composers which draws its text from letters written by Chopin, Puccini, Bach and Others; Francis Poulenc’s Le Travail du Peintre which are songs about the painters Picasso, Chagall, Klee and Miro; and Andrew Beall’s Song for ‘Almah for marimba and soprano. Then in the second act, in a special collaboration between music and art, Brian Paul Hoover will accompany Roland and Vartan by doing splash painting live onstage inspired by their improvised musical performance. The concert promises to be an unforgettable work of art, a feast for both the ears and eyes.

Kathleen Roland is a highly regarded concert soloist and specialist in the music of the 20th and 21st century. She has been a featured singer at numerous music festivals, including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Britten-Pears Institute and the Tanglewood Music Festival, and has performed with many notable conductors, including James Conlon, Kent Nagano, Reinbert de Leeuw, James Mauceri, and Oliver Knussen. Dr. Roland has been a frequent featured soloist with the Grammy award-winning Southwest Chamber Music Society of Los Angeles. Recordings include a CD created with American composer Libby Larsen of her song cycle, Songs from Letters, from Calamity Jane to her daughter Janey, and Aura, for orchestra and soloists by Grawemeyer award-winning Cambodian composer Chinary Ung. International appearances include a tour with Southwest Chamber Music in Southeast Asia, featuring the music of Chinary Ung, and at the Tonhalle in Dusseldorf with conductor Robert Platz and mdi ensemble milano. Recent performances include the premiere of Chinary Ung's Spirals XII with the Los Angeles Master Chorale at Disney Hall. She holds a doctorate in voice from the University of Southern California, and serves on the board of the National Opera Association, as well as editor of the organization's newsletter, NOA Notes. She is currently a professor of voice at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

Brian Paul Hoover received his initial art training at the Cleveland Institute of Art. He later earned an M.F.A. at the State University of New York. His highly detailed and symbolic paintings seem to be captured images from another reality. This reality consists of floating spiritual beings, women adorned with fantastic swirling ethereal hats and a host of enigmatic figures that are painted in the act of some mysterious purpose. The majority of the work could be described as surreal, but some of the paintings incorporate aspects of academic realism with abstract sensibilities associated with modernism. This combination is truly unique and places the artist’s work in an area that is hard to categorize. Hoover says of his work, “My paintings are inspired by dreams. I am aware of the Jungian impulse to interpret these things outright, but I am equally satisfied to be awed by the seemingly infinite and unknowable source that they originate from.” Brian resides in Cedar City and teaches Painting and Printmaking at Southern Utah University.

Percussionist Dr. Lynn Vartan performs regularly in addition to teaching at SUU. She is percussionist for Southwest Chamber Music, two-time Grammy® nominee in the “Best Classical Album of the Year” and “Best Small Ensemble with or without a conductor” categories. Vartan has been featured on the Los Angeles Philharmonic Green Umbrella Series, the Different Trains Series and has soloed with the Music and the Court series in Pasadena, California, and the Sierra Wind Symphony. She is currently producing two solo albums which will be released next year. Vartan received her master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Southern California with special honors and recognition. She teaches percussion at Southern Utah University.

This Satellite Salon Series is comprised of three events during a two-day period. First, on Friday, January 21, 2011, at 3:30pm, in a master class setting, Kathleen Roland will demonstrate her vocal technique for students and work with students. She will join Hoover and Vartan as they discuss their experiences as working professionals in the arts. The master class is targeted to college and high school age students. On Saturday morning January 22, 2011, at 10:30am, the casual “Music Unwrapped” features Roland and Vartan interacting with youngsters about the wonders of the world’s most commonplace instrument, the human voice. Roland will demonstrate simple vocal technique and have the children perform some special musical exercises. Vartan’s work features hands-on elements, so younger students can touch, see, hear and experience percussion as it accompanies the voice. Noisy younger children are welcome to attend with their parents who can walk them around the family-friendly event which is geared to young children, families and the community.

The Satellite Salon Series allows for personal interaction and communication between a resident or guest musician and music students from SUU and the region through master classes, question and answer sessions and workshops. Satellite Salon Series and “Music Unwrapped” are made possible by funding from Arts Fusion, Art Works for Kids! and the Utah Division of Arts and Museums.

Experience “Music with a Splash,” at which SUU’s College of Performing and Visual Arts truly joins forces with guest Kathleen Roland in a weekend of events that promises to be both informative and highly entertaining. For more information on the SUU College of Performing and Visual Arts events, please call the Arts Hotline at (435) 865-8800, or visit www.suu.edu/arts.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE
The Southern Utah University College of Performing and Visual Arts is comprised of nationally accredited departments of Art and Design, Music, Theatre Arts and Dance, as well as a graduate program in Arts Administration. The College offers 16 different degree areas, including liberal arts Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees; professional Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Fine Arts in art and theatre degrees; and a Master of Fine Arts in Arts Administration degree. More than 60 full- and part-time faculty and staff are engaged in teaching and mentoring over 550 majors in the College. Over 1100 students enroll each year in over 195 arts classes on the SUU campus. The College presents 100 performances, lectures, presentations, and exhibitions each year. The College’s affiliate organizations include the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery, American Folk Ballet, Utah Shakespearean Festival, the performance group Acclamation, and the SUU Ballroom Dance Company. For more information about the College of Performing and Visual Arts, contact the Office of the Dean (435) 865-8561, or by e-mail at cpvamktg@suu.edu.