Duo Montagnard to perform at OBU in guest concert March 11
March 03, 2011 - Glenn Bolton
Ouachita Baptist University’s School of Fine Arts will host Duo Montagnard in a guest
artist concert at 7:30 p.m. March 11 in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall.
The duo consists of Matthew Slotkin on guitar and Joseph Murphy on saxophone. Murphy
will also present a masterclass at 3 p.m. that afternoon in the same location. Both
events are free and open to the public.
“To have a professional duo of this caliber come to Ouachita will be an amazing opportunity
for our students and community,” said OBU Professor of Music Dr. Caroline Taylor,
who arranged for Murphy and Slotkin to come to campus after discovering that the duo
would be touring several Southern states this spring.
“The concert should be a wonderfully diverse mix of music performed on saxophone and
guitar,” Taylor added. “I highly encourage everyone to come and bring their friends
for this highly anticipated event.”
Slotkin and Murphy will present selections by various composers such as George Daravelis,
David Kechley, Shane Endsley, John Orfe, James Crowley and John Anthony Lennon.
Duo Montagnard formed in 2002 and has performed more than 140 concerts in 30 states
and eight nations.
Murphy serves as a saxophone professor at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, where
he has also served as department chair and director of bands. He earned his Doctor
of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from Northwestern University and his Bachelor
of Music degree from Bowling Green State University. Murphy has served as music director
of Tiffin Calvert High School in Ohio and has received a Fulbright Award for a year
of study in Bordeaux, France, where he received a Premier Prix. He has performed widely
internationally, including a solo recital at Lincoln Center in New York, is a member
of numerous national instrumental organizations and has been involved in commissioning
and premiering more than 20 original works for the saxophone.
Slotkin serves as director of the guitar programs at Mansfield and Bloomsburg Universities
in Pennsylvania in addition to his prolific performance career. He has also taught
at the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, Buffalo State College and Alfred University
in New York and Eastman School of Music’s Community Education Division. He received
his Doctor of Musical Arts, Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from Eastman
School of Music, where he studied guitar with Nicholas Goluses and historical performance
practice with Paul O’Dette. Slotkin has performed nationally and internationally to
wide acclaim both as a solo artist and as a member of orchestras or smaller ensembles.
For more information, contact the School of Fine Arts at (870) 245-5129.
By Glenn Bolton
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