Wind, Percussion Ensembles Concert May 1

The Fairmont State University Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Valarie Huffman, and the FSU Percussion and African Ensembles, under the direction of Matthew Schoonmaker, will present their final concert of the year at 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, in the Turley Center Ballroom.

Appearing with the wind ensemble will be FSU adjunct professor of guitar Dr. Patrick Joyce performing James Bonney's Chaos Theory: Concerto for Electric Guitar and Wind Orchestra. A merger of rock and classical music styles, where there are several sections of the work that are improvisational, gives the soloist freedom of interpretation (herein lies the "Chaos"). Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Joyce has played in a variety of solo settings and chamber ensembles with string quartet, saxophone, bassoon, voice and jazz ensemble. His pursuit to expand the repertoire for the guitar in chamber music performances has led to the commission of a number of works for guitar and bassoon, as well as guitar and saxophone. Joyce is also in demand as an arranger, most notably recording an improvisatory arrangement of the traditional Irish song "The Star of the County Down" on the debut CD of jazz saxophonist Kevin Scalley. Active in the field of music research, he has written about amateur musicianship in Northeast Ohio, uncovering previously unknown manuscripts by the 19th-century guitarist Justin Holland. Pedagogical pursuits include the recent completion of a book detailing the didactic and technical aspects of the 12 etudes for guitar by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Joyce has taught guitar and music history at The University of Akron, Ohio, The University of Arizona, Tucson, and Pima Community College, Tucson, Ariz.

Other works that the Wind Ensemble will perform will include Samuel R. Hazo's Ride, inspired by a car ride he had taken with the composer of another work presented on this concert, Dr. Jack Stamp. Also presented on this concert will be Stamp's composition The Beltway Jam, inspired by the Washington, D.C., Beltway which is famous for traffic jams. Concluding the concert will be a transcription of George Gershwin's little-known work Japanese, which was written in 1918 as part of his first Broadway musical score La La Lucille.

Admission to the concert is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Valarie Huffman at (304) 367-4206 or vhuffman@fairmontstate.edu.