Performance Listing (January 2013)

Renaissance Music Academy of Virginia presents the Student Concerto Competition (Junior Level ages 12 and under; Senior Level ages 13 and up) on Sunday, January 13, 2013 at 2:00PM in the Squires Recital Salon.  16 contestants compete on piano, violin, and cello. Composers include Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Dancla, Beethoven,Sarasate, Seitz, and Vivaldi.  This recital is free and open to the public.

Pianist Solungga Fang-Tzu Liu, presents a guest artist recital for students in the Department of Music.  Ms. Liu is Assistant Professor of Piano at the College of Musical Arts, Bowling Green State University.  In addition to her dedication to her students at BGSU, Ms. Liu maintains a vigorous schedule as a guest teacher and as an adjudicator at major conservatories and competitions, among them the Central Conservatory in Beijing, the Central Conservatory Piano School in Gulangyu, Xiamen, National Taiwan Normal University, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, the University of Minnesota, the First Thailand International Mozart Competition and the Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition.  Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Ms. Liu holds a doctoral degree in piano performance from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Alan Feinberg, Douglas Humpherys and Elizabeth DiFelice.This concert is free and open to the public.

Violinist Diane Monroe and her jazz quartet, along with guest vocalist Paul Jost and guitarist Monnette Sudley, will honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. through song, reviving passionate music from the Civil Rights Movement at the Lyric Theatre on Jan. 25 at 8 p.m.

The performance, which is part of Virginia Tech’s 2013 Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, is presented by the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech in partnership with the university’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion.

“What is This Thing Called Freedom? The Transforming and Timeless Songs of Protest,” will feature perennial pieces from artists such as Bob Dylan (“Blowin’ in the Wind”), Joni Mitchell (“The Fiddle and the Drum”), Billie Holiday (“Strange Fruit”), and Billy Taylor (“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”).

Protest songs embrace many different genres of music including jazz, folk, and rock, and have lasting relevance.  Monroe has handpicked and arranged the music for the project and, along with her accompanying musicians and vocalist, will reinvent these songs through the lens of modern jazz.

** This performance has been combined with the Band-A-Rama concert in Burruss auditorium and will not occur in Squires as originally planned **

The Virginia Tech Brass Faculty and students combine forces to present an Honor Band Weekend Brass Ensemble Concert featuring an exciting arrangement of Mussorgsky's fabulous "Pictures at an Exhibition".  To complete the ensemble we welcome back as Guest Artist recent VT Music Department grad, Kelley Corbett who now performs on trumpet with the U.S. Army Concert Band "Pershing's Own" in the nation's capitol.  This concert is free and open to the public.

The Virginia Tech Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble and The Marching Virginians all come together to perform in an evening extravaganza! This concert is free and open to the public.

The Sixteenth Annual Virginia Tech Honor Band will be held January 25-27th, 2013 with more than 500 students from 150 schools from seven states in attendance. Participants are nominated by their band director and spend the weekend in rehearsals, clinics and performances on campus. The final concert is at 1:00 pm on January 27th in Burruss Auditorium and is free and open to the public.

Music Majors perform during a weekly afternoon recital.  These recitals are free and open to the public.