Faculty composers recital set for Oct. 13

Skidmore faculty composers Joel Brown, Evan Mack, Anthony Holland, Veena Chandra, and Rich Syracuse will perform a concert of original works at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, in the Arthur Zankel Music Center. Admission to the concert is free and open to the public.

The program features Holland presenting the world premiere ofElegy and Transcendence for English horn and viola, and Mack premiering selections from his new opera, The Secret of Luca, featuring Kara Cornell and Jack Brown. The Finger Lakes Guitar Quartet of Joel Brown, Brett Grigsby, Sten Isachsen, and Paul Quigley will perform works by Holland and Brown. In addition, Veena Chandra will present a night raga and Rich Syracuse will perform with a bass trio.

Skidmore's Senior Artist-in-Residence Joel Brown performs astonishing concerts both as a soloist and a chamber musician. He has been invited to a variety of noteworthy venues such as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Festival of Contemporary Music at Tanglewood, the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival, the Caramoore Festival, and the Killington Festival. On an international level, he has participated at the Mountains Chamber Music Festival in British Columbia, at the Mikulov Guitar Festival as a concerto soloist with the Martinu Chamber Orchestra in the Czech Republic, and with Singapore Chinese Orchestra in Asia. He also has appeared on a variety of shows including NBC's Today, CNN's Showbiz Today, NPR, and BBC. Brown is a member of Chris Brubeck's jazz group, Triple Play, which is known for presenting blues and folk melodies. Their group has toured the United States and performed in the 2006 Monterey Jazz Festival with the renowned Dave Brubeck Quartet.

Evan Mack, an award-winning concert pianist, composer, and teacher, specializes in American opera composition. In 2010, his composition Angel of the Amazon was performed in New York City and San Francisco produced by Encompass New Opera Theatre. The Zankel concert will feature excerpts from his new opera, The Secret of Luca. Based on the well-known novel by Ignazio Silone, Mack has created a fusion of contemporary rhythmic intensity with a Puccinian sound in a production that explores politics, murder, intrigue, redemption, and human love. Mack's awards and honors include the fall 2009 Selection Winner of the National Association of Composers, the UCM New Music Festival for his "Dream of Freedom," and the Selection Winner of the 2012 SCI Region IV Conference for "American Groove." He also won the Vanderbilt University Concerto Competition in 2001 and then continued to perform in Samuel Barber's Piano Concerto with the Vanderbilt Symphonic Orchestra. 

Anthony G. Holland, a celebrated composer, conductor, electronic musician, and performer, has composed for the flute, piccolo, and flute ensemble, several of which have been showcased at National Flute Association conventions. Along with his extensive experience in conducting, he has sung in numerous vocal performances in both choral and solo settings. He was presented as a counter-tenor soloist for the Bethesda Schola Cantorum and has appeared in various performances with "Opera Excelsior," an opera troupe in the upstate New York. He is an associate professor of music and director of the electronic music facilities at Skidmore. His has received awards and grants from Meet the Composer, the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the W. M. Keck Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Veena Chandra, a Skidmore faculty member since 1990, will present a melodic and soothing night raga. She has been playing the sitar for 55 years and is an internationally known performer, teacher, composer, and choreographer. She founded and teaches at the Dance and Music School of India in Latham, and has been a sitar instructor and a lecturer at Skidmore Music Department for 22 years.

Rich Syracuse, a composer, performer, and instructor, will play with a stand-up bass trio along with a piano piece that he has composed. His pieces have been described as energetic and upbeat jazz compositions.

Admission for the Oct. 13, 8 p.m. Faculty Composers performance is free and open to the public. For advance reservation visit www.skidmore.edu/zankel or call the Zankel box office (518) 580-5321 for more information. The Zankel Music Center is wheelchair accessible and offers listening devices for the hearing impaired. For more information, please visit www.skidmore.edu/zankel.