Weekend of Recitals & Concerts Fills Bjorling Calendar

Another busy weekend of student recitals is scheduled for the Björling Recital Hall stage on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus. Beginning Friday, May 8, a series of six student recitals featuring end-of-the-year performances for eight students headlines the weekend. In addition to the recitals, a flute showcase and the spring concert of the woodwind chamber ensembles are also on the schedule. Each of these events will be presented in Björling Recital Hall and each is open to the public at no charge.

• Senior flutists Jamie Lichy & Ann Stevens will open the weekend with their joint recital on Friday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m. accompanied by pianist Beth Winterfeldt. Their program includes works for flute and piccolo as well as a work by Gary Schocker for two flutes.
• The annual Flute Showcase will be presented on Saturday morning, May 9 beginning at 10:30. This concert will feature performances by many of the musicians in the Gustavus flute studio which led by Gustavus music faculty Barbara Leibundguth and James DeVoll.
• Jana Wilkes will present her senior recital on clarinet and piano at 1:30 on May 9 accompanied by pianist Ben Marti. Jana’s program includes works by Claude Debussy, Margaret Bonds and Minnesota composer Libby Larsen, as well as 2 works by Ms. Wilkes, “The World” and L’automne.”
• Juniors Caleb Likely (alto & tenor trombone) and Cory Lau (bass trombone) will present their joint recital at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 9. They will be accompanied by pianist Szu-ling Wu and perform works for solo and combined trombone.
• Ian Decker, saxophone, will present his senior recital at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, accompanied by Emily Rudquist on piano and assisted by the members of the Gustavus Saxophone Quartet. The final work on this program will be “The Parting Glass” and will include the sax quartet and three trombonists.
• Senior vocalist Erik Carlson, tenor, will present his final Gustavus recital on Sunday, May 10 at 1:30 p.m. Accompanied by pianist Bonnie Jorgensen, Carlson’s recital will include selections from Haydn’s Creation, Bach’s Mass in B minor and, with the assistance of soprano Hannah Walters, Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. He will be joined by the men’s a cappella ensemble G Sharp before concluding the recital with his own arrangement of Stephen Sondheim’s “Being Alive” from the musical Company.
• The annual Spring Woodwind Chamber Ensembles Concert will be presented on May 10 at 3:30 p.m. The concert will include performances by the Little Quartet on the Prairie, the Gustavus Saxophone Quartet, the Fiati Wind Quintet, the FYRA Quartet and the Woodwind Quintet. The program for the woodwind concert covers a wide range of genres and eras from Arcangelo Corelli’s “Preludio and Giga” and Mozart’s “Serenade in E-flat Major,” to Scott Joplin’s “Two Joplin Rags,” Grainger’s “Shepherd’s Hey,” and Astor Piazzolla’s “9 Tangos.”
• Senior Anthony Afful will complete the weekend with his oboe, English horn and oboe d’amore recital at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 10. Anthony will be accompanied by pianist Ben Marti in this senior recital which will include performances of works by Bach, Poulenc, Mozart, Piazzolla, Adrian Mann and Edvard Moritz.

The public is cordially welcomed to this special weekend of senior and junior recitals, the woodwind concert and the flute showcase. All events will be presented in Jussi Björling Recital Hall, are free and are open to the public. A reception in the Björling lobby will follow the recitals.