Faculty Gala Performance

The University at Albany Department of Music is pleased to present a Faculty Gala on Thursday, October 7, 2004 at 7:30pm in the Recital Hall of the Performing Arts Center. This special concert combines the talents of eight of the Department�s full-time and adjunct faculty who are active performers in the Capital Region and renowned in their respective fields of specialization.

Performing in the concert will be returning faculty Ann-Marie Barker-Schwartz(violin), Michael Cirigliano II (clarinet), Findlay Cockrell (piano), Yvonne Hansbrough (flute), Sten Yngvar Isachsen (guitar), Max Lifchitz (piano) and Frances Pallozzi Wittmann (mezzo-soprano) as well as the Department�s newest faculty member, Victoria von Arx (piano).

A highlight of the program will be the world premiere of Robert Baksa�s Sonata for flute and guitar, composed in 2003. A resident of Kinderhook in Columbia County, Baksa is considered one of America's most prolific composers, he has over 500 works to his credit encompassing every genre. Baksa's music can be heard on the Albany, Capstone, MSR and Newport Classic labels.

The program will also include works by: de Falla, Nin, Hindemith, Telemann, Muczynski, Shoenberg, Ravel and Copeland.

Tickets are $8 for the general public and $4 for students and may be purchased through the Performing Arts Center Box Office. For further information, contact the Box Office at (518) 442-3997 or visit the Performing Arts Center website at www.albany.edu/pac.

Performers' Bios:

	In addition to being director of the Musicians of Ma�alwyck and running the Siena College Music Series, Ann-Marie Barker-Schwartz currently performs with the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra and the Little Delaware Chamber Players. From 1982 to 1997, she was a member of the first violin section of the Albany Symphony Orchestra and, from 1987 to 1998, she was director of the St. Cecilia Chamber Orchestra.
	Michael Cirigliano II is currently second clarinet with the Albany Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his duties with the ASO, he is an active freelance musician in the Capital District having performed in the past year with the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra in Cooperstown, Albany Pro Musica and the Irish Tenors Christmas 2001 Tour.
	On the faculty of UAlbany since 1966, Findlay Cockrell is the founder and director of the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra and the Gershwin Pops Orchestra. In addition to numerous solo recitals, Cockrell has appeared as a concert soloist with orchestras throughout the U.S. including the San Francisco Symphony, the Albany Symphony, the Schenectady Symphony, the Jackson (Michigan) Symphony and the Plymouth (Massachusetts) Symphony.
	Currently the principal flute of the Glens Falls Symphony, Yvonne Chavez Hansbrough recently released her first solo CD titled American Flute Music: Leaving the 20th Century. She has performed at the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, Foundation for Baroque Music Festival, National Flute Association conventions, Piccolo Spoleto Chamber Music Festival and several flute festivals in the Southeast. She was founder of the Middle Tennessee Flute Society and has performed with the Las Cruces Symphony, the El Paso Symphony, the Nashville Symphony, the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, the Huntsville Symphony (AL), the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Shaker Mountain Music Festival and Glimmerglass Opera.
	Sten Yngvar Isachsen performs extensively as a solo artist, giving concerts in such venues as the Adirondack Center for the Arts at Blue Mountain Lake, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Ithaca College, Eastman School of Music, Hyde Museum and the College of St. Rose. A member of the Musicians of Ma�alwyck, he is also a founding member of the Finger Lakes Guitar Quartet.
	On the faculty of UAlbany since 1986, Max Lifchitz has enjoyed an international career appearing in concerts throughout Latin America, the US and Europe. Recently released CD recordings featuring his performances of music by composers from the Americas have won accolades from the national press.
	A long-time resident of New York State and New York City, Victoria von Arx served on the faculties of Syracuse University, the Metropolitan School for the Arts in Syracuse, the Third Street Music School Settlement and the Adamant Music School. Just prior to her arrival in the Albany area, she lived in Brighton and served on the faculties of the Flint School of Performing Arts and the University of Michigan-Flint. She was also assistant Editor at MUSA (Music in the United States of America), a project of the American Musicological Society in cooperation with the Society for American Music, A-R Editions and the University of Michigan.
	Beginning a career in the Capital Region by performing with Opera Excelsior, Capitol Hill Choral Society, Albany Pro Musica, Burnt Hills Oratorio Society and the Mendelssohn Club, Frances Pallozzi Wittmann has performed extensively with New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, the Lake George Festival Opera and the Cincinnati, Syracuse and Oswego Opera companies.

Related Links:
Department of Music
Performing Arts Center
UAlbany Events Calendar