FSU’s Department of Music Presents FSU String Ensemble in Concert

Frostburg State University’s Department of Music will present the String Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Karen Lau, in concert on Monday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pealer Recital Hall of FSU’s Woodward D. Pealer Performing Arts Center. The ensemble will be accompanied by pianists Drs. Jay DeWire and Joseph Yungen, flutist Courtney Sechler, clarinetist Evelyn Anderson, percussionists Benjamin Alvey and Joseph Louie and narrator Gregory Stuart. The concert is free and open to the public. This event will also be livestreamed; click the “Join Stream” button on this page a few minutes before the recital is scheduled to begin, or anytime during the recital, to view the live performance.

The String Ensemble consists of Anna Hilderbrand and Chassady Redhead on violin, Evelyn Shanholtz and Kathryn Schram on viola and Maggie Malat on cello.

The ensemble will perform the first movement, “Andante,” from “Quartet for Flute, Violin, Viola and Cello, KV 298” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and all 14 movements, “Introduction and the Lion’s Royal March,” “Hens and Roosters,” “Wild Asses (Swift Animals),” “Tortoises,” “The Elephant,” “Kangaroos,” “Aquarium,” “Personages With Long Ears,” “The Cuckoo in the Deep Woods,” “Aviary,” “Pianists,” “Fossils,” “The Swan” and “Finale,” of “Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saëns.

For a composer who claimed he was unable to abide the flute, Mozart bequeathed to musicians a repertoire of works for that instrument that could not be more appealing, including the four quartets for flute, violin, viola and cello, all of which differ surprisingly in character. “Flute Quartet No. 4 in A Major, K. 298” is Mozart's final composition for flute quartet. Unlike the previous three quartets, written for the flutist Ferdinand De Jean, the Quartet in A is believed to have been written for recreational purposes, as opposed to on commission. The piece is thought to have been written in 1786 or 1787, only a few years before the composer’s death.

“The Carnival of the Animals” (“Le Carnaval des animaux”) is a humorous musical suite by the French composer Saint-Saëns. As the title suggests, the work is programmatical and zoological. It progresses from the first movement through portraits of elephants and donkeys to a finale reprising many of the earlier motifs. The work, about 25 minutes in duration, was written for private performance by two pianos and chamber ensemble; Saint-Saëns prohibited public performance of the work during his lifetime, feeling that its frivolity would damage his standing as a serious composer. The suite was published in 1922, the year after his death. A public performance in the same year was greeted with enthusiasm, and the work has remained among his most popular.

FSU is following CDC guidance based on current area conditions. For current health and safety guidelines, visit www.frostburg.edu/COVID19.

For more information, contact FSU’s Department of Music at 301-687-4109.