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HATTIESBURG -- The School of
Music at the University of Southern Mississippi will host an
evening of gifted musical talent with a “doubleheader” event
Jan. 19 at the Mannoni Performing Arts Center Auditorium.
The evening will feature a free guest violinist recital at
6 p.m., followed by a Southern Opera and Musical Theatre Company
(SOMTC) production of Luigi Zaninelli’s Mr. Sebastian and Good
Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Seventeen-year-old Canadian violinist Adrian Anantawan, a gifted
young violinist who is as remarkable in his talent as he is
in his spirit of triumph over disability, will present a free
concert. Although Anantawan was born with no right hand and
began his study of the violin as a hobby, he is poised for a
promising career.
After winning various prizes and seats in youth orchestras
in his native Canada, Anantawan was accepted to the Curtis Institute
of Music, the school that is arguably the world's most selective
and prestigious music conservatory.
The program includes sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach and Johannes
Brahms. Southern Miss professors of music Lois Leventhal, piano,
and Lawrence Gwozdz, saxophone, will collaborate with the young
violinist on Walter Hartley’s “Dance Suite” for violin, alto
saxophone and piano.
For this concert, Anantawan will use a 1698 Hieronymus Amati
Violin, on loan from Geo. Heinl and Co. Ltd. This soloist violin
is one of the few remaining examples of Cremona’s Golden Period
of violin making. It is in a fine state of preservation and
still bears the maker’s original label.
Anantawan’s residency is made possible by grants from Mr. and
Mrs. James Simrall Jr., Fund for Guest Artists (USM Foundation),
The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability
Studies, and VSA Arts of Mississippi (V.A. Patterson, Executive
Director). Admission is free and a reception in his honor will
follow in the lobby.
At 7:30 p.m., Southern Miss voice faculty members Maryann Kyle,
also director of Southern Opera and Musical Theatre, and J.
Taylor Hightower will take the stage, with Theresa Sanchez at
the piano, in performances of Mr. Sebastian and Good Friday,
two one-act operas by Southern Miss composer-in-residence, Luigi
Zaninelli.
Performers and audiences around the world know Zaninelli’s
music as works that excite the senses and stimulate the mind.
Like Anantawan, the composer is a product of the Curtis Institute.
At age 19, the Institute sent him to Italy to study composition
with the legendary Rosario Scalero (the teacher of Samuel Barber
and Menotti).
Zaninelli, who has been on the School of Music faculty since
1973, has more than 300 published works to his credit. He has
been commissioned to compose for all mediums, including opera,
ballet, chamber music, orchestra, band, chorus and solo songs.
Mr. Sebastian tells of a flamboyant pianist and teacher who
seeks fame and fortune. Zelda, an aspiring singer who asks for
coaching, enters. Once Sebastian hears her glorious aria, he
believes she will become the next diva and make him famous.
In Good Friday, a mysterious woman appears each Good Friday
at the bar in the Bellvue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, Pa.
Her mystery is the passionate secret she holds in her heart.
This ticketed event is part of the Symphony Orchestra and Southern
Opera and Musical Theatre Company season. Tickets are $18, $16,
and $14 and are available at the Southern Miss Ticket Office.
Call 601.266.5418 or 800.844.8425 or order online at www.usm.edu/tickets.
Tickets also will be available at the door on a space-available
basis.
About The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi, founded in 1910, is
a comprehensive doctoral and research-extensive university fulfilling
its mission of being a leading university in engaging and empowering
individuals to transform lives and communities. In a tradition
of leadership for student development, Southern Miss is educating
a 21st century work force providing intellectual capital, cultural
enrichment and innovation to Mississippi and the world. Southern
Miss is located in Hattiesburg, Miss., with an additional campus
and teaching and research sites on the Mississippi Gulf Coast;
further information is found at www.usm.edu.
For more information, visit the Web at www.usm.edu/arts or
contact Angela Kilcrease at 601.266.4988.
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Last updated:
01/25/06 |
