EUGENE–Mozart’s comic opera with a wild West spin, black gospel music and today’s tuba, band and percussion music are featured in the six concerts scheduled this week at the University of Oregon School of Music, 961 E. 18th Ave.

For more information, call the UO School of Music weekdays at (541) 346-5678. To confirm concert times and ticket information, call GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone at 485-2000, ext. 2533, for a 24-hours-a-day taped message of the week’s events.

The University Gospel Ensemble, directed by John Gainer, will give its spring concert at 3 p.m. in Beall Concert Hall, 961 E. 18th Ave. Tickets, available at the door, are $5 general admission and $3 for students and senior citizens.

The program of traditional and contemporary black gospel music includes "God Will Bring You Out" by Dana Robinson, "Been There, Done That" by Timothy Wright, "There is Nothing Too Hard for You" by Vernon Harwell, "Holy Spirit" by Richard Smallwood, "It’s Right and Good" and "I’m Going Away" by Walter Hawkins, and many other selections.

Featured on the concert will be vocalist Deborah Cleveland, a former Gospel Ensemble member who has an upcoming compact disc with her group, the Deb Cleveland Band. The program also will feature a liturgical dance by Renesa Tucker-Fair and Shaderra Stevens, as well as several small-group numbers from within the ensemble.

Tuba and euphonium students of Richard Frazier will give a class recital titled "Tuba Magic" at 8 p.m. in Beall Concert Hall. Admission is free, and the concert is open to the public.

The UO Symphonic Band and Campus Band, both directed by Timothy Reynolds, will share a concert at 8 p.m. in Beall Hall. Tickets, available at the door, are $5 general admission and $3 for students and senior citizens.

The Campus Band’s portion of the program will include "Court Festival" by William Latham; "Concerto for Timpani and Band" by Gordon Jacob, featuring soloist Brian Gardiner; and selections from "Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The Symphonic Band will perform "Festivo" by Edward Gregson, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" by Elliot Del Borgo, a transcription of "Panis Angelicus" by Cesar Franck, "Havendance" by David Holsinger, and "Days of Rain" by UO graduate student Lily Barmor.

The Oregon Percussion Ensemble, directed by Professor Charles Dowd, will give its spring concert, "The Dichotomy of Cool," at 8 p.m. in Beall Hall. Tickets, available at the door, are $5 general admission and $3 for students and senior citizens.

Eight modern works for classical percussion will be performed, including the Northwest premiere of San Francisco composer Richard Kvistad’s new work, "Mister Cool." Kvistad is nationally renowned as the percussionist/founder of the Blackearth Percussion Group.

The program includes "Marimba Quartet" by Daniel Levitan; "Duettino Concertante" for flute and percussion, by Ingolf Dahl; "Three Phases for Marimba Quartet" by Anthony Cirone; and "Merlin" by Andrew Thomas, featuring marimba soloist Tracy Freeze. Graduate Teaching Fellow Sean Wagoner also will conduct the ensemble in "Dichotomy" by Anthony Cirone.

Also featured on the program are two university groups, the UO Marimba Quartet and the Praxis Marimba Quartet.

The Oregon Percussion Ensemble is one of the premier contemporary ensembles on the West Coast. The ensemble, which features 15 multi-percussionists and a large array of percussion instruments from around the world, has been broadcast worldwide by WGBH Boston, and in 1996 was nominated for the Laurel Leaf Award by the American Composers Alliance.

The Oregon Opera Ensemble, under the direction of Francis Graffeo, will perform Mozart’s classic comic opera, "Cosi fan tutte," with a western twist. The "pistol-packin’ Mozart" production begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Soreng Theater at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, One Eugene Centre. The performance is produced in cooperation with the Eugene Opera.

Reserved-seat tickets are $14 apiece–$8 for students–and are available from the Hult Center Box Office at 682-5000.

Graffeo, who is also artistic director of Eugene Opera, has taken the traditional 18th-century Naples setting of Mozart’s opera and relocated the action to the 19th-century American wild West.

"This enduring comedy of human nature makes the time and place transition well," says Graffeo. "It also gives these very talented performers an opportunity to stretch their range as actors, while still meeting the demands of Mozart."

Appearing in leading roles are graduate students Sarah Dornblaser as Fiordiligi, Heidi Croff and Katie Hallor sharing the role of Despina, and Jennifer Sisco-Moore (the current Miss Oregon) as Dorabella. Robert Russell and Kyle Gantz appear as Ferrando and Guglielmo, and Don Kelley plays the role of Don Alfonso.

The plot is contrived around a bet made by two young men with an older friend. Their skeptical friend bets that their fiancées will be unfaithful to them, given the temptation. The bet is made under the condition that the two men follow their older friend’s orders. He directs them to pretend to go off to war, but to reappear disguised as exotic foreigners. He further charges each to attempt to seduce the other’s sweetheart to prove his point. The young men agree, and that’s where things take a turn for the worse. Even though the title of the opera translates, "Women are like that," it is the men who end up making fools of themselves. Fortunately, all is forgiven and the two couples agree to live happily ever after.

The production is the latest in a successful collaboration between the Eugene Opera and the Oregon Opera Ensemble over the past several years. In addition to directing the production, Graffeo also will conduct the orchestra, comprised of members of the University Symphony.

The Oregon Vocal Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of adjunct instructor Tom Dye, will give its spring concert at 8 p.m. in Beall Concert Hall. Tickets, available at the door, are $5 general admission and $3 for students and senior citizens.

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