EUGENE–A string quartet, a trombone ensemble with middle school choir, and a gospel choir will present three concerts this week at the University of Oregon School of Music, 961 E. 18th Ave. Also on tap is an all-day workshop for high school vocalists.

For more information, call the music school weekdays at (541) 346-5678. To confirm concert times and other information, call GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone at 485-2000, ext. 2533, for a taped message of the week’s events.

The Cypress String Quartet, one of the country’s most dynamic young chamber ensembles, will give a Chamber Music Series concert at 8 p.m. in Beall Concert Hall, 961 E. 18th Ave.

Reserved-seat tickets, ranging from $8 to $22, are available in advance from the Hult Center at (541) 682-5000. Student-rush tickets will be sold at the door for $5 and $9.

The featured selections on the program are Mozart’s "Quartet in D Major," Brahms’ "Quartet No. 2 in A Minor" and Schulhoff’s "Five Pieces for String Quartet."

Julia Heydon, assistant professor of music history, will give a free talk at 7:15 p.m. in Room 198 of the music school, offering insights and recorded examples of the concert repertoire.

The Cypress String Quartet was formed in 1996. Its members hold music degrees from Juilliard, Cleveland, San Francisco and Indiana University. The Cypress Quartet has performed engagements throughout North America, including concerts in Baltimore, Chicago, San Francisco and New York, and at the Next Generation Festival in Pennsylvania. The quartet has performed live on National Public Radio’s "Open Air" and was featured on WQXR’s "Young Artists Showcase" in New York City.

Last June, the quartet held a fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival’s Center for Advanced Quartet Studies, and in August they were faculty members of the Las Vegas Music Festival. Highlights of the 1998-99 season include performances in Philadelphia, Chicago and the Bay Area, as well as residencies in Annville, Pa.; Bloomington, Ill.; and Neskowin, Ore.

The quartet was in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada in the winter of 1997. They have participated in the Amadeus Quartet Seminar in London, where they played in public master classes for Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel and Martin Lovett, and performed two concerts in the Duke’s Hall of the Royal Academy of Music.

The quartet also has worked with cellist Bonnie Hampton and with members of the Cleveland, Orion, Emerson, Mendelssohn and Juilliard quartets.

The UO Trombone Ensemble, under the direction of Associate Professor Jeffrey Williams, will share a concert with the Roosevelt Middle School Choir, directed by Sandra Brown Williams. The program begins at 8 p.m. in Beall Concert Hall. Tickets, available at the door, are $5 general admission and $3 for students and senior citizens.

The Trombone Ensemble’s performance is a preview of their program to be presented on Feb. 12 for the Northwest Music Educators National Conference in Portland. Their program will include a wide range of music, including "Fantasia" by Thomas Stoltzer; "Fugue in D Minor" by J. S. Bach; "Two Motets" by Anton Bruckner; "Monochrome II" by Peter Schickele; "Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael; and "Alexander’s Ragtime Band" by Irving Berlin.

The Roosevelt Middle School Choir, made up of 148 seventh- and eighth-grade students, will sing 16th- and 18th-century songs, several African folksongs, and "uplifting songs that inspire us to work together for a better world," according to Williams. The acclaimed choir recently sang at the Northwest American Choral Director’s Association Conference in Portland and provided the chorus for the Eugene Ballet’s production of "The Nutcracker."

The University Gospel Choir, under the direction of Julia Neufeld, will give its winter concert at 7 p.m. in Eugene’s First Baptist Church, 868 High St. Tickets, available at the door, are $5 general admission and $3 for students and senior citizens.

The 175-voice choir, accompanied by musicians Dustin Lanker, Mark Schneider and Jason Palmer, will perform "Lean On Me," "The Lord Our God," "Majesty," "Any Day," "It Shall Be Done," "Hold On, Change Is Comin" and other gospel selections.

The UO School of Music will sponsor a one-day workshop for high school vocalists from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free and is designed to expose talented singers to the various disciplines necessary for singing at the college and professional level. Those interested in the workshop should call Mark Beudert, 346-3780.

Participants will have master classes with UO voice faculty Mark Beudert, Milagro Vargas and James Miller. They also will meet with faculty accompanist Gregory Mason and with Francis Graffeo, director of the Oregon Opera Ensemble and artistic director of Eugene Opera.

The workshop will conclude with a recital at 3 p.m. in Beall Hall. Featured singers will be UO graduate students in vocal performance, as well as selected singers from the workshop. Admission is free, and the public is invited.

—30—

#P-2091/A&E