Aug 26th 2013 – The Department of Music and Theatre at Fort Hays State University will celebrate its centennial year as one of the region’s vital cultural assets as well as one of its best entertainment values. The musical and theatrical events are covered separately in this release.
Music
The 2013-2014, the 100th, musical season of the Department of Music and Theatre at Fort Hays State University begins in the month of September.
Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for senior citizens. Children under 18 and FHSU students with ID are free.
The season begins in earnest at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13, with Brad Dawson, assistant professor of music, on trumpet presenting the Faculty Jazz Concert in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center in Sheridan Hall on the FHSU campus.
The first musical presentation overall, however, will be Hilary Shepard’s Faculty Flute Recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6 in Palmer Recital Hall.
The jazz concert on Sept. 13 will feature tunes from the “Great American Songbook” as well as some original compositions and arrangements. The recital will feature Dawson on trumpet and flugelhorn, Dr. Ben Markley on piano and Gerald Spaits on bass. Luke Johnson, guitar instructor, and Dean Kranzler, percussion instructor, will also play.
“We will perform a new composition by the internationally known trumpet player Allen Vizzutti off of his latest CD, ‘Ritzville,’ called ‘Ticklish,'” said Dawson. “We will also perform tunes written by Paquito D’Rivera and an arrangement by Ben Markley.”
Vizzutti has visited 40 countries and every state to perform with a rainbow of artists and ensembles, including Chick Corea, Doc Severinsen, the NBC Tonight Show Band, the Army Blues and Army Symphony Orchestra, Chuck Mangione, Woody Herman, Japan’s NHK Orchestra and the New Tokyo Philharmonic, the Budapest Radio Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Leipzig Wind Symphony, and the Kosie Wind Orchestra.
Markley is a 2005 FHSU graduate and is now teaching at the University of Wyoming. He has performed with Brian Lynch, Ron McClure and George Garzone. His latest album, “Second Introduction,” features trumpeter Greg Gisbert. In 2008, he was selected to participate in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program held at the Kennedy Center. Markley co-leads the group Raincheck, which recently released its self-titled album on the Dazzle Recordings label.
Spaits, a freelance bass player in Kansas City, has enjoyed an active career performing with jazz legends Jay McShann, Herb Ellis, Rob McConnell, Marilyn Maye, Gary Foster, and The Woody Herman Orchestra. He has also provided soundtracks for TV and radio commercials. He has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, the San Jose Jazz Festival and the World’s Fair in Seville, Spain. Spaits, adjunct assistant professor of jazz string bass, teaches at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Hays Symphony Orchestra Pops Concert will celebrate its centennial season with a 100th Anniversary concert at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, in Beach/Schmidt.
“We will present music that would have been popular and heard in the concert hall and the drinking hall 100 years ago,” said Ben Cline, chair of the Department of Music and Theatre. “This concert will be a great way to hear music that has remained popular for the last century.”
The orchestra will feature five pieces with the members of the High Plains Barbershop Chorus as special guest artists.
“A Tribute to Irving Berlin” consists of selections from “Anything You Can Do,” “How Deep is the Ocean,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” Berlin, a prolific American songwriter, is considered one of the best songwriters of American History.
“Ragtime Selection” consists of selections from the Broadway musical “Ragtime,” which ran on Broadway in the late 1990s. Ragtime was a very popular musical style in the early 1900s, and the best-known composer of ragtime was Scott Joplin.
“Hays, America,” a commissioned piece by The Hays Symphony Guild, was written by Kansas composer Jeffrey Bishop in celebration of the symphony’s 100th year. “Hays, America!” depicts the energy and bustle of a small plains town at the turn of the century.
“Armed Forces Salute” will feature the official songs of each branch of the military in honor of those who served in World War I.
“Sousa on Parade,” a rhapsody based on themes from “The Washington Post March,” “The Gladiator,” “High School Cadets,” and “Stars and Stripes Forever,” all by John Philip Sousa.
The other three HSO concerts this season are:
The Pops concert is a fundraising event for the orchestra. Hays Symphony Guild is a 501(c)3 fundraising entity for the Hays Symphony Orchestra.
The “Four Seasons” concert is 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, at First Presbyterian Church, 2900 Hall Street. Selections include Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” featuring the symphony’s violinists.
The Young Artist Competition concert, featuring HSO Young Artist finalists, is 7:30 on Saturday, Feb. 8, in Beach/Schmidt. First place receives a $1,000 prize, second place receives a $600 prize and third place receives a $400 prize.
HSO’s “Masterworks” concert, featuring works by Mussorgsky, is at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, in Beach/Schmidt.
Membership to the Hays Symphony Guild is available from $25 and up. Memberships above $100 come with two season tickets to the Hays Symphony Orchestra. Donations and ticket prices are tax-deductible contributions.
Hays Symphony Orchestra is a community-based volunteer orchestra consisting of FHSU faculty, students and community members and managed by the Department of Music and Theatre.
“The music department was organized in 1912 when Helen Bovee was employed to teach music and drawing,” said James Forsythe in his book “The First 75 Years.” “Henry Edward Malloy was employed the following year to teach chorus, and when Bovee resigned in 1914, Malloy was placed in charge of music. The department grew rapidly under Malloy’s direction and soon had six instructors, more than any other department.”
The schedule for the 2013-2014 musical season at FHSU:
Friday, Sept. 6: Hilary Shepard Faculty Flute Recital, 7:30 p.m., Palmer Recital Hall in Malloy Hall, featuring Shepard, instructor of music and theater.
Friday, Sept. 13: Faculty Jazz Recital, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Saturday, Sept. 28: Hays Symphony Orchestra Pops Concert, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Thursday, Oct. 10: FHSU Music Faculty Showcase, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Friday, Oct. 25: FHSU Band and Choir Concert, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Thursday, Nov. 7: FHSU Jazz Concert, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Thursday, Nov. 14: Dr. Kristin Pisano Faculty Clarinet Recital, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt, featuring Pisano, associate professor of music and theatre.
Sunday, Nov. 17: Kay Werth Faculty Oboe Recital, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt, featuring, Werth, instructor of music and theatre.
Monday, Nov. 18: FHSU Small Ensembles Concert, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Friday, Dec. 6: FHSU Bands Concert, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Sunday, Dec. 8: Cathedral Concert, 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., St. Fidelis Cathedral, Victoria.
Thursday, Feb. 20: FHSU Percussion Ensemble Concert, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Tuesday, March 4: Ben Cline Faculty Cello Recital, 7:30 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, 2900 Hall Street, featuring Cline, chair of the department of Music and Theatre.
Tuesday, March 11: FHSU Concert Choir, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Thursday, March 13: FHSU Bands Concert, with guest artist Allan Vizutti on trumpet, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Wednesday, March 26: Guest artists: Fuchs and Fittz Piano Trio, 7:30 p.m., Palmer Recital Hall, Malloy Hall.
Saturday, April 5: Faculty Recital, 7:30 p.m., Palmer Recital Hall, Malloy Hall, featuring Matt Means, assistant professor of music and theatre, on violin and Irena Ravitskaya, assistant professor of music and theatre, on piano.
Thursday, April 10: FHSU Jazz Concert, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Friday, April 11: A faculty recital featuring Lane Weaver, instructor of music and theatre, on trombone and Ravitskaya on piano, 7:30 p.m., Palmer Recital Hall, Malloy Hall.
Monday, April 21: FHSU Small Ensembles concert, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Saturday, May 3: Hays Symphony Orchestra and FHSU Choirs Masterworks Concert, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Tuesday, May 6: “Spectrum” New Student Compositions Recital, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
Friday, May 9: FHSU Bands Concert, 7:30 p.m., Beach/Schmidt.
July 14 to 18: High Plains Music Camp.
Theatre
Musical Theatre, classic and contemporary plays, and an opera highlight the 2013-2024 theatre season at FHSU.
All productions are in Felten-Start Theatre in Malloy Hall on the FHSU campus.
Homecoming Weekend, performances at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 2, 3 & 4, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Oct. 6: “Crazy for You,” by George and Ira Gershwin, based on the book by Ken Ludwig, is a high-energy romantic musical, which includes mistaken identity and plot twists.
“This musical extravaganza is filled with song and dance,” said Tomme Williams, instructor of music and theater. “‘Crazy for You’ was nominated for nine Tony awards and won three, including Best Musical, in 1992.”
Classic Gershwin tunes includes include “I Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You,” “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.”
Performances at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 14, 15 & 16, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Nov. 17: “The Miss Firecracker Contest,” by Beth Henley. Determined to get out of Brookhaven, Miss., in a “blaze of glory” and hoping to salvage her tarnished reputation, Carnell Scott rehearses furiously for victory in the annual Fourth of July Pageant.
Henley won a Pulitzer in 1979 for her play “Crimes of the Heart.” Reviewers have praised “Miss Firecracker” as “top-of-the-line, 100-proof comedy.”
Performances at 7:30 p.m. on March 6, 7 & 8, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday, March 9: “Harvey” is Mary Chase’s play about a mythical eutic creature called a “pooka,” invisible to most people, but who appears to Elwood P. Dowd as a six-foot-tall rabbit. Elwood’s sister, Veta, embarrassed by Elwood’s behavior, seeks to have him committed. Hilarity ensues.
“‘Harvey’ premiered in 1944 and was last revived on Broadway in 2012,” said Williams. “The movie, in 1950, starred Jimmy Stewart as Elwood.”
Performances at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 18, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Saturday, April 19: “The Elixir of Love” by Gaetano Donizetti is described as a “frothy and tuneful opera.” The story line is the tale of two young people who can’t face the fact of their mutual attraction. The arrival of Dr. Dulcamara and his “magic” love potion, which is supposed to solve the problem, instead causes many more.
Season tickets are $50 for the public, $30 for senior citizens and $25 for FHSU students with valid ID. Tickets for individual performances are $15 for the public and $10 for senior citizens and FHSU students with valid ID.
For more information or ticket reservations, call the department at 785-628-4533 or email fhsu.musicandtheater.boxoffice@gmail.com.
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