Special Events and Faculty Recitals
Cal Poly Open House Concert
Saturday, April 14
8 p.m., Cohan Center
After an exciting day at Cal Poly’s Open House, come and enjoy an evening of live entertainment by three of the Music Department’s finest instrumental ensembles: University Jazz Band, Symphony and Wind Ensemble.
The Cal Poly Symphony, conducted by David Arrivée, will perform Zoltán Kodály’s Variations on a Hungarian Folksong, “The Peacock.” The symphony will take this extravagantly colorful piece on the road two weeks later, performing in the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., as part of their first out-of-state tour.
The Wind Ensemble, conducted by Andrew McMahan and Christopher Woodruff, will perform a selection of American masterworks including Percy Grainger’s “Lincolnshire Posy,” Robert Jager's "Esprit de Corps" and John Mackey's "Asphalt Cocktail."
The University Jazz Band I, directed by Paul Rinzler, will perform "House Party," by Louis Jordan and arranged Rinzler, "Swingin’ Shepherd Blues," arranged by BIll Holman and "What Is Hip?" arranged by Mike Tomaro.
Tickets ($13 & $15 general, $11 & $13 seniors, $8 & $10 students)
Cal Poly All-State Festival Concert
Jazz Band, Symphony and Wind Orchestra
Sunday, April 15 • 2:30 p.m., Cohan Center
The Music Department will host Cal Poly's All-State Festival Concert, featuring more than 130 of the state’s best high school musicians.
The All-State Festival Wind Orchestra, Festival Symphony Orchestra and Festival Jazz Band will perform as part of the closing festivities of Cal Poly’s three-day Open House event. The festival’s Solo Competition winner will also perform, accompanied by pianist Susan Azaret Davies.
Festival Symphony Orchestra with guest conductor Eric Garcia
The Festival Symphony Orchestra will perform "Polovetsian Dances" from “Prince Igor” by Alexander Borodin and Danzón No. 2 by Arturo Márquez.
Eric Garcia is the assistant conductor for both Seattle Symphony and the Eastern Music Festival. In Indiana, he was director of orchestral activities and professor of conducting at the University of Evansville and was music director of the Evansville Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He has also served as music director at St. Xavier University in Chicago, Ill. In Chicago, Garcia held several conducting positions and appeared as guest conductor with numerous orchestras, including the Northwest Festival Orchestra of Illinois, members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
Festival Jazz Band with guest director David Eshelman
The Festival Jazz Band will perform "Nice to Meet You," by John Clayton, "The Penguin," by Raymond Scott, "Los Brujos De Cisano," by Matt Harris and "Rick's Licks," by Craig Biondi.
David Eshelman has been active as a trombonist, composer, arranger, big band leader, recording artist and jazz educator. His music has been performed by the bands of Joe Henderson, Don Ellis, Bill Watrous and Stan Kenton, plus hundreds of school bands around the world. He has performed as featured soloist with Joe Henderson, Tito Puente, Gerald Wilson, Ray Brown, and the Full Faith and Credit Big Band. He was the director of jazz studies at Cal State East Bay for many years
Festival Wind Orchestra with guest conductor Craig Kirchhoff
The Festival Wind Orchestra will perform "Flourish for Glorious John" by Ralph Vaughan Williams, "The Jig is Up!," by Daniel Kallman, "Amazing Grace," arranged by William Himes and "Of Sailors and Whales" by W. Francis McBeth.
Craig Kirchhoff is director of bands and professor of conducting at the University of Minnesota. He is past president of the College Band Directors National Association and served as the founding editor and principal advisor of the College Band Directors National Association Journal.He has appeared as guest conductor, clinician and lecturer throughout the U. S., Australia, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Europe and Scandinavia. Kirchhoff is a frequent guest conductor of the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and has recorded with them on the Kosei Publishing label.
Tickets ($14 & $18 general, $12 & $16 seniors, $8 & $11 students)
Katherine Arthur and Susan Azaret Davies
Sunday, April 22
3 p.m., Davidson Music Center Room 218
Cal Poly Music Department faculty members will present a recital titled "Railroads and Cabaret."
Soprano Katherine Arthur and pianist Susan Azaret Davies will perform an afternoon of 20th-century songs, including works by Ernst Krenek and Arnold Schoenberg.
The program will begin with Krenek’s “The Ballad of the Railroads,” an autobiographical journey. The piece will be accompanied by an archive of railroad photo projections provided by Curtis Reinhardt, director of the Central Coast Railroad Festival.
The program will end with Schoenberg’s “Brettl Lieder” (Cabaret Songs), which he composed in Berlin in the beginning of the 20th century.
Tickets at the door: $5 (no discount)
RSVP XVII: Garabatos
Tuesday, May 29 • 8 p.m., Pavilion
Thursday, May 31 • 8 p.m., Pavilion
This marks the 17th season of this diverse transmedia series celebrating electroacoustic diversity and compositional risk. Transmedia refers to storytelling in the digital age, weaving together separate plot threads by way of traditional and new media outlets.
Inspired by the rise of a Mexican immigrant mother as a comic book artist and her U.S.-born son’s rise to pop-singer stardom, this year’s story reflects the real-world passions and troubles of both in the mother’s art. “Family, friendship, sacrifice, betrayal and salvation are the loom on which the rich tapestry of their lives unfold,” said Antonio Barata, RSVP series producer.
“This year’s show promises innovative staging, superheroes and villains, projections and engaging music in its continuing dedication to the science of wonder. This is not a traditional concert – it is an exploration in musical and theatrical imagination that transcends the boundaries of both arts,” Barata said. “Though serious in its tenor, the show also weaves a delightful homage to comic book story lines, side plots, and a humorous updated version of the Greek chorus theatrical mechanism.”
The music, lyrics, stage design, acting and singing combine the creative talent of students in Barata’s sound design courses and introduction to music theory class, as well as talented students from across the university.
Tickets ($11 all seats)