Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University will host Justin Isenhour, instructor of low brass and music theory, in a faculty trombone recital on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m. The recital will be held in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall on Ouachita’s campus and will be free and open to the public. Dr. Eneida Larti and Dr. Craig Hamilton will accompany Isenhour.

The concert will open with “T-Bone Concerto” by Johan de Meij. The title of the piece is a “play on T-bone steak and the nickname for the trombone,” Isenhour explained. The piece features three movements titled “Rare,” “Medium” and “Well Done.” “Each movement is titled after methods for cooking a steak with the idea that each subsequently progresses in technical difficulty,” Isenhour said. Larti will accompany Isenhour on piano, playing a reduction of the 80-member wind ensemble accompaniment.

The next piece on the program, “Force Fields and Spaces” by James Fulkerson, is an “exploration of sounds,” Isenhour said, that will use a delay system to create a unique auditory experience. “As opposed to more traditional melodic and harmonic interest, the cumulative resonances generated during a performance are the focus of the work,” he added.

Following “Force Fields and Spaces” will be a more traditional selection for trombone and piano, “Aria et Polonaise” by Joseph Jongen. Jongen’s work is grounded in “beautiful melodies and lush harmonies,” Isenhour said. Larti will collaborate with Isenhour on piano.

The recital will close with Joseph Turrin’s “Fandango,” a Latin-inspired beguine. For this piece, Larti and Hamilton will join Isenhour on piano and trumpet, respectively.

Isenhour has performed with the Charlotte Symphony, the Augusta Symphony, the Blumenthal Theater, the Greeley Philharmonic, the South Carolina Philharmonic, the Long Bay Symphony and the Union Symphony. He also has taught at the University of South Carolina and the University of Northern Colorado and has worked as a middle school band director.

Isenhour teaches music theory, applied trombone, bass trombone, euphonium and tuba at Ouachita and also directs the OBU Low Brass Ensemble. He is currently completing requirements for a Doctorate in Musical Arts degree from the University of South Carolina. He also holds his bachelor of music degree from Appalachian State University and his master of music degree from the University of Northern Colorado.

For more information, contact Isenhour at [email protected] or (870) 245-5144.

By Nicci Fillinger