January 20, 1997 Contact: Barbara McKenna (408) 459-2495; mckenna@ua.ucsc.edu

UC SANTA CRUZ ANNOUNCES OPENING OF NEW MUSIC CENTER

Public performances will be offered beginning this month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--On January 6, after nearly a decade of careful planning, the University of California, Santa Cruz, offered its first classes in the new Music Center. Neighboring the Performing Arts and Baskin Visual Arts complexes, the $21 million center expands a cluster of arts facilities located above the Great Meadow. The new facility offers a number of superb performance venues as well as classrooms and teaching studios outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment.

The facility was eagerly anticipated by the Music Department, which has experienced years of steady enrollment increases and long ago outgrew its designated space in the Performing Arts complex. The new center provides 13 teaching studios, 20 practice rooms, 5 classrooms, an ensemble rehearsal room, a music library, a percussion studio, and office space. The centerpiece of the complex is a 396-seat Recital Hall.

The acoustic design and capabilities of the new Music Center are considered to be among the best of any university music facility in the country. Additionally, students are learning in classrooms linked by advanced audiovisual technology and digital audio, video, and recording systems.

A series of inaugural concerts is planned throughout the spring, culminating in a gala concert and dedication ceremony--as well as the inauguration of Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood--on May 23. During the winter quarter many exceptional concerts will also be offered (see schedule below).

The winter quarter will be a time for fine-tuning and refining the acoustic features of the new performance venues. As dean of the arts Edward Houghton notes, "The acoustical quality of the various spaces, even at this early point, is very good to extraordinary. We now begin the process of fine- tuning the spaces and using the acoustically variable features to achieve the very best sound characteristics for specific needs."

Along with providing exceptional facilities for students and faculty, the new Music Center will be an outstanding venue for audiences.

Winter-quarter performances Wednesday, January 29 Wednesday Evening Recital: "Bells, Bangs and Whistles" Faculty musicians Leta Miller, flute, and William Winant, percussion, perform the premiere of a work by Ralph Shapey as well as Lou Harrison's "Ariadne" for flute, percussion, and dance. Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. $8 ($5 seniors, $3 students).

Wednesday, February 5 Wednesday Evening Recital: "Strings Attached" Lecturer Karen Andrie, cello, and guest artists Susan C. Brown and Carol Kutsch, violin and viola, perform trios and duos by Beethoven, Kodaly, and Francaix. Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. $8 ($5 seniors, $3 students).

Sunday, February 9 "Night of the Living Composers" The New Music Works Ensemble, under the direction of Phil Collins, will perform repertoire featuring new works by regional composers including Sasha Bogdanowitsch, Pablo E. Furman, Jon Scoville, Allen Strange, and the late George Barati. Presented by New Music Works in cooperation with the Music Department. 8 P.M. $12 ($10 seniors, $7 students).

Saturday, February 15 "Love Songs from the Court of Queen Elizabeth" Internationally renowned early-music soprano Julianne Baird, accompanied by professor Linda Burman-Hall on harpsichord, virginal, and organ, in an evening of love songs. Bring your valentine! Presented by Arts & Lectures, the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, and the Music Department. 8 P.M. $15 general ($12 seniors and students).. Reserved seating.

Wednesday, February 19 Wednesday Evening Recital: Sirius Ensemble This graduate student ensemble from UC San Diego performs contemporary and avant-garde music by Schoenberg, Donati, and student composers from UC San Diego and UC Santa Cruz. Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. $8 ($5 seniors, $3 students).

Friday, February 21 Senior Recital: Sandra Castleberry, soprano A program of art songs by Purcell, Schubert, Milhaud, and Rossini. With Michael McGushin, piano and harpsichord. Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. Free.

Wednesday, February 26 Wednesday Evening Recital: "Twentieth-Century Chamber Music" Faculty flutist Susan Waller and guest artists perform chamber music by Ravel, Damase, and others for flute, voice, cello, and piano. Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. $8 ($5 seniors, $3 students).

Friday, February 28 University Orchestra & Choral Ensembles In this orchestral and choral sampler, the Orchestra performs the Cello Concerto by Dvorak, featuring student competition winner Hilary Clark. The combined Chamber Singers and Concert Choir will perform opera choruses from Bizet's "Carmen," plus "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" from Verdi's "Nabucco." Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. $8 ($5 seniors, $3 students). Reserved seating.

Sunday, March 2 Senior Recital: Adeline Mueller, flute Flutist Adeline Mueller and guest artists perform works by Messiaen, C. P. E. Bach, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Prokofiev, and more. Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. Free.

Monday, March 3 Empyrean Ensemble This UC Davis contemporary chamber ensemble performs new works, including a piece by UCSC professor Hi Kyung Kim. Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. Free.

Wednesday, March 5 Wednesday Evening Recital: "Music for Piano Duo" Pianists Michael McGushin and Irene Herrmann perform a varied concert of works for one and two pianos including "Mother Goose Suite" by Ravel, "Four Fantasies on American Folk Songs" by Douglas Townsend (both for four hands), and pieces by Gorecki, Hovhaness, Schubert, and Cowell. Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. $8 ($5 seniors, $3 students).

Thursday, March 6 "Orchestre Symphonique" Conductor Nicole Paiement returns to Santa Cruz with two accomplished youth ensembles: one from Canada, the other from Robert Louis Stevenson High School in Pebble Beach. On the program: the Piano Concerto by Grieg, Borodin's Symphony No. 3, and more. Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. $3 at the door only.

Saturday, March 8 Jazz Ensembles Student combos and the UCSC Little Big Band perform jazz standards and originals. Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. $8 ($5 seniors, $3 students).

Wednesday, March 12 Wednesday Evening Recital: "Dances, Sonatas and Songs" Visiting artist Dr. Vicki Seldon, piano, from Prairie View A & M University (Texas) will explore the intermingling of "high art" and "pop entertainment" in the works of 20th-century African American composers. Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. $8 ($5 seniors, $3 students).

Friday and Saturday, March 14-15 University Choral Ensembles The Concert Choir and Chamber Singers share a program of opera choruses including excerpts from Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas," Bizet's "Carmen," and from operas by Handel, Mozart, Donizetti, Barber, Copland, Argento, and more. With pianists Michael McGushin and Irene Herrmann. Presented by the Music Department. 8 P.M. $8 ($5 seniors, $3 students).

For performance information, call the UCSC Ticket Office at (408) 459-2159.

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