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Guest Artist Series 2011-2012

MIJI Percussion Duo

October 18, 2011, Recital Hall, 7:30 p.m.

zelljungJi Hye Jung is Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of Kansas and Lecturer in Percussion at Cleveland State University. Born in South Korea, Ms. Jung began concertizing at the age of nine. She has performed over 100 concerts as a soloist with every major orchestra in Korea. Soon after relocating to the United States in 2004, Ms. Jung garnered consecutive first prizes at the 2006 Linz International Marimba Competition and the 2007 Yale Gordon Concerto Competition in Baltimore.

Michael Zell, percussionist, is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. Since 2006, he has served as Principal Timpanist with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. Michael is also the percussionist fellow for The Academy - a program of Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute. He was an adjunct faculty member at the Peabody Conservatory, and also served as assistant to the director of bands at Yale University.

trioPROJECT Trio

December 1, 2011, Recital Hall, 7:30 p.m.

PROJECT Trio is a passionate, high energy chamber music ensemble comprised of three virtuosic composer/performers from Brooklyn, NY. Blending their classical training with an eclectic taste in musical styles, PROJECT Trio has made an impact on audiences of all ages. Bursting onto the scene with their landmark videos, right out of the internet generation, PROJECT Trio is a musical experience defining a new level of entertainment!

Sponsored by Karen Combs

davisOllie Watts Davis

March 22, 2012, Recital Hall, 7:30 p.m.

Ollie Watts Davis is currently a professor of voice at the University of Illinois. Since making her New York debut at Carnegie Hall in 1990, she has appeared with many leading symphony orchestras. She is the founding director of the Black Sacred Music Symposium (1991), held biennially on the UIUC campus with participants from across the nation. In 2008, Davis was named a University Scholar, one of the highest honors the University bestows on its faculty.

Sponsored by Home Loan

Gary Smart, piano

April 12, 2012, Recital Hall, 7:30 p.m.

smartGary Smart’s career has encompassed a wide range of activities as composer, classical and jazz pianist, and teacher.

A true American pluralist, Dr. Smart composes and improvises a music that reflects an abiding interest in Americana, jazz, and world musics, as well as the Western classical tradition.

Smart’s compositions have been supported by the Ford Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Music Educator’s National Conference, the Music Teacher’s National Association, and the National Endowment for the Arts.