The Department of Music at Gustavus Adolphus College opens the 2008 spring semester with a presentation of the works of guest composer Justin Merritt and faculty composer Michele Gillman. The program will be presented in Jussi Björling Recital Hall on Friday, February 15, beginning at 7:30 p.m. It features violinist Benjamin Sung, pianist JiHye Chang, marimbist Justin Schramm, along with a quintet of Gustavus student musicians.
Friday’s concert is a continuation of the collaboration between the two composers, Gillman and Merritt. The concert opens with Merritt’s 5 Preludes for Piano featuring pianist JiHye Chang. Violinist Benjamin Sung is featured on Merritt’s Standard Diviation for violin and takes the stage with Chang to present Veloce for violin & piano. The program includes three works by Michele Gillman. Two of her works, Tocco and And in the Stillness, feature marimbist and Gustavus alumnus Justin Schramm. Gillman’s Metropolis concludes the program with a quintet of current Gustavus students.
In 2000, composer Justin Merritt (b. 1975) was the youngest-ever winner of the ASCAP Foundation/Rudolph Nissim Award for Janus Mask for Orchestra. He is an assistant professor of music composition & theory at St. Olaf College. Michele Gillman, a visiting assistant professor of music at Gustavus, has been on staff for three years and works with students in composition and theory.
Friday’s performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in Björling Recital Hall. It is free and open to the public.