By Amanda Nettles
College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office
CONWAY — Composer Eric Ewazen will visit the University of Central Arkansas as an artist in residence March 7-10.
Ewazen received a B.M. at the Eastman School of Music; he also received his M.M. and D.M.A. degrees from The Juilliard School. His teachers included Samuel Adler, Milton Babbitt, Warren Benson, Joseph Schwantner and Gunther Schuller. He has received a number of composition awards and prizes. His works have been commissioned and performed by many soloists, chamber ensembles, and orchestras throughout the U.S. and overseas. His musical style is sometimes described as “neo-impressionist, “ because it is rooted in melody and tonality while also having a more contemporary harmony.
“Mr. Ewazen is a major force in American music-writing,” said Dr. Brent Shires, faculty sponsor for the residency. “He has been a friend especially to brass players, writing all kinds of works from concertos and sonatas to band, orchestra and choir pieces.
“Having Mr. Ewazen here at UCA is a big deal. Students or musical composition should definitely take advantage of his time and learn from him during his stay.”
All residency activities are free and open to the public.
A recent work is “Legacy,” commissioned for the bicentennial of West Point and performed by the USMA Band in Carnegie Hall. Another is “Flight,” commissioned by the USAF Heritage of America Band at Langley AFB, Va., commemorating the 100th anniversary of powered flight.
Recent debuts of Ewazen’s Orchestral and Wind Ensemble works have been given by the Seattle Symphony, Charleston (S.C.) Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica Carlos Chavez in Mexico City, Orchestre de la Garde Republicaine in Paris, West Virginia Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife in Spain, the Jeju Music Festival Wind Ensemble in Korea and the Moment Musicale Orchestra of Taiwan.
He has also been a lecturer for the New York Philharmonic’s Musical Encounters Service, along with being vice-president of the League of Composers—International Society of Contemporary Music, and a Composer-In-Residence with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York City. Since 1980 he has been a faculty member at Juilliard.
As part of the UCA residency, on Monday march 7, Ewazen will have a Pinnacle Brass rehearsal from 10-11:30 a.m. in the Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall. He will visit with Dr. Paul Dickinson’s Composition Class on Monday from 12-12:50 p.m. That afternoon he will have a saxophone masterclass from 2-2:50 p.m. as well as a Symphonic Band rehearsal from 3-3:50 p.m.
For Tuesday, March 8 and Wednesday, March 9 Ewazen will have a variety of rehearsals throughout the day, along with lessons with students. He will visit Hendrix College to work with their chamber orchestra, and hear the UCA Wind Ensemble as they prepare his piece “Shadowcatcher” for the Wind Ensemble’s Mach 17 concert.
Tuesday’s concert takes place from 1:40 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and features UCA students performing Ewazen’s music. A UCA Faculty Chamber Recital will be held Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m., including solos and chamber music performed by UCA and Hendrix college music faculty. Mr. Ewazen will also perform on piano.
On Thursday, March 10 Ewazen will work with students on his own compositions and musical style from 1:40-2:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall. At 7:30 p.m., “Circles of Sound: The Music of Eric Ewazen” will be performed through a large ensembles concert in Reynolds Performance Hall, with a variety of UCA ensembles participating including the UCA Horn Ensemble, Natural Slides Trombone Octet, and UCA Symphonic Band.
For more information, contact Shires at bshires@uca.edu or (501)-450-5768.
The Artist in Residence program is funded by UCA’s arts fee and is administered by the College of Fine Arts and Communication. For more information about the program, call the Office of the Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication, at (501) 450-3293 or e-mail jdmiller@uca.edu.
The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, and Communication, Mass Communication and Theatre, Music, and Writing. The college’s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators, and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call (501) 450-3293.
