IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Gita Brown, 401-456-8465, gbrown@ric.edu
Laura Hart, 401-456-8977, lhart@ric.edu
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Rhode Island College Wind Ensemble, conducted by Professor of Music Robert Franzblau, will present the world premiere of Patchwork, a composition written for the ensemble by world-renowned jazz saxophonist and RIC Adjunct Professor of Music Greg Abate. Also on the program will be two solo performances by RIC graduating seniors Nicholas DeFrias of Dartmouth, Mass., and James Stone of Norton, Mass., winners of the 2015 Student Concerto Competition. The concert will be held on Friday, April 24, at 8 p.m., in Sapinsley Hall, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave., Providence. (Admission $10).
According to Franzblau, Patchwork was conceived when he approached Abate in spring 2012 to write a piece for the wind ensemble. “I had just heard Greg’s newest CD, and I was captivated by his harmonic and melodic gift of invention,” he said. “Though Greg had played with the wind ensemble several times, I had never asked him to write anything for us.”
With the support of Rhode Island College Dean of Arts and Sciences Earl Simson, Franzblau was able to secure a modest honorarium for the commission and Abate proceeded to dedicate three years to writing, transcribing and editing Patchwork, which is now ready for its world premiere.
“I think the composition will get a lot of play,” Franzblau said. “It’s a great fusion of funk, Latin, straight-ahead jazz and classical styles.”
Solo performances by RIC students will be backed by the wind ensemble. DeFrias, a music education major, will perform the first movement of Carl Maria von Weber’s Concerto No. 2 for Clarinet – “one of the great showpieces for the clarinet,” said the student’s private clarinet instructor, RIC Music Professor Ian Greitzer.
Stone, a music performance major, will play Alexander Arutunian’s Concerto for Trumpet, “a mainstay of the trumpet repertoire,” said his trumpet instructor, RIC Professor of Music Joseph Foley.
“The Arutunian Concerto is a favorite of trumpet players everywhere and James is simply one of the finest trumpet players to ever graduate from Rhode Island College,” said Foley.
Upon graduation, Stone will pursue a master’s degree in trumpet performance at the Boston Conservatory of Music, while DeFrias will seek a position teaching instrumental music at the high-school level.
For tickets to this concert, contact the Box Office at (401) 456-8144, or visit www.ric.edu/pfa. Click here for Facebook event.
Founded in 1968, the Rhode Island College Wind Ensemble functions as both a full wind band and as a pool of players for performing chamber wind repertoire. Open by audition to students of all majors at the college, its 55 members are nonetheless primarily undergraduate music majors. The Wind Ensemble is committed to the performance of new music, having recently premiered works by Barbara Kolb, Alan Shockley, Michael DeQuattro, Michael Weinstein, James Bohn and several student composers. The ensemble has also participated in the National Wind Ensemble Consortium Group and collaborated in live performances with the Roger Williams University Dance Theatre and the Rhode Island College Dance Company. RIC Professor of Music Robert Franzblau has conducted the ensemble since 1997.
