Music Dept Special Events Series Spring 2021
Jazz Workshop with Jason Palmer
Thursday, March 11th 11:30am-1:00PM
Jazz trumpeter, composer and educator, Jason Palmer, will lead a virtual jazz workshop as part of his residency at St. Olaf during spring 2021. Jason is a world-class musician who regularly performs with the best-known artists in his field.
Jazz Workshop with Steve Wilson
Thursday, April 1st 11:30am-12:45PM
Jazz saxophonist, composer and educator, Steve Wilson, will lead a virtual jazz workshop as part of his residency at St. Olaf during Spring 2021. Steve is one of the leading saxophonists of his generation, regularly performing with many legendary jazz figures, including Minnesota’s own Maria Schneider.
Moderated interview with Dr. Adolphus Hailstork
Tuesday, April 6th 7:30pm
Eminent American composer, scholar, and musician Adolphus Hailstork is currently working on a large-scale tribute to George Floyd for orchestra, chorus and soloists, entitled A Knee on a Neck. Tesfa Wondemagegnehu will moderate a 90-minute virtual interview about his compositional process, performance projects, and professional life. This event will include a Q&A session, followed by closing remarks from Anton Armstrong.
The Castle of Our Skins: a duo dedicated to promoting repertoires of the African diaspora
Thursday, April 22nd 11:30am-1:00pm
Violist Ashleigh Gordon, Artistic and Executive Director, and pianist, composer, and music-based performance artist Anthony R. Green, Associate Artistic Director of Castle of Our Skins, will offer a 90-minute presentation via Zoom including a Q & A session for attendees. Boston-based Castle of Our Skins has been at the forefront of education, performance, and advocacy of works by underrepresented and marginalized composers of color. This virtual presentation will focus on composers of color in classical music.
Exploring Giuseppe Verdi's Enduring Legacy:
Through Spoken Word, Music, and Film Excerpts from In the Mouth of the Wolf (In Bocca al Lup0)
Wednesday, April 28th 8:15pm
August Ventura, author and filmmaker, explores the world of traditional opera in articles and lectures and through the medium of documentary film. An ardent devotee of the life and works of Giuseppe Verdi, he has trained his sights on this “enduring legacy,” which, in the words of Verdi biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz, “remains a mighty force for the continuing good.” To investigate how the composer’s 27 operas have served as an agent of social and political change, Ventura created and initiative he calls “27″ The Verdi Documentary Film Project, with particular emphasis on the community of Parma, Italy – known for its fierce connection to the art form – where Verdi is rightly venerated.
Conversation with Marissa Rene, Composer
Date & Time: TBD
Composer Marissa Rene has been commissioned to write a percussion quintet for the St. Olaf Percussion Ensemble, and will lead virtual coaching sessions of her work during spring 2021. The campus community is invited to join composition students for a virtual conversation with Rene to discuss the composer’s creative process.