By: RACHEL NUNER
Staff Writer
rnuner@iusb.edu
Spring Break is just around the corner, but local musicians aren’t catching a break when it comes to rehearsing for upcoming performances. Local musicians continue to join forces with IU South Bend musicians in an effort to produce quality music for the community in the month of March.
The approaching performances include the IUSB Jazz Ensemble in pair with the Twin Cities Jazz Orchestra, the Violin Piano Duo Recital and an appearance from the Euclid Quartet.
The IUSB Jazz Ensemble and Twin Cities Jazz Orchestra perform at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 12; the Violin Piano Duo Recital will begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25; and the Euclid Quartet will perform at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 31.
All of these remaining March performances will take place in the Performance Hall located across from the bookstore on the first floor of IUSB’s Northside Hall.
The IUSB Jazz Ensemble is directed by Kenneth Douglas, an IUSB assistant professor of music education. The group typically performs a wide variety of jazz music- spanning from the early 20th century to the present.
The Twin Cities Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Darrel Tidaback, is an IUSB-supported community jazz band that “provides an opportunity for area jazz musicians to perform quality jazz music, develop fellowship in its members, and to contribute to cultural life of the Michiana area,” according to a post from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Art’s Facebook page.
The Violin Piano Duo Recital will feature two fulltime School of the Arts faculty members – Ketevan Badridze on Piano and Jameson Cooper on violin.
Ketevan Badridze is a prizewinner of numerous international piano competitions, including the Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition.
Born in Tbilisi, the Republic of Georgia, Ms. Badridze moved to the United States to study with the Martin Endowed Professor in Piano Alexander Toradze in 2000.
The other featured musician, Jameson Cooper, is from Sheffield, England and came to the United States as a participant in the Aspen Music Festival and then went on to earn his master’s degrees in violin and conducting from Kent State University.
A recipient of numerous prizes, he has performed as soloist with orchestra, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout the United States and Europe, according to a press release.
The Violin Piano Duo Recital will feature an evening of sonatas, including Debussy’s “Violin Sonata in G Minor,” “Franck’s Sonata in A Major,” and Mozart’s “Sonata in C Major.”
The Euclid Quartet is one of the most well-regarded chamber ensembles of its generation, known for performances filled with passion, virtuosity and sensitivity.
Members are a multinational mix representing four continents of the world: violinist Jameson Cooper from the U.K., violinist Jacob Murphy from the U.S., violist Luis Enrique Vargas from Venezuela, and cellist Si-Yan Darren Li from China. This award-winning quartet holds its prestigious residency at IUSB, and was awarded an American Masterpieces grant from the NEA for its innovative educational programming, according to the Quartet’s website.
