|
NYU debuts Steel Drum Ensemble
NYU's (New York
University) Department of
Music and Performing Arts Professions held a special tribute to
composer Philip Glass last night at the Frederick Lowe Theatre in
the Village, New York.
The event - "A Philip Glass Birthday Concert," was the first
ever all-percussion concert performance of the composer's music. The NYU
Percussion Ensemble and the NYU Steel Drum Ensemble were among the
featured performers on what started out as a slightly rainy
Wednesday evening. That did not present an obstacle for the
almost seventy-five percent audience in attendance at the theatre.
Show director was the renowned
conductor/timpanist Jonathan Haas. Josh Quillen is the
director of the NYU Steel Drum Ensemble.
After intermission the
seven-member steel drum ensemble performed 'Piano Etude No.2 for SteelPan Ensemble'
arranged by Quillen. The performance was well received by the
audience, and could be considered a coup for a steel drum group
which is essentially in its first semester at NYU. The
ensemble's performance was followed by 'Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of
Bread,' a one-act theater
production written by playwright Yale graduate David Ives.
The performance of world music birthed the NYU Steel Band Ensemble,
as part of the overall
NYU Percussion Studio Ensemble, in the latter's exploration of
an exhaustive range of styles and mediums.
As members of the
ensemble, students are mandated to put in three hours of practice
time on an individual basis every week, and are cemented together
during a weekly class session. They are selected via audition at
the beginning of the
fall semester.
For more info about the Steel Drum Ensemble, contact Prof.
Jonathan Haas, jonathan.haas@nyu.edu
4.25.07
|
