Renowned flutist James Galway will be a featured performer in the Festival Series' 25th season.

Festival Series to mark silver anniversary season

Six ensembles and artists, including flutist Sir James Galway and tenor Hugh Smith, a BGSU alumnus, will perform during the 25th season of the University’s Festival Series beginning in September.

The series will also celebrate the Moore Musical Arts Center’s 25th anniversary with guest artists, faculty and students.

The silver anniversary season will open Sept. 17 with the Tokyo String Quartet. The quartet’s 8 p.m. performance will include a guest appearance by Maxim Mogilevsky, a BGSU College of Musical Arts faculty member, in Schumann’s Piano Quintet.

Founded more than 30 years ago at Juilliard, the TSQ is regarded as one of the supreme chamber ensembles of the world, with appearances in international music capitals such as Milan, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid and London, and at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall and Boston’s Symphony Hall.

Alexander Fiterstein, an award-winning clarinetist, will make his Festival Series debut at
8 p.m. Oct. 21. In conjunction with BGSU’s 25th annual New Music & Art Festival, his performance will feature collaborations with several faculty members from the College of Musical Arts.

First-prize winner in the 2001 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Fiterstein is quickly becoming recognized for his technical prowess and intuitive and sensitive playing, and has received critical acclaim for his concerto and chamber music appearances. A native of Minsk in the former Soviet Union, he studied at the Israel Arts and Sciences Academy, Interlochen Arts Academy and Juilliard.

On Dec. 3, the Ethos Percussion Group will appear on the Louise F. Rees Memorial Concert at 8 p.m. The concert will feature the BGSU A Cappella Choir, directed by William Skoog, in a performance of the Missa Luba, a mass in Congolese style.

Hailed by The New York Times for its “expert togetherness, sensitivity and zest…,” the Ethos Percussion Group has been celebrating extraordinary music-making for a decade. The group is dedicated to the advancement of the percussive arts in performance and education. The ensemble's hallmark is the programming of a variety of musical styles on an eclectic battery of instruments from around the globe.

The Kobacker Concert will feature Jane Ira Bloom at 8 p.m. Jan. 29, 2005. A jazz saxophonist and composer, Bloom has been developing her unique voice on the soprano saxophone for more than 20 years.

Winner of the 2001 Jazz Journalists Award for soprano sax of the year, the Downbeat International Critics Poll for soprano saxophone, the Charlie Parker Fellowship for Jazz Innovation and the International Women in Jazz Masters Award, she is the first musician ever commissioned by the NASA Art Program.

Flutist Sir James Galway will perform with pianist Phillip Moll on the Lois M. Nitschke Memorial Concert at 7 p.m. March 20, 2005.

Internationally regarded as both a matchless interpreter of the classical repertoire and a consummate entertainer whose charismatic appeal crosses musical boundaries, Galway‘s unique sound and superb musicianship have made him one of the most respected and sought-after artists of our time.

Concluding the series at 3 p.m. April 24, 2005, will be tenor Hugh Smith, a BGSU alumnus who will appear with the Bowling Green Philharmonia, directed by Emily Freeman Brown.

Regarded as one of the most important tenors to emerge in recent years, Smith will perform a program of operatic favorites, as well as collaborations with BGSU voice faculty members. A winner of the Mario Lanza Competition, the Placido Domingo Fellowship Award, the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions and the Luciano Pavarotti International Competition, he made his professional debut in 1996 in the role of Pinkerton in “Madama Butterfly” at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.

Smith earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the University in 1991 and 1994, respectively.

Festival Series subscription prices for adults are $70 for the main floor/balcony, $100 for the main floor and $130 for mezzanine seats. Student subscriptions are $50, $75 and $100. Subscriptions may be charged using MasterCard, Visa or Discover. Tickets can be ordered by calling the Moore Musical Arts Center box office at 2-8171.