"Nineteen-year-old Julie Albers brought the audience to their feet in her performance of Dvorak's cello concerto. Albers's musicality, dramatic flair, brilliant style and control, establish her as a world-class virtuoso" -- Evansville Courier
World class at the age of 19? At 18, she won the 13th International Competition for Young Musicians in Douai, France, and, in the same year, made her debut with the Cleveland Orchestra, prompting the Plain Dealer to comment: "She will have a fantastic career. Her playing is mature in every sense of the word." We've been impressed by what the Plain Dealer called "her vibrant sound" (Plain Dealer), and we've been waiting for an opportunity to present her. At one point, she called, expressing interest in performing on our series (it's unusual for an artist to contact us directly). When we tried to explain to her what to expect from a small town, she laughed and informed us that she was born and raised in Longmont.
Producer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, vocalist, member of the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame, winner of the Big Easy Entertainer of the Year Award, Offbeat magazine's "Best Pianist of the Year," BBC Radio 2's Jazz Artist of the Year, recipient of the Grammy Trustees Award for lifetime achievement, inductee into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. You can even get a commemorative Toussaint envelope from the US Postal Service. He has composed hit songs for the Pointer Sisters, Robert Palmer, Otis Redding, Boz Scaggs, Glen Campbell, the Rolling Stones, Ringo Starr, the Judds, Al Hirt, Lee Dorsey, Dr. John, Harry Connick, Jr., Elvis Costello, and he once recorded the piano parts for Fats Domino when Fats was on the road. As a musician, and producer, he's been the motive force for the New Orleans music scene for over forty years. This will be a rare opportunity for you to see an actual American legend.
"An impeccably manicured vocal blend, enchanting the ear from first to last note" --Gramophone Magazine
Founded in King's College, Cambridge, in 1968, the King's Singers have an incredible, rich, ringing sound, achieved, in part, because of the configuration: not bass, baritone, and two tenors, but bass, baritones, tenor, and countertenors. And even though they've gone through several generations, they still sound like the King's Singers. Not one of the current members was in the group when we first presented the KS, although Stephen Connolly, new to KS when we next presented them, is now the senior member. With over 80 CDs to their credit, ranging from Thomas Tallis's 40-part motet to Beatles transcriptions, with over 200 commissioned works in their repertoire, with a schedule of over 120 international performances per year, the KS remain one of the world's premier vocal ensembles. And they have an elegance and charm that seems to go along with that British accent.
"Astonishingly vital music-making!" -- Los Angeles Times
Rebel, a period-instrument ensemble (with guitar and soprano added), in a program of Music of the Spanish Inquisition, will have you riveted to your seats (until you confess to heresy). OK, that was a grabber. The program is actually entitled Music of Spain and Its Dominions, but we thought our title was livelier. Named after French composer Jean-Fry Rebel (1666-1747), Rebel launched its career in 1991 by winning first prize in the Fifth International Competition for Ensembles of Early Music in the Netherlands (it alternates annually with a motor-oil changing competition). You may have heard Rebel on one of its frequent NPR appearances, most recently, in a splendid performance of Handel's Messiah, or on one of its Harmonia Mundi CDs. Described by the New York Times as "sophisticated and beguiling," Rebel will be presenting a program entitled Music of the Iberian Pensinsula and Points Somewhat toward the North and East.
They're getting younger every year. First live concert broadcast, on Radio France, at the age of 9; first-prize winner of the European Young Concert Artists Auditions at 15; first-prize at the American Young Concert Artists International Auditions at 16; first CD, of Liszt and Bach (Gramophone "recording of the month"), at 17. We were delighted when we heard her play a Mozart concerto with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, and then blown away by her performance of Prokofiev transcriptions. After our pianists from Hungary (Anderszewski), Italy (Cabassi), and Argentina (Fliter), we thought it about time to feature a French pianist (born and raised in Cherbourg, the port city that completed its harbor defenses against Napoleon 35 years after the Battle of Waterlooah, the French). De la Salle will also be performing Saint-Saëns Piano 2nd Piano Concerto, on November 19, with Mike Griffith and the UW Symphony Orchestra, right after she performs the same concerto with the Boston Symphony.
Please Contact the Fine Arts Box Office for Individual or Season Tickets (307-766-6666)
Credits:
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
University of Wyoming Cultural Programs is a division of The College of Arts & Sciences, assisting the College in its broad educational mission by presenting a rich, balanced program of music, theater, and dance, featuring performances by artists of national and international distinction.
HILTON GARDEN INN Davide Cabbasi's concert and tour are supported in part with funds provided by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), the Wyoming Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
UW DEPARTMENT OF AMERICAN STUDIES DEPARTMENT
The King's Singers performance is co-sponsored by the Laramie Hilton Garden Inn & Convention Center
WYOMING PUBLIC RADIO Wyoming Public Radio is co-sponsoring all the events on our series.
OCTOBER 23
