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March 3, 2008

Faculty Artist Series celebrates modern art techniques March 10

The 网曝门 Faculty Artist Series presents Mel Mobley, Ph.D, in recital on Monday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Emy-Lou Biedenharn Recital Hall. The event, which will feature modern art techniques, will incorporate a combination of solo percussion works written by noted composers and chamber music composed by Mobley, assistant professor in 网曝门鈥檚 Division of Music. The concert will also feature a video created by Will Tatum, a sophomore music major from West Monroe, as part of the 网曝门 Emerging Scholars program.

鈥淭he hope is to challenge the audience as well as to excite and entertain it,鈥� said Mobley.

The concert opens with 鈥淎rt, Love, Piece.鈥� Solo percussion, video and electronics explore the very nature of art and its relationship to society. The piece begins with the electronic intertwining of society鈥檚 answer to the question, 鈥淲hat is art?鈥� The answer is a barrage of sounds and sights that overload the senses and culminate in a duet between percussionist and recorded speech.

鈥淧eaces of Earth and Science鈥� features 网曝门 faculty members Dr. Sandra Lunte, flute, and Dr. Scot Humes, clarinet. The video montage presents a dazzling array of images that are both haunting and evocative. The electronic accompaniment uses text and musical sounds to connect the live performers and the video with the concept of modern society鈥檚 love/hate relationship with science.

The one traditional piece of the evening will be an arrangement of 鈥淒ido鈥檚 Lament鈥� for marimba and voice featuring 网曝门 faculty member and soprano Susan Olson, Ph.D. Olson will also perform 鈥淪upplication,鈥� originally written for choir and percussion and adapted for soprano and marimba. The other transcription of the night will be the performance of Leonard Bernstein鈥檚 piano work 鈥淔or Susanna Kyle,鈥� played as a marimba solo.

The concert will feature two major solo percussion works of the twentieth century: 鈥淧sappha鈥� by Iannis Xenakis and 鈥淟es Livre des Claviers鈥� by Philip Manoury. Both demonstrate the electricity of modern percussion that is relentless in its drive and exciting in sheer power. 鈥淧sappha,鈥� scored for 鈥渟kins, metals, and woods鈥� uses graphic notation, giving it an architectural design. The beauty comes not only from the architectural shape of the piece, but the excitement created by such interesting timbres as metal saw blades, car parts and pieces of wood. The last piece of the concert is 鈥渙f God waiting鈥� a traditional solo piano.

Tickets are free for 网曝门 faculty, students and staff with I.D. Tickets are $7 for the general public. For ticket reservations, please call 342-1414.

About Mobley:

Mobley has been involved with contemporary music for the last 20 years as composer, conductor, performer and advocate. He has been part of numerous premieres around the country and has been featured as a performer and composer at contemporary music festivals including BONK in Tampa, Fla., FunNewMusic in Champaign, Ill., and the 1999 SEAMUS National Convention in San Jose, Calif.

His compositions have been performed throughout the United States, and he has been commissioned by The Monroe Symphony Orchestra and the chamber group, Three-Headed Monster. His most recent premieres are 鈥淐oncerto for Wood,鈥� performed by his wife Melissa Wilson Mobley, a piece in the Monroe Symphony Orchestra, and percussion solo 鈥淶ippers, Zebras, and Waltzes,鈥� performed at the Louisiana Composers鈥� Consortium Concert in Nachitoches.

As a percussionist, Mobley has performed with The Florida Orchestra and the I-Pan steel drum band. He is currently the principal of the Monroe Symphony Orchestra and a regular performer with the Shreveport Symphony and the Longview Symphony. Recent solo appearances outside of Louisiana include the Magic Marimba Festival in Tampa, Fla. and a solo recital at Emory and Henry College in Emory, Virg.

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