(March 19, 2010)

Contact: Rick DelaHaya, Centenary News Services, 318.869.5073

Hurley School of Music Presents March Recitals

SHREVEPORT, La. (Centenary News Service) — Centenary College and the Hurley School of Music announce faculty and senior recitals for March. All recitals take place on the College campus and are free and open to the public.

Ross Smith

Assistant professor of piano Ross Smith presents an evening of great classics including the last solo piano work written by Beethoven, representing his transcendent reach beyond his time. Also on the program are contrasting works by Chopin embodying violent musical clashes in one piece and sublime calm and beauty in another. Rachmaninoff's Sonata in D Minor is the musical telling of the Faust story, based on Goethe's 1808 play, portraying the epic struggle of Faust to reach for power, find love, and transcend the darkness with which he has surrounded himself through divine intervention.

Smith is received his bachelor's degree in music from Brigham Young University, and earned his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

For three years he taught piano and literature at the University of Michigan All-State Summer Camp at Interlochen. He has been an active soloist, giving recitals throughout the United States and Italy. Dr. Smith is also an active clinician, giving workshops and lecture recitals on topics ranging from Pedaling Techniques to Rachmaninoff's "Faust" Sonata. He traveled to Italy on a research grant from Centenary College to study the life and music of Alfredo Casella at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, and has given lectures and recitals based on his findings there. At Centenary College he teaches Music Theory, Music Appreciation, Applied Piano, and guest lectures each semester in a variety of religion courses.

Vincent Turregano

Senior Vincent Turregano, baritone, will give his senior recital and include works by Finzi, Mozart, Ives, and others. He will be accompanied by Julius Abrahams of the Shreveport Opera, and Centenary alumna Missy Wise. Turregano and Wise will perform two duets from "Don Giovanni" and "L'italiana in Algeri." There will also be a premier of a Centenary student's work, Costas Dafnis's "When I was a Boy."

Turregano is a student of Horace English at Centenary College. He was a young artist with the Natchez Festival of Music during the 2009 season where he covered "Dancaïre/Moralès" in their production of Bizet's "Carmen and will be returning for the 2010 season as "Shaunard" in Puccini's "La bohème." He has also performed in the operatic scenes program, local concerts, and out-reach programs in local churches and plantations. He was recently with the Shreveport Opera as "Beniot" in "La bohème" and also as the "L'oste" and "il Sargente" in "Manon Lescaut." He also performed with Opera East Texas as the "Customs House Sergeant" in "La Boheme."

Vincent participates in Centenary College's Opera Workshop where he will play the title role in "Gianni Schicci", and has played "Ko-Ko" in G&S's "The Mikado," and "L'arbre" and "L'horloge comtoise" in Ravel's "L'enfant et les sortileges." He will appear with the Rapides Symphony Orchestra in Bizet's "Camern" as "Dancaïre/Moralès." Turregano is the recipient of the Encouragement Award from the New Orleans District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He is also a five time winner of local NATS competitions and recently won the prestigious Governor's Award for Career Encouragement.

Chris Morgan

Percussionist Chris Morgan will present his senior recital and survey the wide variety of techniques one must learn as a percussionist by featuring music for many different percussion instruments. This will include standard solo repertoire for timpani, snare drum, and multiple percussion. In a more traditional approach, pianist Lisa Ambrose will accompany Morgan as he performs Handel's "Sonata in E for Violin" on marimba. Saxophonist Bob Maynard, bassist Shawn Stroope, and pianist Reuben Reyes will also join him on drum set to perform a rendition of Paul Desmond's jazz piece "Take Five."

A student of Chandler Teague, Morgan will receive his Bachelor of Music degree in percussion performance in May. In addition to his performance as a student, he has been performing professionally with local band 3 Chord Truth for the past two years both as a drummer and a backup vocalist. Chris plans on pursuing a career in commercial music after graduation.

About Centenary College of Louisiana

Centenary College is a private, four-year arts and sciences college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Centenary is one of 16 colleges and universities constituting the Associated Colleges of the South and is regularly rated as one of the top colleges in the South. In 2008 Centenary College celebrated 100 years in the Shreveport and Bossier City communities.