UW-Green Bay Music’s 6:30 Concert Series welcomes audiences back with ‘A Varied Trio’
GREEN BAY – University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Music’s 6:30 Concert Series is back this Fall season at the Weidner Center. The 6:30 Series will welcome a distanced live audience in Fort Howard Hall in the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, while simultaneously streaming live on UW-Green Bay Music’s YouTube Channel.
“This season, the (6:30) Series reaffirms an ongoing commitment to showcasing the talents of UW-Green Bay Music faculty, who perform a broad and diverse array of repertoire. We invite adventurous listeners to experience music they might not have encountered otherwise—or to hear familiar music in a new way” says 6:30 Concert Series Curator and Coordinator, and UW-Green Bay Music Professor, Michelle McQuade Dewhirst.
Admission is free, and open to the public. A free reservation is recommended for in-person attendance. Reservations can be made here: Reserve My Seat.
List of Fall 2021 6:30 Concert Series Events:
A Varied Trio, with Luis Fernandez, Bill Sallak, and Michael Rector
Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 6:30 p.m.
Fort Howard Hall | Weidner Center for the Performing Arts
The first 6:30 Concert Series Event of the year features UW-Green Bay Music faculty performing an evocative array of modern music. Violinist Luis Fernandez, pianist Michael Rector, and Percussionist Bill Sallak combine to perform John Cage’s pointillistic Six Melodies for violin and piano, Tigran Mansurian’s free-floating Three Medieval Taghs for viola and percussion, Jessie Montgomery’s effusive Rhapsody No. 1 for solo violin, and Lou Harrison’s enchanting Varied Trio.
Maximal Minimalists: Music by Rzewski and Eastman
Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021 at 6:30 p.m.
Fort Howard Hall | Weidner Center for the Performing Arts
UW-Green Bay’s Contemporary Percussion Ensemble (led by Dr. Bill Sallak, Associate Professor of Music) forms the core ensemble for a performance of two iconic works of American minimalism. Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together/Attica is a relentless meditation on a powerful text by Sam Melville; the performance will feature narration by Associate Lecturer of Theatre Alan Kopischke. The program is balanced out by Julius Eastman’s ebullient, genre-bending work Stay On It.
All 6:30 Concerts are free and open to the public. Donations are welcomed and can be made via UW-Green Bay Music’s website.
Meet A Varied Trio musicians:
Luis Fernandez is a talented violinist, teacher, chamber musician, concertmaster, and conductor. Fernandez was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where he began violin studies through the El Sistema music program and the Latin-American Violin Academy. After immigrating to the United States, he earned his Master of Music degree at the University of Florida. Dr. Fernandez has been on the faculty of Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp since 2008 and has been invited to implement the teaching techniques of Venezuela’s renowned El Sistema. He was previously director of the violin program at St. Philip’s School and served on the faculty of the Community Arts Program and of Greater Miami Youth Symphony. In 2013 he served as Assistant Professor of Violin at the University of Florida. Fernandez was also previously on the faculty at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Dr. Luis Fernandez presently holds the endowed Robert and Joan Bauer Endowed professorship in Strings at UW-Green Bay. Read more on Luis Fernandez.
As a performer, conductor, composer, technologist, and researcher, Bill Sallak’s work has appeared at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Fifth International Conference on Minimalist Music, the Blurred Edges Festival, Cultura UNAM, the Jeonju International Film Festival, the World Congress on Dance Research, and numerous more prestigious events. He is an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he teaches percussion, recording technology, and world music. He is a member of the Akros Percussion Collective and has performed with the Phoenix Symphony, Akron Symphony, and numerous regional musical theatre productions. As a recording engineer, he has served on the staff of the Interlochen Arts Center, KBAQ-FM, and has worked with the Pacifica String Quartet, Sharon Isbin, Paul Winter, Gerard Schwarz, Jung Ho Pak, and David Lockington. Prior to his appointment at UW-Green Bay, Bill served on the faculties of Kent State University, Ohio University, the Nief-Norf Summer Festival, and the Maricopa County Community Colleges. He holds degrees from SUNY-Fredonia, The University of Akron, and Arizona State University. Read more on Bill Sallak.
Michael Rector is committed to making the language of classical music vivid for people of all ages and backgrounds. As a pianist, he invigorates and expands the repertoire through innovative programming that re-contextualizes familiar pieces and makes vivid new and neglected works. His repertoire ranges from Haydn to Harbison and from Couperin to Carter. He is a dedicated teacher, researcher and advocate for the arts. Rector has performed in seventeen American states and two Canadian provinces in venues like Steinway Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater in Washington, DC. In 2012 Michael and his wife, pianist Sylvia Hong, began performing together as a duo. They have since toured extensively in the United States, Korea and Europe. They performed with the Gangneung Philharmonic as part of the celebration of the Winter Olympics. Michael Rector holds the doctoral degree from Manhattan School of Music. For his dissertation, he investigated Chopin’s harmonic practice as influenced by the music of Louis Spohr and Romantic philosophy. He also earned a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College, where he majored in comparative literature. His articles on piano pedagogy and performance practice have appeared in the journals American Music Teacher, Clavier Companion and the MTNA e-Journal. Read more on Michael Rector.
Additional information about 6:30 Concerts Series and upcoming events available at https://www.uwgb.edu/music/6-30-concert-series/ or by emailing 630concertseries@uwgb.edu.
About the 6:30 Concert Series
The 6:30 Concert Series is designed to connect the campus with the community through the exploration of music. Performances feature insightful presentations by performers, composers and special guests. The series offers new perspectives on diverse styles, often exploring the music from multiple angles. All performances take place at the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, begin at 6:30 PM, and last between 60 and 90 minutes.
About the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts
UW-Green Bay’s Weidner Center for the Performing Arts is known for its elegant design and the acoustic excellence of its 2,000-seat main hall, Cofrin Family Hall. It also houses two smaller performance spaces, the Fort Howard recital hall and the Jean Weidner Theatre, along with a dance studio and Grand Foyer. The Weidner Center has a distinct benefit in being part of a leading institution of higher learning. The Center is a home for UW-Green Bay Music and Theatre and Dance programs, community events and productions, and performances by visiting artists and touring companies. Beyond the large-scale touring productions that grace the stage, the Weidner Center also focuses on scholastic development, programming and an impactful education series — Stage Doors. For more information on the Weidner Center, visit www.WeidnerCenter.com, 920-465-2726, 800-895-0071, or follow ‘Weidner Center for the Performing Arts’ on Facebook, Twitter (@WeidnerCenter) and Instagram (@weidnercenter).
About UW-Green Bay
Established in 1965, UW-Green Bay is a public institution serving 8,970 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students and 95,000 continuing education learners each year. We educate students from pre-college through retirement and offer 200+ degrees, programs and certificates. UW-Green Bay graduates are resilient, inclusive, sustaining and engaged members of their communities, ready to rise to fearlessly face challenges, solve problems and embrace diverse ideas and people. With four campus locations, the University welcomes students from every corner of the world. In 2020, UW-Green Bay was the fastest-growing UW school in Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.
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