Ouachita to host annual Symposium of Contemporary Music April 20
April 14, 2015 - Clair Childers
Ouachita Baptist University’s annual Composers Symposium concert will be held Monday,
April 20, at 7:30 p.m. in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall. The performance
is free and open to the public.
The Ouachita Symposium of Contemporary Music is a concert of compositions written
by Ouachita students. This year the program will feature several Ouachita students
and faculty members performing new pieces.
The concert features compositions by three Ouachita students: Caroline Dunlap, a sophomore
piano performance major from Little Rock, Ark.; Sean Jackson, a senior music composition
major from Milton, Fla.; and John David Whitmore, a senior music major from Rogers,
Ark.
Dr. Patrick Houlihan, professor of music, assisted and encouraged the students in
completing their composition process.
“There aren’t words that can adequately express the feelings of seeing inexperienced
beginners … grow into musicians who create impressive music,” Houlihan said. “These
students not only improve as composers, they also acquire the ability to read scores
and listen to music with the kind of insight that can only be gained through the process
of writing music.”
Houlihan affirmed that this will be a great performance for spectators to enjoy. “Hearing
a premiere is exciting,” he noted. “Members of the Ouachita community and the southwest
Arkansas region who attend get the additional excitement of supporting artistic creation
by composers in this area.”
The program will open with Sean Jackson's "Sea Ghosts," performed on piano by Emily
Tucker, a 2014 Ouachita graduate. Next, Caroline Dunlap's "Elements for Violin, Horn
and Piano" will be performed by Kristen Bomberger on violin; Heather Thayer, assistant
professor of music, on horn; and Joanna Horton, a sophomore music and English major
from Arkadelphia, Ark., on piano. John David Whitmore's "Accidental Garden" will follow,
performed by Blake Turner, a freshman music major from Fort Worth, Texas, on trumpet;
Drew Ervin, a senior music and computer science major from Springdale, Ark., on percussion;
and Whitmore on piano. Jackson's seven movement composition, "Dreamworld," will close
the concert. It will be performed by Jackson on piano and Elizabeth Baker, a senior
instrumental music performance and psychology major from Grapevine, Texas, on flute.
For more information, contact Dr. Patrick Houlihan at [email protected] or (870) 245-5130.
By Clair Childers
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