Public invited to April concerts, recitals

Public invited to April concerts, recitals

The University of St. Thomas welcomes the public to the music performances listed below. All will be held on the university’s St. Paul campus. Admission is free.

Important note: Spring is “recital season” for many student musicians, and best-laid recital plans often change as artists prepare for their big performances. If you plan to attend a student recital, please double-check with the performer or with the university’s College of Arts and Sciences’ Music Department, (651) 962-5850, for schedule updates.

7 p.m. Friday, April 4, in Brady Educational Center auditorium: David Kuhn, horn, gives a student recital.

4 p.m. Sunday, April 6, in St. Mary’s Chapel: The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity Chorale, directed by David Jenkins and accompanied by Michelle Plombon, organist, presents an Easter Hymn Festival in St. Mary’s Chapel at the seminary, 2260 Summit Ave. The chorale performs with the Beacon Hill Brass Quartet, featuring Wendy Silhavy, flute, and the Rev. J. Michael Byron, narrator.

The program features hymn setting for the Easter season by Peeters, Hillert, Ferguson, Lovelace, Roberts, Wolff and others. A reception follows. For additional information, call (651) 962-5753.

8 p.m. Monday, April 7, in Brady Educational Center auditorium: UST’s annual Festival Orchestra concert features student soloists who have auditioned to perform with a professional chamber orchestra.

8 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, in Brady Educational Center auditorium: Cellist Thomas Schonberg of Stockholm, Sweden, and guitarist Dr. Christopher Kachian of the St. Thomas music faculty gives a recital. They'll perform modern works, including pieces by composers Gilbert Biberian (England), David Leisner (New York City) and Jan Freidlin (Israel).

7 p.m. Saturday, April 12, in Brady Educational Center auditorium: Students Nick Spangler, voice, and Colin Degnan, percussion, give a recital.

6 p.m. Sunday, April 13, in Brady Educational Center auditorium: Wesley Szempruch, clarinet, gives a student recital.

8:15 p.m. Monday, April 14, in the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas: Award-winning British organist John Scott will give a recital on the Gabriel Kney organ at St. Thomas. John Scott
Scott, now organist and director of music at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City, was long associated with St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. As a concert organist, he is particularly known for his performances of large-scale romantic and 20th-century repertoire. The New York City chapter of the American guild of Organists named him “International Performer of the Year” in 1998. In 1984 he was the first British musician to win the prestigious International J.S. Bach Organ Competition in Leipzig, Germany.

Scott will play works by Rossi, Handel (Concerto in F, Op. 4, No. 5), Bach, Mozart, Messiaen, Wesley, Stanford, Wammes and Mathias.

4 p.m. Sunday, April 20, in Brady Educational Center auditorium: UST piano faculty present a recital. The program features Dr. James Callahan, Dr. Vanessa Cornett-Murtada, Katherine Faricy, Ora Itkin, and Suzanne Schons performing solo works and ensemble repertoire for two, three and four pianists. The repertoire includes works by Chopin, Brahms, Debussy, Prokofiev and other composers of the 19th and 20th centuries.