Friends of Music Announce 2001-02 Concert Season at Centenary College

SHREVEPORT, LA -- Season and single tickets are now on sale for the 2001-02 season of the Friends of Music Concert Series.  Sponsored by the Hurley School of Music at Centenary College, the season will present four regular concerts and one bonus concert this year.

The season will open at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 9, with a performance by soprano Julianne Baird.  The New York Times calls Miss Baird "one of the most recorded and distinguished sopranos of the early-music movement."  Miss Baird will present a special program of music from the time of Jane Austen, including works by Handel, Haydn and Arne.  Gay Grosz will accompany the program, which also features brief narrative passages from some of Jane Austen's works.

At 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, the Konovets Quartet will perform traditional Russian music in the a cappella style.  These four singers were classically trained at the St. Petersburg Music Conservatory and are now touring extensively in Europe and the United States.  They have appeared at several prestigious festivals, including the Carlisle Cathedral Festival in England and the Fishguard International Music Festival in Wales.

On Sunday, March 10, at 3 p.m., the New Friends Chamber Players will continue a long tradition of fine performances for the Friends of Music Concert Series.  Led by cellist Ruth Drummond and French horn player Tom Hundemer, the New Friends Chamber Players will present a variety of chamber music featuring some of the finest musicians in our region.

The season will conclude on Sunday, March 24, at 3 p.m. with a concert by Zenaida, a chamber group led by harpist Sally Lyons Wood.  Zenaida is made up of two flutes, violin, viola, cello and harp.  They play primarily music of the romantic period, and arrange themselves in a variety of instrument groupings, depending on the piece.

All concerts will be in the Recital Hall of the Hurley School of Music.  Season tickets for the Friends of Music Concert Series are $30 for adults and $12 for students.  Single concert tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for students.  Tickets are on sale at the music office of the Hurley School of Music.  Call 318-869-5235 to order by credit card, or send a check to Friends of Music; Hurley School of Music, 2911 Centenary Boulevard, Shreveport, Louisiana 71104.  The series is free to Centenary faculty and students.

There will be a bonus concert jointly sponsored by the Piatagorsky Foundation and the Friends of Music Series on Thursday, Sept. 6 at 3:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Hurley School of Music.   Soprano Erika Wueschner, a recent graduate of The Juilliard School, will present an informal hour-long concert for Centenary music students.  All Shreveport community members are invited to attend.  Admission is free.  Tickets for the remainder of the season will be available for purchase at the Sept. 6 and Sept. 9 events.
 

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