Today@Sam Article

Concert Series Honors Beethoven

Oct. 19, 2020
SHSU Media Contact: Emily Binetti

Story By: Jackie Swan

The Sam Houston State University College of Arts & Media along with the School of Music presents Beethoven 2020@SHSU, a concert series featuring School of Music graduate students performing alongside their accomplished faculty.

As part of the international celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven, this two-part concert series (with limited in-person seating) will take place on Friday, Oct. 23 and Friday, Nov. 20, with different music presented at each concert. Face coverings are required, and social distancing practices will be observed.

“Ludwig van Beethoven as many composers of his time and later... cobbled together a living from this and that... and was deeply involved in the skills and traditions of his trade,” said musicologist Jan Swafford, author of the biography ‘Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph.’ “The main difference is how thoroughly he mastered those skills, on the foundation of a gigantic inborn talent.”

In addition to two live concert performances this fall, supplemental video content will be posted on the SHSU School of Music and College of Arts & Media Facebook pages. For example, special guest expert, Michael Rose, will discuss some of the works performed and provide insight into Beethoven and his times. Rose, a composer of symphonic, chamber, piano, vocal, wind ensemble, ballet and theater music, has had his music performed widely in the United States, as well as Europe and South America. He is a well-known contributing author and published his first book, “Audible Signs: Essays from a Musical Ground,” in 2010. He has received 30 ASCAP Plus awards and currently teaches at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, where he has won three university-wide teaching awards, including a Chair of Teaching Excellence.

“Beethoven 2020@SHSU opens up the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, a musical original,” said Ronald E. Shields, dean of the College of Arts & Media. “An artistic force in Vienna and other musical capitals of Europe during his lifetime, his music continues to challenge and inspire composers, performers, and audiences alike. We invite you to attend these two concerts and join this celebration.”

Tickets for each show are available for purchase on the CAM Box Office webpage.

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