Monday October 22, 2001

The University of Arizona's Wind Quintet will give its bi-annual concert tonight as part of the Faculty Artist series.

The program consists of four songs, two of which have multiple movements. One of the songs, "Minnelieder for Mezzo-Soprano and Wind Quintet," by German composer R. Murray Schafer, will feature assistant voice professor Wanda Brister.

"Minnelieder" contains 13 movements that are all poems, each with a different meaning and musical style. The entire piece is sung in Middle High German, the language spoken in southern Germany from 1050-1500 A.D., as opposed to the modern German that vocalists are taught.

Just as the "Minnelieder" is varied in its movements, the entire program for tonight's performance is varied in musical styles and in time periods.

"I consulted with Dr. Albrecht Classen of the German department, whose special passion is the language and literature of this period," Brister said. "I had a wonderful time preparing the texts with him - writing the texts in International Phonetic Alphabet and translating them for other singers to have."

There are three other works that fill out this program, including a 17th century piece by Jan Pieters Sweelinck, arranged in a contemporary style by Ernest Lubin; a contemporary song written by Ingolf Dahl; and a piece by Belgian composer Joseph Jongen, who writes in a French style.

The quintet has taken an educational approach to its performances by involving students from the School of Music and Dance to join in performances and by visiting public school music programs where it performs and presents classes.

The Arizona Wind Quintet is comprised of Jean-Louis Kashy on flute, Neil Tatman on oboe, Kirkbride on clarinet, William Dietz on bassoon, and Keith Johnson on horn.

Brister joined the UA faculty in 2000. She is the only voice teacher at UA with a mezzo-soprano range. She has performed as a soloist in Carnegie Hall, has sung numerous operatic roles and has been a soloist with major opera companies and orchestras throughout the world.

The quintet was founded in 1975 and performs on campus and in the community on a regular basis. The group has toured throughout the western states and has performed at the national meeting of the Music Educators National Conference. In the past, the group has united with pianists, saxophonists and other vocalists.

Jerry Kirkbride, professor of clarinet said that involving other members of the faculty is something the quintet strives to do with each performance.

"We're always interested in collaboration and expanding the quintet," Kirkbride said.

This particular pairing is a first for Brister.

"I attended a concert last spring featuring these very talented colleagues," Brister said. "I asked them if there were some repertoire we might perform together."

The concert is tonight at 7:30 in Holsclaw Hall in the Music building. Tickets are $4 for students with a valid ID, and available through the box office. Call 621-1162 for more information.