KINGSTON, R.I. – November 8, 2013 – Favorite opera scenes from Mozart and others, a performance by the URI Concert Band, chamber works by a variety of composers, and jazz by student combos round out the offerings from the University of Rhode Island Music Department’s last four concerts in the month of November. All events except the jazz concert will be held in the URI Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, 105 Upper College Road, Kingston. The jazz concert will be held in Fine Arts Room C100, the rehearsal hall.

The URI Concert Band, directed by Brian Cardany, performs on Friday, Nov. 22, at 8 p.m. The program includes Fantasia in G by J. S. Bach; Prelude, Siciliano, and Rondo by Malcolm Arnold; Elegy for a Young American by Ronald Lo Presti; and selections from The Dancerye composed by Tielman Susato, setting by Patrick Dunnigan. The Lo Presti piece was written in response to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which happened 50 years ago this month. The Susato/Dunnigan piece is a nine-movement work using music by Susato, a Renaissance composer.

The URI Opera Workshop leads a double-header on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. The concert will offer three scenes from Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848); two scenes from Don Giovanni and five scenes from The Marriage of Figaro, both by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791); “Laetitia!” from Act I, The Old Maid and The Thief by Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007); “Oh, Alice, Meg” (Quartet) from Act I, Falstaff, by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), and two scenes from The Tender Land by Aaron Copland (1900-1990). The featured cast includes: sopranos Felicia Baker, Chelsea Lorraine & Olivia Mathis; mezzo-soprano Kathryn Sheehan; tenor Michael Genese; and baritones Christopher Davey & Andrew Gribbin, with stage director René de la Garza, costumes by Marilyn Salvatore, and Laura Hibbard, coach/pianist.

The fall Chamber Ensembles Concert follows at 7 p.m. on Nov. 24, with free admission. The Woodwind Quintet, coached by Jane Murray, will perform pieces by Danzi and Mozart. Members of the URI Guitar Studio, coached by John Dennewitz, will perform works by English composer John Duarte, Italian composer Luigi Boccherini, and Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. The Tuba/Euphonium ensemble, coached by Gary Buttery, will perform: “Waltz #2” from Jazz Suite for Variety Orchestra by Dmitri Shostakovich (Donald L. Shirer, arranger ), and Tuphonium by Frigyes Hidas. The clarinet ensemble will also perform.

The URI Fall Jazz Series begins on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center Rehearsal Hall, Room C100. Concert I features five student jazz combos, including the New High School Jazz Combo that arose from last summer’s URI Jazz Camp. The URI Jazz Guitar Ensemble will play Shaw, Mingus, Evans, and Hofbauer works, and Mingus Mingus Mingus! will play Mingus classics. Both are directed by Eric Hofbauer. Combos directed by Steve Langone and David Zinno will also perform, playing other jazz greats. Concert II, featuring the B101 Big Band, will be held on Friday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. in the Concert Hall.

Except as noted, concert admission is $12 general public, $7 students, with tickets available in advance through the Music Department website via credit card, or at the box office by cash or check starting 45 minutes before the concert. The URI Concert Hall is handicap-accessible, and parking is available in the lot behind the Fine Arts Center, off Bills Road. For more information, please contact the URI Department of Music, 874-5955, or check the website: www.uri.edu/music.

Schedule Summary

Nov. 22, 8 p.m., URI Concert Band, Concert Hall

Nov. 24, 3 p.m., Opera Workshop, Concert Hall

Nov. 24, 7 p.m., Chamber Ensembles, Concert Hall, Free

Nov. 26, 7:30 p.m., Fall Jazz Series, Rehearsal Hall, Room C100

Dec. 6, 8 p.m., B101 Big Band, Concert Hall

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