SU’s ‘Year of the American Composer’ to continue Feb. 20 with clarinet and saxophone recital

SU’s ‘Year of the American Composer’ to continue Feb. 20with clarinet and saxophone recitalFebruary 11, 2005Jaime Winne Alvarez jlwinne@syr.edu

To celebrate “Year of the American Composer,” the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music in Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts will present a recital of music for clarinet and saxophone by faculty member Ronald Caravan, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. The concert is in the Rose and Jules R. Setnor Auditorium, located in Crouse College. Sar Shalom Strong, a piano faculty member at Hamilton College, will accompany.

The program consists of works written by several regional composers, including Cornell University professor Steven Stucky’s “Meditation & Dance” for clarinet and piano; Cornell professor Roberto Sierra’s “Cinco Bocetos” for clarinet; Ithaca College professor Dana Wilson’s “Liquid Ebony” for clarinet and piano and “Luminescence” for soprano saxophone and piano; and Lansing-area music teacher William Calhoun’s “Sonata” for soprano saxophone and piano.

In addition, two pieces for alto saxophone and piano will be premiered. “Sacred Stones” by Jeffrey Hoover, associate dean for arts and communication at Illinois Central College, was composed for Caravan and uses unconventional sound resources for the saxophone-multiphonics, microtones and tone-color manipulation. Caravan will also premiere his own new three-movement sonata for alto saxophone and piano.

Caravan has been a faculty member at SU since 1980, teaching clarinet and saxophone and directing the saxophone ensemble. He holds degrees and a performer’s certificate on clarinet from the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. He regularly performs with the Syracuse Symphony on saxophone and presents solo and chamber music recitals.

The recital is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the Irving Garage.