School of Music Oct. 28, 1997 Contact Scott Barkhurst (541) 346-1163 or John R. Crosiar 346-3135 EUGENE--African master drummer Obo Addy and America's premier brass ensemble headline the five concert offerings 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. Saturday, Nov. 8--Children's Concert Series: The Garden Variety Band Nationally recognized for their outstanding children's music, Oregon natives Mike and Carleen McCornack will present a concert of music for families and children beginning at 10:30 a.m. in Beall Concert Hall, 961 E. 18th Ave. Tickets, available at the door, are $3 for adults, $2 for children and students, or $5 for a family ticket. The concert coincides with the November release of "High Hopes," the McCornacks' newest recording for children. "High Hopes" is their third children's recording in a series which began with their 1989 Parents' Choice Gold Award winner, "Beasties, Bumbershoots & Lullabies," and continued with "Sunshine Cake" in 1993. Appearing with the McCornacks will be their Garden Variety Band, consisting of Kevin McCornack (bassoon, concertina and harmonica), Dale Bradley (cello and bass), and Eileen McCornack (harp, hammer dulcimer, mandolin and accordion). Mike and Carleen McCornack began their performing partnership in Eugene in 1971. Since then, they have developed a loyal following, especially in the folk music community, for their unique, seamless vocal blend and their tight fingerstyle and flat-picked guitar accompaniments. Both are also accomplished songwriters. Their original songs are featured prominently on each of their five recordings (including two "grownup" recordings) they have released since 1974. "High Hopes" features eight McCornack originals. Performing for families is a natural for the McCornacks. Mike and Carleen have been married since 1976 and have two children. Kevin is Mike's cousin, is married to Eileen and has one child. Bradley, a long-time family friend, and his wife have five children. Mike, Kevin and Dale share another family relationship; all are graduates of the UO School of Music. Saturday, Nov. 8--World Music Series: African Music with Obo Addy African master drummer Obo Addy will be the featured attraction in a World Music Series concert at 8 p.m. in Beall Hall. Addy will be joined by his two ensembles, Okropong and Kukrudu. Tickets, available at the door, are $10 general admission and $8 for students and senior citizens. Addy, who learned the traditional drumming and singing of the Ga culture of Ghana at an early age, plays the full range of West African master drums, supporting drums, xylophones and other percussion instruments. At 18, he began playing American jazz and big band music in Accra's thriving nightclub scene. Addy later returned to his roots by working for the National Arts Council of Ghana, where he taught and played with many of the country's best traditional master drummers. After touring Europe, Australia, the Middle East and the United States, he moved to Seattle and finally to Portland. In addition to performing, he is currently an instructor at Portland State University and Lewis and Clark College, and is the founder and artistic director of the annual Homowo Festival of African Arts in Portland. Addy recently received a prestigious NEA National Heritage Fellowship. In the early 1980s, he formed the group Kukrudu, which performs a brilliant synthesis of African polyrhythms and American jazz/rock. More recently, he formed a second group, Okropong, a more traditional ensemble featuring the music and dance of a number of Ghana's ethnic groups, including the Ga, Ewe, Ashanti, Fanti and Dagomba. Addy has produced a number of tapes and CDs of his music. A recent Time magazine review of the Kronos Quartet's CD, "Pieces of Africa," praised Addy's piece as the highlight of the recording. Tuesday, Nov. 11--Chamber Music Series: American Brass Quintet The American Brass Quintet, billed as America's premier brass ensemble, will be joined by UO faculty organist Barbara Baird for a Chamber Music Series concert at 8 p.m. in Beall Concert Hall. Reserved-seat tickets range from $8 to $22, available in advance from the Hult Center at 682-5000. Student rush tickets will be sold at the door for $5 and $9. Associate Professor Robert Ponto, director of bands at the School of Music, will give a free lecture at 7:15 p.m., offering insights and recorded examples of the concert repertoire. When the American Brass Quintet gave its first public performance more than 36 years ago, brass chamber music was relatively unknown to concert audiences. That modest debut, in 1960, marked the beginning of an international concert career for the ensemble that Newsweek has called "the high priests of brass." In the United States, the quintet has performed in all 50 states in virtually every major concert hall. In addition to its annual appearances at the Aspen Music Festival, the quintet also has performed at the Caramoor Festival and Chamber Music Northwest. Foreign touring has taken the ensemble throughout Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Most recently, the quintet performed to rave reviews in Rome, the 13th International Arts Festival and the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, and in Japan. Since its inception, the American Brass Quintet has maintained an extensive recording schedule. By the end of the 1997-98 season, the quintet will have made more than 45 recordings, representing the largest body of serious brass chamber music ever recorded by one ensemble. The quintet has recorded for Albany, BASF, Bridge, CBS, CRI, Crystal, Delos, Folkways, Japan Victor, MHS, MMC, New World, Nonesuch, Serenus, Summit, Titanic and Well-Tempered. Of equal importance to the ensemble's recording project is its commissioning project, which now numbers well over 100 works for brass quintet. These commissions, along with the quintet's own editions of Renaissance and Baroque music and premieres of forgotten 19th-century brass repertoire, have firmly established this ensemble's commitment to the ever-growing field of brass chamber music. Termed "positively breathtaking" by the New York Times, the American Brass Quintet has never wavered in its devotion to brass chamber music throughout its 37 years. The quintet is ensemble-in-residence at the Juilliard School where they have administered the brass chamber music program since that program's inception in 1987. Since 1970, they have been summer ensemble-in-residence at the Aspen Music Festival. Wednesday, Nov. 12-- The Oregon Wind Ensemble The Oregon Wind Ensemble, the School of Music's premier concert band, will give its fall 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. Conducted by Associate Professor Robert Ponto and graduate student conductors Sean Wagoner and Timothy Reynolds, the program contains six selections: two movements from "Suite in F" by Gustav Holst, "The Thunderer" by John Philip Sousa, "The Thunderer" from "Symphony on Themes by Sousa" by Ira Hearshen, "A Movement for Rosa" by Mark Camphouse, "Capriccio" by Gustav Holst, and "Jericho" by Morton Gould. Thursday, Nov. 13--Faculty Artist Series: The Oregon String Quartet The Oregon String Quartet will give a Faculty Artist Series concert at 8 p.m. in Beall Hall. Tickets, available at the door, are $7 general admission and $4 for students and senior citizens. The program consists of Mozart's "String Quartet in D Minor," Ravel's "String Quartet" and a piece by UO Associate Professor Jeffrey Stolet, "Simple Requests v. 2a" for string quartet and electronics. The quartet, founded in 1982, is one of the flagship ensembles at the School of Music. The quartet is comprised of Associate Professors Lawrence Maves and Kathryn Lucktenberg, violins; Associate Professor Leslie Straka, viola; and Associate Professor Steven Pologe, cello. Lucktenberg received her bachelor's degree at the Curtis Institute of Music. She made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1978 and has participated regularly at the Marlboro and Grand Teton music festivals. As a former member of the Kasimir String Quartet, she performed throughout the eastern and southern United States, and in France, Italy and Switzerland. She was concertmaster of the Honolulu Symphony from 1982-1993. Maves is a graduate of the University of Oregon and the Juilliard School of Music. He served as concertmaster of the Oregon Bach Festival for more than 20 years and has appeared as soloist with the Eugene, Oregon and other civic symphonies. Maves is a founding member of the Oregon String Quartet and has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in the Northwest, in New York City and in Europe. Straka holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Arizona State University. She has been a featured artist at the Luzerne Chamber Music Center in New York, the Miami Bach Society, the Mainly Mozart and Flagstaff festivals in Arizona, and the York Festival in England. Straka has been with the Oregon String Quartet since 1987. Pologe received his professional degrees from the Eastman School of Music and from the Juilliard School. He has played with the Rochester and Buffalo philharmonics and the Brooklyn Philharmonia, and has served as principal cellist with the New York String Ensemble, Rome Festival Orchestra, Aspen Chamber Orchestra, Honolulu Symphony and Philharmonic Symphony of Westchester. -30- #P-2057/A&E