Conservatory

Thursday, Feb. 22 | 8-9:30 p.m.
Harper Hall

Paul Dietrich has been described as “an apt bandleader, an exceptional composer, and a superlative performer” (All About Jazz) and “a skilled composer” (JazzTrail) and his music has been praised as “stunningly beautiful” (Audiophile Audition) and “captivating” (Chicago Jazz Magazine).

A composer, trumpet player and educator based in the Midwest, Dietrich has been the leader of the Paul Dietrich Quintet since 2012 and the Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble since 2016. The Chicago-based Quintet has released two albums: Focus (2017, ears&eyes) and We Always Get There (2014, Blujazz). The Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble’s 2019 album Forward features guest artist and world-renowned drummer Clarence Penn (Dave Douglas, Maria Schneider) alongside many of the Midwest’s best jazz musicians, including Greg Ward, Russ Johnson, Dustin Laurenzi, Matt Gold, and Andy Baker.

This concert is free and open to all!

Blue Note Records 85th Anniversary Celebration, starring The Blue Note Quintet

Saturday, Feb. 17 | 7:30-9 p.m.
Memorial Chapel

Featuring Gerald Clayton, Joel Ross, Immanuel Wilkins, Kendrick Scott, and Matt Brewer

Blue Note Records celebrates their 85th Anniversary with a U.S. Tour featuring The Blue Note Quintet, honoring the label’s history and showcasing their current roster. Led by Gerald Clayton, a six-time Grammy nominee and renowned pianist, the group includes Joel Ross on vibraphone, Immanuel Wilkins on saxophone, Kendrick Scott on drums, and Matt Brewer on bass.

• Adults: $25/30
• Seniors: $20/25
• Students (with valid ID): FREE

Sunday, Feb. 11 | 7:30-9 p.m.
Memorial Chapel

Award winning pianist Kyungwha Chu performs as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe. Her performances have included appearances at New York’s 92nd street Y, Kennedy Center Washington D.C., Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall New York.

She has appeared as a soloist with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music orchestra, and Royal Conservatory of Music Orchestra. Her awards include top prizes in the Korean Broadcasting System competition, Cleveland Institute of Music concerto competition and Royal Conservatory of Music concerto competition. She has participated in the professional training workshop at Carnegie where she worked with Yo-Yo Ma and Pamela Frank. In 2010 she was one of seven students of Leon Fleisher to perform all 32 Beethoven piano Sonatas in a single-day marathon concert. During the summer of 2014 she participated in the Pearlman Music Program, working with Itzhak Pearlman and Donald Weilerstein.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Cleveland Institute of Music and an Artists Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music. As a student of Leon Fleisher, she completed both the Graduate Performance Diploma and master’s degree at the Peabody Institute of Music. Currently, Kyungwha is pursuing a DMA at Stoney Brook University, studying with Christina Dahl and Gilbert Kalish.

Wednesday, Feb. 14 | 8-9:30 p.m.
Memorial Chapel

Hailing from Scotland, Heron Valley’s style is rooted in Scottish and Irish traditional music. The four-piece group features Abigail Pryde on fiddle, guitar, and vocals; Keith Morrison on keys; Alastair Maclean on bagpipes and whistles; and Callum Cronin on bass and guitar. Their diverse backgrounds create an eclectic sound that has received recognition for their singles and a nomination as an Up and Coming Artist of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2017. Heron Valley has performed at notable festivals including Festival Interceltique de Lorient and Tiree Music Festival.

Get your tickets today

• Adult – $15
• Senior – $10
• Student – FREE

Friday, Feb. 2 | 7:30-9 p.m.
Memorial Chapel

The Escher String Quartet is acclaimed for their insightful music and beautiful tones. They have been recognized as a former BBC New Generation Artist and have received the Avery Fisher Career Grant. They have performed at prestigious venues like the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall, and Wigmore Hall. In New York, they are season artists for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Currently, the quartet is extensively touring the U.S., including notable venues such as Alice Tully Hall, Bohemian National Hall, the Library of Congress, and the Harris Theater. They are also performing in international locations such as Wigmore Hall, St. John in the Virgin Islands, and San Miguel De Allende in Mexico.

Saturday, Jan. 27 | 8-9:30 p.m.
Harper Hall

Duo Montagnard was formed in 2002 and has performed over 350 concerts in 50 states, eight Canadian provinces, and twenty countries on six continents. Festival performances include the Chautauqua Institution, Scandinavian Saxophone Festival, Hartwick College Summer Music Festival, North-West University New Music Week (South Africa), UNC-Wilmington New Music for Guitar and Saxophone Festival, Radford University International Guitar Festival, and the Alexandria Guitar Festival. The duo has commissioned, premiered and recorded more than forty works for guitar and saxophone.

Joseph Murphy has been the saxophone professor at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania since 1987, where he has also served as Department Chair and Director of Bands. He received the Bachelor of Music degree from Bowling Green State University (OH), and the Master of Music and Doctoral of Musical Arts degrees from Northwestern University. Dr. Murphy was the music director of Tiffin (OH) Calvert High School from 1983-85. In 1985-86 he received a Fulbright Award for a year of study in Bordeaux, France, where he received a Premier Prix. In June 1996, Dr. Murphy performed a solo recital at Lincoln Center. He has performed in Europe, Taiwan and Japan. He is a clinician for the Selmer Corporation and has been recorded on the Erol (France), Opus One, and Mark Record labels. Dr. Murphy’s memberships include Music Educators National Conference, Music Teachers National Association, North American Saxophone Alliance, National Association of College Wind & Percussion Instructors, College Band Directors National Association, Phi Mu Alpha and Kappa Kappa Psi. Murphy has been involved in commissioning and premiering more than twenty new works for the saxophone, including pieces by Libby Larsen, Michael Colgrass, John Harbison, Bernard Rands, and Gunther Schuller.

Matthew Slotkin is an acclaimed performer, teacher, and scholar, and has appeared in leading venues on six continents. A commitment to contemporary music has resulted in premieres of numerous works by composers including Linda Buckley, John Anthony Lennon, Scott Lindroth, John Orfe, and many others. Recent performances include tours of South Africa, Poland, Germany, Argentina, Uruguay, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Greece, as well as concerts at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, the Walled City Music Festival, the Monadnock Music Festival, the Chautauqua Institution, the Guitar Foundation of America, and the World Saxophone Congresses in Scotland, Thailand and Slovenia. He has performed on numerous classical guitar society concert series including New Zealand (GANZ), Montreal, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Iowa, Northeastern Pennsylvania, and the Great Lakes. He has given performances with many prominent chamber ensembles including Cantata Profana, Metropolis Ensemble, Mallarmé Chamber Players, Duo Montagnard and Dez Cordas. Recordings on the Summit, Centaur, and Liscio labels have been praised as “wonderful…a very enjoyable disc” (Soundboard), and “a magnificent achievement…the concept of this program is brilliant” (American Record Guide). Soundboard magazine called him an “exceptional” player, and a recent concert review from the Classical Voice of North Carolina praised his “fine sensitivity and facile technique.” Slotkin is an Associate Professor of Music at Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, PA, where he has directed the guitar program since 2004. He has given masterclasses at numerous institutions and festivals including the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, Victorian College of the Arts (Australia), ESMAE (Portugal), National University of La Plata (Argentina), the Alexandria Guitar Festival, and many others. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts, Master of Music, and Bachelor of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied guitar with Nicholas Goluses.

Nancy Zeltman, marimba
Jean Carlo Ureña González, percussion

Wednesday, Jan. 10 | 8-9:30 p.m.
Memorial Chapel

Nancy Zeltsman is a professor at joint institutions Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She has taught marimba at both schools since 1993 in positions that were created for her. Since 2013, she has been regular guest professor of marimba at Conservatorium van Amsterdam; since 2021, a Guest Artist teaching two weeks per year at University of Michigan; and from fall 2023, a Visiting Lecturer at Boston University School of Music.

Nancy first came to prominence as the marimbist of the duo Marimolin. She has presented master classes at institutions across the United States and Europe, and in Japan, China, Mexico and Brazil – including The Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Lawrence Conservatory of Music (Appleton, WI), Cleveland Institute of Music, Royal College of Music (London), Académie supérieure de musique (Strasbourg, France), and Escola Superior de Música (Lisbon, Portugal). She has performed or presented at 12 Percussive Arts Society International Conventions and at PAS chapter events in 17 states and Stockholm, Sweden. Performance venues have included the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music, Ravinia Festival, subscription concerts with the San Francisco Symphony, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall and Merkin Concert Hall (New York), Shenzhen Concert Hall (China), and Harmony Hall (Fukui, Japan).

This event is free and open to the public.

Thursday, November 16 | 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Riverview Gardens | 1101 S. Oneida St.
FREE

Through the Music for All initiative, we strive to expand the impact of music outside of the concert hall by using music to engage communities in new ways. We challenge Lawrentians to think outside the box, to create new and innovative performance opportunities for themselves, and to expand how they engage with their craft.

Through this initiative we lay the groundwork for students to create a rich, inclusive musical life after Lawrence that expands the possibilities of a career as a professionally trained musician.

Music for All is exactly what it sounds like:  music, for everyone. Regardless of color, age, orientation, or ability. 

This concert series features interactive musical performances by Lawrence students and faculty. The concerts are free and open to everyone. They last about an hour, and will take place locally.