Internationally renowned musicians to visit APSU this year

By Charles Booth, APSU

Clarksville, Tenn. – A handful of internationally renowned musicians will be coming to APSU this year as holders of the University’s Roy Acuff Chair of Excellence in the Creative Arts.

Established in 1985 by the legendary “King of Country Music” Roy Acuff, the chair is an endowed professorship designed to bring regionally and nationally acclaimed artists together with students, faculty and community members in a creative environment. The chair, administered through the University’s Center of Excellence in the Creative Arts, rotates each year between different creative arts department at APSU, with the Department of Music hosting it this year. The department opted to split the chair among several key performers.

Renowned clarinetist Charles Neidich Neidich will serve as the first Acuff Chair recipient, and he plans to spend his time on campus working with students, hosting lectures and master classes for the public and participating in four concerts for the Clarksville and Nashville communities. Click here for information on concert times.

Opera conductor Willie Anthony Waters will visit APSU Oct. 19 – Nov. 4 to take over the Acuff Chair duties. In 1999, Waters was appointed general and artistic director of the Connecticut Opera Association, the country’s sixth oldest opera company. He will spend his time on campus assisting with the APSU Opera Workshop and offering master classes on operatic arias.

Dr. Anna Harwell Celenza, musicologist and the Thomas E. Caestecker Professor of Music at Georgetown University, will serve as the Acuff Chair from Nov. 11-19, providing a multi-disciplinary approach to her residency. Her award-winning series of children’s trade books uses illustrations by visual artist JoAnne Kitchell to help make classical music more approachable to children.

On Feb. 22, the JUNO – nominated Orchid Ensemble will visit APSU as the next Acuff Chair holders. The trio, known for blending ancient musical instruments and traditions from China and other cultures in their music, will host a week of lectures, recitals and master classes.

“The impact of the Orchid Ensemble residency will reach beyond music majors to include music appreciation pupils and students minoring in Asian Studies and International Education, as well as those enrolled in courses in Asian history and Chinese language,” Dr. Ann Silverberg, APSU professor of music, said. “On campus, the Orchid Ensemble will commit at least two ‘random acts of music’ in buildings where live music is not normally heard.”

Jo-Michael Scheibe, chair of the Thornton School of Music’s Department of Choral and Sacred Music at the University of Southern California, will serve as the next Acuff Chair during the week of April 14-18. Scheibe has collaborated with Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras, Salvatore Licitra, Maria Guleghina and Kenny Loggins, and has prepared choruses for Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra, Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra and Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony. He will spend his week working with the APSU choral ensembles and vocal music education students.

The final Acuff Chair holder of the year, Grammy-winning flutist Rhonda Larson, will visit APSU April 20-29 to offer master classes, seminars and several performances for the Clarksville community. Larson entered the national music scene by winning first prize in the National Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition in 1985. She now performs regularly throughout North America with her “One Woman, A World of Music” show and with her band Ventus.

For more information about the Acuff Chair Excellence or upcoming performances and lectures, contact the CECA at 221-7876 or the APSU Department of Music at 221-7818.