Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University will host a faculty recital featuring Dr. Heather Bynum on March 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall on Ouachita’s campus.

“This is my first faculty solo recital since completing my doctorate, so this recital is very significant to me,” said Bynum, OBU instructor of clarinet.

Bynum will perform a variety of music selections from different time periods with the help of other Ouachita faculty. “I will be performing Louis Spohr’s Six German Songs, which will feature soprano vocalist Dr. Margaret Garrett, Ouachita assistant professor of music,” Bynum said. “I’ve always enjoyed playing with vocalists, so this is one way for me to incorporate it into my recital.”

Bynum has chosen to perform Carl Nielson’s Concerto for clarinet, featuring percussionist Dr. Ryan Lewis, Ouachita assistant professor of music, and Mr. Kazuo Murakami, instructor of piano at the University of Central Arkansas, playing a piano reduction. “A concerto is normally for a solo instrument and an orchestra,” Bynum noted. “But I can’t play in front of an orchestra, so the snare drum is a huge part of that particular piece.”

Other pieces Bynum has selected include Zapping Trio by Eric Sammut, featuring Dr. Lewis on marimba and Dr. Josh Bynum, Ouachita assistant professor of music, on trombone. She will conclude her recital with Pocket Size Sonata by Alec Temptleton. “It’s got some jazz elements to it, but it’s more in a classical idiom,” Bynum said.

The recital is free of charge and open to the public. For more information, contact Ouachita’s School of Fine Arts at 870-245-5129.

By Amy Lynn Wentz