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CONCERT FEATURING CELLO, PIANO AND VIOLIN TO BE PERFORMED MARCH 5
A concert of music for cello, piano and violin will be presented March 5 in historic Old St. Vincent's Church in downtown Cape Girardeau.
The concert will feature three members of the music faculty at Southeast Missouri State -- Dr. Sara Edgerton, cello; Dr. James Sifferman, piano; and Dr. Ronald Francois, violin. The program will include two sonatas for cello and piano by Corelli and Prokofiev, and will end with Beethoven's trio Op. 1, no. 3 for piano, violin and cello.
The concert is scheduled for 3 p.m. and is open to the public. Tickets are available at the door. Admission is $5. Tickets for students and senior citizens are $3. Admission is free with a University I.D.
The concert will open with the "Sonata in D Minor for Cello and Continuo" by Italian composer Arcangelo Corelli. A celebrated composer and violinist from the second half of the 17th century, Corelli's music was performed and studied for many generations after his death. He lived in Rome for most of his adult lifetime, where he established a school of violin playing that was without equal in Europe. The sonata performed at this concert originally was for violin and keyboard accompaniment; it has been transcribed for all stringed instruments - viola, cello or string bass - and is often performed in any of these versions.
Contrasting in style and expression, Sergei Prokofiev's "Cello Sonata Op. 119" was a late work of the composer. It dates from 1949 and is imbued with the unique blend of irony and Russian folk melody so often associated with Prokofiev's style. The cello and piano alternate functions as melodist and accompanist, with the cello often strumming guitar-like chords as the piano serves as melodic protagonist. This engaging work was inspired by Prokofiev's association with the outstanding young cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich, for whom he also wrote his last great work, the "Sinfonia Concertante" in 1950.
To conclude the program, violinist Francois, will join Edgerton and Sifferman in a performance of Beethoven's "Piano Trio Op. 1, no. 3" for violin, cello and piano. This work belongs to the set of three piano trios by which the youthful Beethoven meant to take aristocratic Vienna by storm, this his first set of music which he allowed to have printed under the august numbering of Opus 1. These works were immediately well received with the third trio of the set proving to be the most popular of the three trios. The true Beethoven spirit can be felt throughout the work, with its dramatic tensions, exhilarating dynamics and virtuoso demands on the performers.
"The year 2000 is a milestone, whether we consider that it is the last year of the old millennium or the beginning of the new millennium," Edgerton said. "So, I wanted to perform a concert this year that would look back at the history of the cello and include compositions of several eras. The works performed are from several important countries in the development of our musical heritage - Italy, Germany and Russia - and represent the Baroque, the late Classical, and the 20th Century styles of music. As a concert for the 'new millennium,' it is fascinating to thing that the year 2000 represents the 300th anniversary of the Corelli Sonata that I will be performing."
This work was published in 1700 in Rome, she said. Edgerton added, "Another historic date is March 1, 1950, when the Prokofiev Sonata was premiered. Our concert in Old St. Vincent's marks, almost to the date, the 50th anniversary of that premiere. And the year 2000 is also a mini-milestone for my cello. It was made in London, England, by Samuel Thompson in 1780. So this year it turns 220 years old."
For more information on the concert, call the Department of Music at (573) 651-2141.
SOUTHEAST CHAMBER PLAYERS TO HONOR SCOTT JOPLIN
The Southeast Chamber Players' next public concert Feb. 27 will feature three of American composer Scott Joplin's most popular works.
The concert, scheduled for 3 p.m. in Old St. Vincent's Church, will feature Joplin's "The Entertainer," "The Chrysanthemum" and "Sun Flower Slow Drag." These delightful pieces will be performed in a small ragtime orchestra setting typical of that utilized during America's ragtime era. In keeping with a general theme of "music for dancing," the program will include Igor Stravinsky's 1918 composition, "Ragtime for 11 Instruments," in which the composer used the rhythms and style of the dance craze that was sweeping North America at that time. The concert will close with two spirited dances by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak.
The ensemble, which was formed in 1990, is comprised of Southeast faculty and students as well as area music teachers and has distinguished itself not only with local performances and school workshops but also with a performance for the Missouri Music Educators Association at Tan-Tar-A.
Due to the generous sponsorship of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, the Missouri Arts Council, the Southeast Missourian and the Department of Music at Southeast, the concert is free to the public. The Southeast Chamber Players will be joined by dance students of Dr. Marc Strauss, assistant professor of dance at Southeast, to present a program of "music for dancing" for all the fourth, fifth and sixth grade students in the Cape Public Schools. This program is planned for 12:55 p.m. Feb. 28 in Academic Auditorium.
Also featured on the program will be an introduction to "The African American Experience in Children's Literature," presented by Southeast associate professor of elementary education, Dr. Ann Porter Gifford. This concert/clinic is sponsored by the Goals 2000: Fine Arts Grant.
SOUTHEAST ANNOUNCES FINAL SPRING ENROLLMENT
A fourth week census report at Southeast Missouri State University shows total student enrollment at 8,524 for the spring 2000 semester.
The report shows total undergraduate student headcount at 7,183, up from 6,960 at this time a year ago. Total graduate student headcount is 1,341, up 14.4 percent from spring of 1999.
Today's final census report shows: high school student headcount at 464, up 22. 4 percent from spring 1999, and returning freshmen headcount at 1,663, up 15.1 percent from this time last year. Sophomore headcount stands at 1,339 up 1.7 percent from spring 1999. The University has fewer juniors and seniors than last year, 1,412 and 1,918 respectively, reflecting the smaller freshman classes three and four years ago.
Graduate school enrollment continues to climb as the University steadily adds new programs. Over the past few years, new graduate programs in business, nursing, social work and health fitness administration, and a cooperative program in engineering management have been launched. Many area teachers also are pursuing advanced degrees. In addition, the Southeast Graduate School has stepped up its recruitment of students. As a result, the number of degree seeking master's students stands at 767, up 15.7 percent from this time last year. Total headcount for graduate students in the specialist program stands at 124, up 17 percent from spring 1999. Today's report also shows doctoral headcount at 13, up from seven at this time last spring. The 2000 spring semester at Southeast began Jan. 18.
SIEMENS BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES DONATES $125,000 IN EQUIPMENT TO POLYTECHNIC BUILDING
Siemens Building Technologies, Landis Division, has donated $125,000 in controls equipment for the Otto and Della Seabaugh Polytechnic Building at Southeast Missouri State University.
The donation of equipment, which includes heating, air conditioning and ventilation controls equipment, in addition to temperature sensors and fire and security alarms, was made through the Southeast Missouri University Foundation. In appreciation of their gift, the administrative conference room in the Seabaugh Building will be named for Siemens Building Technologies. Siemens' actual cost basis for manufacturing the components is $50,360, but the gift will reduce the cost of the Seabaugh Polytechnic Building by the $125,000 wholesale price of the equipment.
Al Stoverink, director of Facilities Management at Southeast, said Siemens elected to be a partner in the Polytechnic Building project after recently serving as the vendor for a new central monitoring system installed on campus. Siemens took particular interest in this project, Stoverink said, when learning that their equipment would be showcased in the Polytechnic Building and that it would have academic learning applications associated with it.
"The concept is to make the building itself a lab," said Dr. Athula Kulatunga, associate professor of industrial and engineering technology. Stoverink says details still are being worked out, but plans are being discussed to install, in the Polytechnic Building, a monitoring screen with graphics, where students will observe the heating and air conditioning devices controlled in the building. Kulatunga says that, at the same time, students will be learning the applications associated with the control devices.
"You need to know what's really happening," Kulatunga said, adding that by showcasing this equipment, students will have the opportunity to learn firsthand about controls technology.
Tom Moser, district manager for Siemens Missouri District, said, Siemens is proud to partner with Southeast in the development of the Polytechnic Building. "With the unique software capabilities of our building automation systems, the University not only will have a control system for the building, but also a unique learning tool that can be used in the classroom environment to train your students in the operation and management of this leading edge facility," he said.
"We appreciate the opportunity to partner with the University on this project and look forward to its successful completion," Moser added. Rick Dorste, sales engineer with Siemens Building Technologies, Inc., Landis Division, said the curriculum offered by the Polytechnic School provides Southeast students with the foundation for the industrial and technical industry. "Siemens Building Technologies sees these students as potential recruits for our industry as well as a resource for our customers," he said. Siemens' donation of the building's temperature control system provides a safe, comfortable learning environment and a learning tool for students. "This learning tool is a state of the art Siemens microprocessor based Direct Digital Control (DDC) system, which gives the instructors an opportunity to educate the students on an operational heating and ventilating system as well as teaching them environmental control theory," Dorste said.
In conjunction with the launching of the School of Polytechnic Studies and the construction of the Otto and Della Seabaugh Polytechnic Institute, Southeast currently is exploring the feasibility of offering a new Environmental Controls Technology program, Kulatunga said.
He added that with Siemens on board as a partner in the Polytechnic Building, faculty will have access to a Siemens training center in Chicago, where they will update their skills.
"Siemens is one of the leading companies in the field," Kulatunga said. "They have built their own technical schools in Europe."
Stoverink added, "Siemens is very sincere in viewing this as a long-term partnership with the School of Polytechnic Studies. They have a genuine interest in facilitating education of trained technicians. "Kulatunga said, "Not many universities have this opportunity."
Siemens Building Technologies combines industry leaders in building automation and building safety and security with facility manages a world leader in providing cost effective facility performance solutions for the comfort, life safety, security, energy efficiency and operation of facilities. The Landis Division is a global market leader in the field of building automation and ranks number one in Europe. Its activities are focused on providing an optimum indoor environment for the well-being of users and a high level of energy efficiency for building productivity.
Work is under way on construction of the $8.8 million Otto and Della Seabaugh Polytechnic Building at Southeast. The building is expected to be completed in spring 2001.
SOUTHEAST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TO PRESENT SPRING CONCERT
The Southeast Missouri State University Symphony Orchestra will present a concert of music March 28 showcasing the student winners of this year's Concerto and Aria Competition along with symphonic masterworks by Gustav Holst and Howard Hanson.
The public is invited to attend the concert, which will take place in Academic Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door and are $5 and $3 for students and senior citizens. Admission is free with a valid University I.D. For more information, please contact the Department of Music at (573) 651-2141. Student concert soloists will be Kristi Benedick, flute, Jared Prost, trumpet, and Matt Yount, piano. The program also will include Howard Hanson's Symphony No. 2, the "Romantic" and the celebrated "Mars" movement from the famous "Planets" by Gustav Holst.
Concertos by Edvard Grieg, Frank Martin and Jan Neruda will open the symphonic orchestra concert. Grieg was the most significant Norwegian composer of the 19th century. His youthful "Piano Concerto Op. 16" was written in the summer of 1868, during a vacation that he took with his wife and baby daughter in Denmark. Its exuberance, melodic appeal and pianist brilliance gained instant popularity for the work, which remained a favorite among pianists and audiences alike. Swiss composer Frank Martin wrote a series of four "Ballades" for various solo instruments at the end of the 1930s. The "Ballade for Flute and Orchestra" was written in 1939, and is a one-movement work. Martin's highly original style gives this work a dramatic, colorful and rhythmically charged character. The 18th century "Concerto for Trumpet and Strings" by Jan Neruda was written for one of the great virtuoso players of the day. Similar in style to concerti by Haydn and Mozart, this concerto is elegant, refined and tuneful. It is extremely
challenging for the solo trumpet player. The second half of the concert will consist of 20th century works for symphonic orchestra. The American composer, Howard Hanson, was born in 1896 in the little town of Wahoo, Neb. Hanson went on to become the director of the famous Eastman School of Music and was an esteemed composer, conductor, music educator and advocate of American music. His symphony No. 2 "Romantic" was written for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was premiered by that orchestra in 1930 for their 50th anniversary season. The symphony has rhythmic complexity, rich harmonies and is very American in spirit. Its appeal continues to be felt and it has gained much attention and popularity through recent recordings of the work by such orchestras as the St. Louis Symphony, with Leonard Slatkin conducting. Another enduring symphonic masterpiece, "Mars" from "The Planets" will conclude the concert. Written by English composer Gustav Holst during the early days of World War I, "The Planets" reflects
Holsts interest in astrology, oriental mysticism and exotic color. The brilliant effects achieved by the huge orchestra called for in "Mars" presage the storm of the Great War that was about to break out over Europe.
"This concerto should be very appealing to audiences of all ages," said Dr. Sara Edgerton, director of the University Symphony Orchestra. "The student soloists on piano, flute and trumpet are outstanding, and their concerto performances will be a real highlight of the program. The 20th century symphonic masterpieces by Holst and Hanson will showcase the entire orchestra and should provide a very colorful and appealing conclusion to the concert."
SUGGS TO SPEAK AT DUGGER LECTURE
The Harold Holmes Dugger Lecture will be delivered by Dr. George G. Suggs, Jr., emeritus professor of history at Southeast Missouri State University, March 23 at 8 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom.
This year's Dugger lecture will examine life in the cotton-mill South in the middle of the 20th century. A banquet in the University Center Ballroom will precede the lecture. Dinner reservations may be made through the Department of History. The cost is $15 per person. The deadline for reservations is March 17.
The Dugger Lecture Series was established by the Department of History in 1988 to honor Harold Holmes Dugger, professor of diplomatic and intellectual history and former chair of the department. The Dugger Lecture Fund enjoys the continued support of faculty, students, alumni and friends of the University.
Suggs, this year's presenter and a native of North Carolina, received his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He also studied at Northwestern University as a John Hay Fellow and at Brown University as a NEH Resident Fellow. Suggs is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including the Outstanding Educators in America Award, the Research Merit Award and the Distinguished Honors Award from Southeast Missouri State University, and the Merit Award from both the Department of History and the College of Liberal Arts at Southeast.
During his career at Southeast, Suggs served on numerous departmental, college and university committees. He served as the sponsor of the department's chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the honor society in history, and as the department's representative on the Faculty Senate. He also was a member of the Graduate Council, the University Bank and Tenure Committee and the University Grants and Research Funding Committee.
Suggs is the author of a number of monographs, articles and reviews in the area of American labor history, including Colorado's War on Militant Unionism: James Peabody and the Western Federation of Miners and Union Busting in the Tri-State: The Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri Metal Workers' Strike of 1935. His articles appeared in Labor History, The Western Historical Quarterly, and Journal of the West. He has served as monograph reviewer for the American Historical Review, the Journal of American History and the New Mexico Historical Review.
In addition to his published works, Suggs has presented his research at meetings of the Organization of American Historians, the Southern Historical Association and the Western History Association. His current research interests include child labor in Missouri tiff mining and textile workers in rural southeast North Carolina.
TUCSON ARIZONA BOYS CHOIR TO PERFORM IN CAPE GIRARDEAU
The Choral Music Departments of Southeast Missouri State University and Cape Central High School will sponsor a performance March 27 of the Tucson Arizona Boys Choir.
The concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Old St. Vincent's Church. The Tucson Boys Choir was founded by Eduardo Caso in 1939 in the tradition of the European boychoir. His vision was to establish an organization committed to classical works balanced with American repertoire and an American sound. The organization has developed into three performance levels of choirs. Dr. John Ackerley has been the group's director since 1980.
Over the years, the choir has received invitations to perform at many venues, including Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center and the White House. In addition to its prestigious national invitations and performance tours throughout the United States, they also have toured extensively abroad, including trips to Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Europe and Russia.
Their performance in Cape Girardeau will include songs from their classical, traditional repertoire, Broadway show tunes, and their trademark, songs and ballads of the Southwest. Their repertoire history also includes performances in such major works as Britten's "War Requiem," Vaughan Williams' "Hodie," and Orff's "Carmina Burana."
Freewill donations will be accepted to help defray tour costs.
UNIVERSITY TO CELEBRATE MILLENNIAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE ARTS
The 17 famous and not-so-famous names that are inscribed on Southeast Missouri State University's Kent Library façade represent the University's take on the Western canon in literature as of 1939, the year the names first went up on the library, thanks mainly to H.O. Grauel and W.W. Parker. These 17 writers will be celebrated, critiqued and challenged during a Millennial Symposium of the Arts planned for March 5-10 on the University campus.
"The Symposium's intent is to engage students in real learning through qualitative and quantifiable experiences through the arts of oral and written literature, dance, music, theatre and a variety of performance pieces," said Dr. Marc Strauss, co-director of the event. "We hope to have quite a lot of discussion and generated discourse, which is what higher education is all about."
The celebration will begin on March 5 at 2 p.m. when "Showcasing the Canon" will be presented at Kent Library. University students, faculty and Cape Girardeau community members will present a very unique performance involving the works of Homer, William Shakespeare, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Mark Twain and Walt Whitman. A reception will follow at 4 p.m., and a round table forum, "Interrogating the Canon," will be held at 4:30 p.m. Faculty, University alumni and community members will discuss the history and rationale behind the 17 names on Kent Library, debate the merits of their inclusion and field questions.
On March 6, from noon to 1:15 p.m., another faculty panel will present the work of John Milton, Ralph Waldo Emerson and John Henry Cardinal Newman. The works of Virgil, Geoffrey Chaucer and Thomas Carlyle will be presented from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. on March 7; Victor Hugo, John Ruskin and Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoi will be discussed on March 8 from noon to 1:15 p.m.; and, on March 9, from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m., the presentations will conclude with Henry David Thoreau, Edgar Allen Poe and Eugene Field.
The Symposium will conclude with a concert performed by the internationally acclaimed Parsons Dance Company on Thursday, March 9 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Academic Auditorium. General admission tickets can be purchased at the door for $8, and students with identification may purchase tickets for $5. The New York City based dancers are famous for their buoyancy, wit, athleticism and accessibility, They will also hold a master class in modern dance on March 8 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Parker Dance Studio.
"We are very excited about the event," said Strauss. "It will be a real exploration of the changes over the last 2,500 years, and students, faculty, staff and community members should all have a unique educational and interesting experience."
The Symposium is sponsored by the Funding For Results Program, a major University and state-wide initiative intended to improve and extend student learning.
SOUTHEAST ENSEMBLE TO PRESENT WORLD PREMIERE OF WORK BY HUNGARIAN COMPOSER
The Southeast Missouri State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble will perform Hungarian composer, Frigyes Hidas' "Missouri Overture" on March 2. This will be the world premiere of this new overture, which is dedicated to the Southeast ensemble and its conductor, Dr. Robert Gifford. The entire concert will feature the works of Hidas, including his concertos for flute, euphonium and tuba, as well as the spirited and delightful Capriccio for full wind ensemble. Also appearing as a guest conductor for the evening's concert will be László Marosi who impressed Cape Girardeau music lovers two years ago when he conducted a concert of Hungarian wind music with the Southeast Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Both Marosi and Hidas have earned international reputations and are currently in demand throughout the world as representatives of historic and contemporary Hungarian wind music. Southeast students and faculty will have the opportunity to work with these two outstanding musicians during the week of Feb. 28-March 3.
Featured soloists for the concert will include Jeffrey Funderburk, professor of euphonium and tuba at the University of Northern Iowa. On his first solo tour of Japan, Pipers mgazine hailed Funderburk as the next international tuba virtuoso, and his subsequent career has fulfilled this prediction. In addition to performing with such orchestras as the St. Louis Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Michigan Opera Theatre and the Kansas City Symphony, Funderburk has recorded two solo tuba CDs and records with the professional euphonium and tuba ensemble, "Symphonia." Funderburk will perform the Hidas "Tuba Concerto" for tuba and wind ensemble. Paul Thompson is a graduate of the London College of Music, studied at the Paris Conservatory on a scholarship from the French government and earned a master of music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Thompson has performed extensively as a soloist in England and the United States, where he recently was featured at the National Flute Association
Covention in New York City. He is currently instructor of flute and a member of the Baroque Trio at Southeast. Thompson will be featured on this concert in a performance of Hidas' "Concerto for Flute, Harp, Celestra, Winds and Percussion."
Southeast alumnus Josh Miller will perform Hidas' new work for euphonium and wind orchestra entitled "Euphoniada." This piece has already begun to gain international popularity and is now published by the largest Austrian publisher of music for wind bands. Miller graduated in 1999 from Southeast with a performance degree in euphonium and plans to pursue a career as a professional musician. Miller, a euphonium student of Gifford's at Southeast, was a student winner in the statewide competition for brass players sponsored by the Missouri Music Teachers Association.
Conductor of the Southeast Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Dr. Gifford, feels that this concert presents a "rare opportunity not only for the young musicians in the wind ensemble but also for the community to enjoy the musical efforts of an internationally recognized composer, one of the world's most promising young conductors, and three outstanding soloists all in one evening."
The numerous invitations that the Southeast Symphonic Wind Ensemble has received to perform at state and regional conferences are indicative of the respect that this group has received both for quality of performance and innovative programming. The group has presented seven world premieres and 11 American premieres of works for the contemporary wind band and has performed for both the Missouri Music Educators and the College Band Directors National Association.
The concert will begin at 8 p.m. in Academic Auditorium on the Southeast campus. Parking will be available in lots 18 and TCD just across from the University Center. Handicapped parking will be available, with street-level elevator access.
General admission is $5. Tickets for senior citizens and students are $3. University faculty, staff and students will be admitted free with valid I.D.
SOUTHEAST STUDENTS MENTOR 'AT RISK' YOUTHS
Three Southeast Missouri State University students served as mentors last fall for a group of at-risk sixth graders in Jackson, Mo. Criminal justice majors, Perry Save of Long Beach, Calif., and Carlos DeJesus of South Gate, Calif., and social work major, Anne Stukenberg of Mascoutah, Ill., mentored 15 "at risk" sixth grade students at Jackson Middle School as part of an independent study at Southeast and the Jackson R-2 Pilot Tutoring Program.
The students met every Tuesday and Thursday after school for eight weeks during the fall semester to help the sixth grade students with homework and to counsel them on disciplinary problems they were having at school.
Jason Bruns, one of the teachers at Jackson Middle School who supervises the program, said that working with the University students boosted the sixth graders' motivation 100 percent during the week.
The sixth graders accumulate points at every mentoring session to motivate them to make progress in school through a reward system. Those students who accumulate enough points by showing moderate to high levels of participation and effort are rewarded with monthly and end-of-the-year activities, such as going to a Southeast Missouri State basketball game with their mentor or going to a St. Louis Cardinal game.
The students receiving the mentoring were identified by their fifth and sixth grade teachers as being at risk for becoming juvenile delinquents. These students had poor attendance, attitudinal and disciplinary problems, and turned in school assignments late. The goals of the mentoring program were to motivate them to stay in school and to instill in them a desire to learn, decrease their disciplinary problems and improve their grades.
Linda Ferrell, an instructor in Southeast's Department of Criminal Justice, made a presentation about the statistical results of the mentoring program to the Jackson School Board Jan. 25. The meeting ended with a standing ovation for Southeast students, she said, adding that she informed the Board that the program improved students' attitudes towards school and learning as noted in weekly teacher evaluations. The students also had fewer disciplinary referrals and absences, and a higher grade point average in the second quarter when the mentoring took place, Ferrell said.
"It was really rewarding to see at-risk students making progress and having their self-esteem lifted," she said.
Dr. Kenneth Dobbins, president of Southeast Missouri State University, says the mentoring program for at-risk Jackson youths exemplifies the University fulfilling its service mission to the region.
"One of the goals of our strategic plan is for Southeast to serve as a leader in developing productive partnerships with other regional entities to meet the educational and other needs of the region" Dobbins said. "Our strategic plan also calls for each of our academic programs to have a built-in experiential learning component in its curriculum so that meaningful experiential learning will be a part of the education of all of our graduates. This mentoring program goes a long way towards furthering both of these goals."
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