EUGENE–The Emerson String Quartet headlines the six concerts scheduled this week at the University of Oregon School of Music, 961 E. 18th Ave. Other performances will range from symphonic and high-class low-brass music to traditional and original jazz and a songfest for kids.

For more information, call the music school 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 Symphony, directed by Professor Wayne Bennett, will perform 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.

Selections on the program include Ralph Vaughan Williams’ "Fantasy on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, featuring the Oregon String Quartet as soloists; "Per la Flor del Lliri Blau" by Joaquim Rodrigo; and two movements from "Symphonie Fantastique" by Hector Berlioz.

The School of Music’s annual OcTUBAfest, featuring high-class, low-brass music, will begin 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 program features selections and transcriptions for tuba and euphonium, performed by members of the UO Tuba Choir directed by Richard Frazier and members of the Oregon Tuba Ensemble directed by Jeff Turay.

Included on the program will be movements from two of the finest works for tuba/euphonium to come out of the brass band repertoire: a concerto by Joseph Horowitz performed by UO euphonium soloist Andy Schantz and a concerto by Edward Gregson performed by UO tuba soloist Seth Horner.

Also on the program is a piece for tuba choir by Rodger Vaughan, a Mozart tuba duet performed by Lukas Storm and Seth Horner, and a tuba/euphonium duet by Hindemith performed by Tim Mott and Ella Hersh. The program will close with the traditional OcTUBAfest finale, the Welsh folk song "All Through the Night."

Joseph Brooks, an acclaimed saxophone soloist from Washington State, will give a guest artist recital at 8 p.m. in Beall Hall. Tickets, available at the door, are $7 general admission and $4 for students and senior citizens.

The eclectic program mix of classical and contemporary selections includes "Saxophobia" by Rudy Wiedoft, "Variations on Amazing Grace" by Calvin Hampton, "Suite for Saxophone and Piano" by Paul Bonneay, "Sonata for Saxophone and Piano" by Bernhard Heiden, "Three Romances" by Robert Schumann (originally written for clarinet and piano) and "Prelude et Saltarelle" by Robert Planel.

By virtue of his numerous solo appearances on clarinet, oboe and saxophone, Brooks has been recognized as a consummate woodwind specialist. He has served as solo clarinetist in the U.S. Continental Army Band and as principal clarinet and featured soloist with the Rome Festival Orchestra. Brooks has been heard in recital at the International Clarinet Convention and has given scores of recitals on college and university campuses throughout the United States.

While primarily a classical musician, he also is active as a jazz artist, playing in groups such as The Denton Jazz Machine, The A Train Express and The Jazz Connection. Currently professor of music specializing in clarinet and saxophone at Central Washington University, he has served on the music faculty at Walla Walla College, Whitman College and Western Kentucky University. Brooks plays with The Brooks-Ott Jazz Quartet and freelances with the Yakima, Wenatchee and Walla Walla symphony orchestras.

Scott received his doctor of musical arts degree from the Eastman School of Music where he also received an M.A. in historical musicology and the coveted Performer’s Certificate. A member of the faculties of both Whitman College and Walla Walla College, he has developed one of the most active organ studios in Washington. In addition to teaching, Scott maintains an active performing schedule on both organ and harpsichord including recent appearances at Central Washington University and the Batelle Auditorium in Richland. Since 1993, Scott has been music director at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Walla Walla.

The Emerson String Quartet, hailed as one of the top chamber ensembles in the world today, will open the 33rd season of the Chamber Music Series at 8 p.m. in Beall Concert Hall. Reserved-seat tickets range from $15 to $30 and are available in advance from the Hult Center (541) 682-5000 or from the Erb Memorial Union Ticket Office, 346-4363.

The three selections on the program are the Lento movement from Aaron Copland’s "Two Pieces for String Quartet"; Beethoven’s famous "Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131"; and "Quartet No. 12 in D-flat Major, Op. 133" by Shostakovich.

The concert will be preceded by a free talk at 7 p.m. in Beall Hall by Professor Robert Hurwitz, who will offer some audience-friendly insights to the evening’s repertoire.

Acclaimed for its insightful performances, brilliant artistry and technical mastery, the Emerson String Quartet has amassed an impressive list of achievements: four Grammy Awards, an exclusive Universal Classics/Deutsche Grammophon recording contract, regular appearances with virtually every chamber music series, and an international reputation as a quartet that approaches both the classics and contemporary music with equal mastery and enthusiasm.

During the quartet’s 2000-2001 season, the Emerson String Quartet is featured twice in Carnegie Hall’s "Perspectives: Maurizio Polini" series and premieres a new work by William Bolcom in Washington, D.C., and Boston with Isaac Stern. Other highlights of the quartet’s season include an engagement at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and concerts in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Houston, Cleveland, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Mexico City.

In addition, the Emerson String Quartet performs in England, Germany, France, Belgium and Italy this season and makes its debut in Hong Kong and Singapore.

This is the Emerson String Quartet’s 20th year as faculty at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music and the 22nd season of the Emerson’s series at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

The quartet recently performed the complete cycle of Shostakovich quartets in New York and London and recorded them live at the Aspen Music Festival. The ensemble also collaborated with director Simon McBurney in "The Noise of Time," a theatrical piece that includes a live performance by the Emerson Quartet of Shostakovich’s 15th Quartet.

The Emerson String Quartet has received two Grammy Awards for its Bartok cycle, one for "American Originals" (works by Ives and Barber) and one for the complete quartets of Beethoven. Among the group’s extensive recordings (including several Grammy nominees) are works by Schubert, Schumann, Dvorák, Prokofiev, Webern, Shostakovich, Edgar Meyer and Ned Rorem.

UO jazz combos will be featured at the School of Music’s popular Jazz Café, this time at 8 p.m. in Room 186 of the Music Building, 961 E. 18th Ave. Tickets, available at the door, are $5 general admission and $3 for students and senior citizens.

Four of the UO jazz program’s finest jazz combos will be on the program, performing a variety of traditional and original jazz selections. Each year students and combos from the UO jazz program are recognized to be among the nation’s finest through awards garnered at regional jazz festivals and performances at music educators’ conventions.

Three choral groups will present "Songfest," a special children’s concert. The one-hour program begins at 10:30 a.m. in Beall Concert Hall. Tickets, available at the door, are $3 for adults, $2 for children and students, or $5 for a family ticket.

The concert, under the direction of Kathryn Lehmann Olson, will involve audience participation, singing fun songs and rounds, led by the students in the UO Chamber Choir. The program will include "Banquet Fugue" and "Sing a Song of Sixpence" by John Rutter, as well as Aaron Copland’s "Zion’s Walls" which has an Early American folk-song quality.

Also featured on the program are On the Rocks–a pop music group–and the second grade choir from Gilham Elementary School. Appropriate for the time of year, the Gilham choir will sing songs about harvest.

—30—

#P-2027/A&E