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Furman Department of Music presents Sound Quality Series


Last updated September 9, 2018

By Tina Underwood

The Furman University Department of Music has announced its Sound Quality Series for the 2018-2019 season. Opening the series is the Franz Liszt Festival concert Thursday, Oct. 11, at 8 p.m. in McAlister Auditorium.

Furman Associate Professor of Piano David Gross

The concert features Furman pianist David Gross performing the Liszt Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in A major. Additional selections will be presented by the Furman Singers and the Furman Symphony Orchestra. Furman Music Professors Thomas Joiner and Hugh Ferguson Floyd conduct.

Tickets are available in advance or at the door for all Sound Quality Series events. Individual tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors 60 and up, and $5 for students.

Season ticket subscribers enjoy a 25 percent discount off regular individual prices. A season set, including 12 Sound Quality performances, is $135 for adults, $90 for seniors 60 and up, and $45 for students.

The full slate for the Sound Quality series includes:

Franz Liszt Festival Concert
Thursday, Oct. 11, 8 p.m.
McAlister Auditorium
Furman Symphony Orchestra, Furman Singers and David Gross, piano soloist

Furman University is honored to host the 2018 American Liszt Society Festival October 11-13. For more information about the 2018 Liszt Festival, visit www.furman.edu/Liszt-Festival-2018. Attendees need not be members of the Liszt Society to register and attend the conference.

Gilead Mishory, Guest Artist Recital/Distinguished Visiting Professor
Monday, Oct. 22, 8 p.m.
Daniel Recital Hall (reception)

Pianist and composer Gilead Mishory (professor at Freiburg/Germany) enjoys an illustrious international career. His works have been performed and recorded widely, and his acclaimed performances and master classes have taken him around the world. Mishory’s recording (Neos) of the complete Préludes by Claude Debussy received critical acclaim for its pianistic subtlety, sensitive phrasing and vivid characterization. He will perform Debussy’s Préludes Book I, along with his latest collection of quirky children’s pieces “Grandma and I.” http://www.mishory.de/index.html

Furman Symphony Orchestra
Friday, Oct. 26, 8 p.m.
McAlister Auditorium

The Furman Symphony Orchestra opens the large ensemble series with masterworks “Karelia Suite” by Jean Sibelius, “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” by Samuel Barber, featuring Furman soprano Alison Trainer, and Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2 Romantic. Thomas Joiner and student conductor Charlie Baldwin conduct.

Faculty Chamber Recital
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 8 p.m.
Daniel Recital Hall (reception)

Furman’s virtuosic faculty members showcase their talents as they collaborate in performances of music for small ensembles. Talk with the performers at the after-recital reception hosted by the sisters of Sigma Alpha Iota.

Haydn’s “Creation,” Fall Oratorio
Friday, Nov. 30, 8 p.m.
McAlister Auditorium

The Furman Symphony Orchestra, the Furman Singers and Chorales, the Oratorio Chorus and distinguished vocal soloists, under the direction of William Thomas, will present this masterwork by classical composer Franz Joseph Haydn. The production features Furman alumni and faculty soloists: Jacquelyn Stucker, soprano; Professor of Voice Grant Knox, tenor; and Joshua Copeland, baritone. The production celebrates the career of Thomas who conducts his final oratorio performance prior to retirement at the end of the academic year.

Faculty Chamber Recital
Friday, Feb. 1, 8 p.m.
Daniel Recital Hall (reception)

Furman’s virtuosic faculty showcase their talents as they collaborate in performances of music for small ensembles. Meet and talk with the performers at the after-recital reception hosted by the sisters of Sigma Alpha Iota.

“She Loves Me” by Bock and Harnick
Thursday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m.
McAlister Auditorium
Grant Knox, stage director, Dewitt Tipton, music director

Furman Lyric Theatre presents this intimate and touching opera featuring music by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick (“Fiddler on the Roof”) and book by Joe Masteroff (“Cabaret”). “She Loves Me” was nominated for five Tony Awards in 1964, and the 1993 Broadway revival won the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the 1994 Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. Considered by many to be the most charming musical ever written, “She Loves Me” is described as a warm romantic comedy with an endearing innocence and a touch of old world elegance.

Furman Symphony Orchestra Concerto Concert
Friday, Feb. 22, 8 p.m.
McAlister Auditorium

The Furman Symphony Orchestra presents the biennial Concerto Concert featuring student soloists selected by competitive audition. Greenville Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Distinguished Visiting Professor of Music, Edvard Tchivzhel, guest conducts the FSO in most-loved concerto movements.

Furman Singers Tour Concert
Monday, March 11 and Tuesday, March 12, 8 p.m.
Daniel Memorial Chapel

The Furman Singers return from their spring tour to present back-to-back home performances. The program includes sacred and secular music for a cappella choir accompanied by Furman’s majestic Hartness Organ built by C.B. Fisk. Furman Singers alumni are invited to join the Singers at the close of each concert. Hugh Ferguson Floyd conducts.

Furman Percussion Ensemble
Saturday, April 6, 8 p.m.
Daniel Recital Hall

The Furman Percussion Ensemble’s Spring Concert unites current students and alumni to perform a concert honoring the career of John Beckford in his final semester prior to retirement. Guests are invited on stage to an instrument “petting zoo” from 7:30-7:45 p.m.

Furman Symphonic Winds
Friday, April 12, 8 p.m.
McAlister Auditorium

The Symphonic Winds present their final concert for the academic year featuring compositions by von Suppe, Grainger, Williams and Resphigi. Retiring this year, Director of Bands and Music Education Coordinator, Leslie (Les) Hicken, conducts the performance. The evening will honor his extensive contributions to Furman and the national music education community.

Spring Oratorio
Friday, April 26, 8 p.m.
McAlister Auditorium

The Furman Symphony Orchestra, the Furman Oratorio Chorus and featured student soloists close the season with inspired music from France, including selections from the charming and popular L’Arlésienne Suites by Georges Bizet and the ethereal Requiem by Gabriel Fauré. Hugh Ferguson Floyd conducts.

For more information and to order tickets visit www.furman.edu/MusicTickets or contact the Furman Department of Music at 864-294-2086, and FurmanMusic@furman.edu.

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