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Guest trumpet, piano recital slated for SFA’s Calliope Concert Series

Rebecca Wilt and Craig Morris

Rebecca Wilt and Craig Morris


NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The College of Fine Arts and School of Music at Stephen F. Austin State University will present a guest recital featuring Craig Morris, trumpet, and Rebecca Wilt, piano, at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 3, in Cole Concert Hall.

The performance is part of the School of Music’s Calliope Concert Series.

“We are extremely excited and fortunate to host Craig Morris and Rebecca Wilt here at SFA,” said Jacob Walburn, assistant professor of trumpet in the School of Music. “Their recital will offer a diverse and eclectic program of music for trumpet and piano that is sure to dazzle and delight the audience.”

Morris is associate professor of trumpet at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. Wilt is a collaborative pianist and has been the featured pianist at every major instrumental conference or competition in the nation.

Their program will include “Suite Bergamasque” by Claude Debussy; “Monkeyshines” by Roshanne Etezady; “Quatro Pezzi” by Giacinto Scelsi; and “Sonata for Trumpet and Piano” by George Antheil.

One of Debussy’s most famous piano solos, “Suite” includes four movements, the most recognizable being the third movement, known simply as “Clair de Lune.” This arrangement by Morris allows both the trumpet and piano to act as soloist and accompanist.

“Monkeyshines” is a contemporary tour-de-force for trumpet and piano that features five short movements, each building towards an “exciting and energetic conclusion,” according to the program notes.

Scelsi’s “Quatro Pezzi” is his most famous work and one of the few performed to significant recognition during his lifetime. This version, for solo trumpet, features extended techniques like pitch bending, gliassandi and flutter tonguing.

Antheil’s “Sonata” was written in 1951 and has become one of his most popular instrumental sonatas. It is considered a standard part of the trumpet repertoire.

Morris has been principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony and associate principal trumpet of the San Francisco Symphony. He has been featured soloist with ensembles and festivals around the world, including concerto appearances with the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Beijing Modern Music Festival, the University of Texas Wind Ensemble, the Frost School of Music Wind Ensemble and the Miami Bach Society.

Wilt has worked with many of the world’s prominent wind instrument performers, as well as some of the country’s foremost vocalists. She has performed in many of the world’s greatest venues in North America, Europe and Asia.

The guest artists will teach a master class, which is free and open to the public, from 1 to 3 p.m. that day in Cole Concert Hall, located in Wright Music Building.

Concert tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.