(MACON) - The Mercer Wind Ensemble will present a "Concert of Concertos," which will include two Georgia premieres, Friday, April 16, 7:30 p.m., at The Grand Opera House, 651 Mulberry St.
The concert will be conducted by Dr. Douglas Hill, associate professor of music, director of instrumental music and coordinator of the music education program for Mercer University's College of Liberal Arts. The concert is free and open to the public.
The two works premiering are Eric Ewazen's (pictured immediate left) "Danzante" (inspired by the Diego Rivera painting) for trumpet and wind ensemble and Gary Ziek's "Concerto for Percussion and Wind Ensemble." James Thompson (pictured far left), past principal trumpet with the Atlanta Symphony and current professor at the Eastman School of Music, will perform as soloist on the first piece, while Brian Nozny, adjunct professor of music at Mercer, will perform as soloist on the latter piece.
The Wind...
(MACON) - The 2004 Mercer Jazz Festival will be held Saturday, April 17, at 7:30 p.m., at The Grand Opera House, 651 Mulberry St.
Tickets are $5 for the general public; admission is free with a Mercer ID.
Led by Monty Cole, director of Jazz Studies at Mercer, this year's concert will feature guest artist Brad Goode (pictured left), who was described as "lyrical genius of the trumpet...The young demon of bebop" by Larry Kart of The Chicago Tribune.
The Jazz Festival will kick off with a combo set of Cole on saxophone; Goode, trumpet; Bob Barnett, bass; Steve Schanin, drums and Jim McKillip, piano. The musicians will play a set list "in the spirit of a jam session."
Also on tap for the festival is a big band set with the Mercer Jazz Ensemble, featuring Goode on trumpet. Jazz enthusiasts and Grand Opera House patrons can expect to hear first-rate renditions of Rob McConnell's "Close Enough for Love," Drum Kern's "All the...
Bonnie Rideout may have received a formal education on the violin, but ever since she picked the instrument up at the age of eight, she has been a fiddler at heart. On Sunday, April 18, she will demonstrate her musical gift at The Grand Opera House, 651 Mulberry Street.
In 1985, Rideout earned two degrees-one in violin performance and another in fine arts. "I'm indebted to the teachers who taught me the value of reading music and the discipline of learning the 'masters,'" she said. "But the more I played 'serious' music, the more I missed my fiddling."
Rideout charms her audiences with a unique style of fiddling and a vast knowledge of traditional Scottish dance tunes, Highland bagpipe music and ancient Gaelic melodies, each reflecting the rich musical tradition of her heritage.
She is the only American to hold the honor of representing Scottish fiddle music at the prestigious Edinburgh International Festival. She is the first woman to hold a national...
(MACON) - Mercer University President R. Kirby Godsey has named Hewitt W. "Ted" Matthews, Ph.D., vice president for the Health Sciences. In his new...
MACON-- The Mercer University Student Government Association has teamed up with the Macon Transit Authority and NewTown Macon to offer free trolley service between the Mercer campus and downtown Macon.
Trolley service will begin Friday, April 2, in conjunction with the Downtown Council's monthly First Friday event, and continue through Wednesday, April 28.
"We decided to begin offering trolley service from Mercer to downtown because we know there are a lot of cultural events and great entertainment venues downtown," said Josh Rogers, president of Mercer Student Government Association. "The trolley service is a great way to make downtown businesses accessible to all students."
Trolleys will run every 15 minutes Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. In the evenings, they will run every 20 minutes Wednesday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. The free service is open to all students, faculty and staff with a Mercer I.D.
The routes depart the Mercer Connell...
MACON--On Thursday, April 1, from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m., Mercer University's Communications and Theater Arts Department, Media Center and Mercer99 will host Media Day 2004 in Mercer's Religious Life Center.
Students are invited to take part in informal discussions with various media professionals from television stations, newspapers, advertising agencies and radio stations in the Middle Georgia area.
Local media attending the event include:
Ed Grisamore, Columnist - Macon Telegraph
Bruce Radcliff, Photographer - Macon Telegraph
Matt Miller, News Director - FOX 24 News
Ben Sandifer, Owner - GMS Productions
Steve Bell, Creative Director - Smart Creative Media
"This is a very valuable tool for students who may be interested in some area of the media, but not necessarily interested in majoring in a media-related field," said Becky Sandifer, new media productions specialist at Mercer. "It is a great opportunity...
MACON- As a part of the National Endowment for the Humanities Lecture Series, acclaimed authors and scholars Eric Klinenberg and Ellen Ruppel Shell will speak on two hot topics at Mercer University April 12 and 14. Both lectures are free and open to the public.
Klinenberg, author of Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, (University of Chicago Press, 2002), will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 12, in the Mercer University School of Medicine Auditorium. In his presentation entitled "Why Heat Waves are so Deadly: Urban Vulnerability from Chicago to Paris," he will give insight into the social breakdown that occurred during the devastating heat wave in Chicago in July of 1995.
An assistant professor of sociology at New York University, Klinenberg is a Chicago native passionate about public and politically engaged social science. His book, Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, was named Best Book in Sociology/Anthropology by the Association of...
(Macon) - Mercer University music student John Joseph Jenkins of Macon was one of two winners in the college-level division of the Macon Symphony Orchestra's recent Concerto Competition. Jenkins, a trombonist, performed David's "Concerto in E Flat."
Since the competition, Jenkins has participated in several special events with the Macon Symphony Orchestra. He performed his concerto in concert with the orchestra for the Young People's Concert. Maestro Adrian Gnam (pictured right) presented Jenkins with his certificate of recognition at the orchestra's concert featuring cellist Hamilton Berry. As an award recipient, he also received cash prizes provided by Georgia Music.
Jenkins is taught by Charles Anderson, a member of the Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve, stationed at Robins Air Force Base, and an adjunct instructor of trombone at Mercer University. He is the son of Albert Joseph and Betty J. Jenkins.
WHO: Mercer University students
WHAT: In the tradition of the popular TV program "American Idol," students will produce and participate in "Mercer Idols." Each week, finalists are eliminated from this vocal performance competition.
WHEN: Every Wednesday night at 6 p.m. Finale night is April 14.
WHERE: Coffee Shop in Mercer's University Center
BACKGROUND: This is the second annual "Mercer Idols." Approximately 30 students tried out for the show, and the top nine were selected as contestants. The program airs on Mercer99 every day at 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m. and 12 a.m. Judges are Jim Crisp, artistic director for Theatre Macon; Rusty Banks, technical director for the Grand Opera House; and Trey Giddens, the 2003 Mercer Idol winner. "Mercer Idols" is sponsored by Mercer Film Producers
PLEASE NOTE: Media interested in covering this event will need a pass to enter the University Center. Contact Jenny Butkus at the telephone...
(MACON)- Georgia opera-goers will have an opportunity to see a fully-staged production of a baroque masterpiece when Mercer University Opera presents Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell. All three performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, March 25-27, in Fickling Hall of the McCorkle Music Building on the Mercer campus. Tickets are $5/$3 for students and can be purchased by calling Mercer's Department of Music at 478-301-2748.
According to Dr. Martha Malone, director of opera and voice at Mercer, concert versions of the piece have been performed in the area in recent years, but to her knowledge no operas from the baroque period have been staged locally in the past 14 years. She feels that the exquisite acoustics and intimate atmosphere of Fickling Recital Hall will provide a perfect setting for Purcell's one-hour opera in miniature.
Written in 1689 for performance by the "young gentlewomen" of Josiah Priest's School for Young...
