Boatwright tribute concert to be held May 21

A tribute concert to the late Howard and Helen Boatwright, both legends in American music and central figures in the history of the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, will be held on Saturday, May 21, at 3 p.m. in the Rose and Jules R. Setnor Auditorium, Crouse College. The concert is free and open to the public; a reception will follow. Free parking is available in the Irving Garage.

Howard Boatwright, a prolific composer, concert violinist and professor emeritus, came to Syracuse University in 1964 when he was appointed dean of the Setnor School, then known as the SU School of Music. His wife, Helen, a celebrated soprano, joined the school’s voice faculty, and together, the Boatwrights helped establish the school’s reputation as a champion of contemporary music. Howard died in 1999; Helen in December 2010.

Performers will include former students of Helen, as well as musicians representing the Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music, the Syracuse Society for New Music, Civic Morning Musicals and the SU Oratorio Society. Members of the former Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and a Boatwright family member will also perform. The concert will be emceed by University Performing Arts Presenter Carole Brzozowski.

The program will include the music of Howard Boatwright, Charles Ives and Robert Schumann. World premieres of works written especially for the Boatwrights by Bill Bolcom and Ralph D’Mello will also be performed.

For more information and Setnor Auditorium concert status updates, contact (315) 443-2191.