FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2004
CONTACT: Jette Englund
Office of University Relations
908-737-3410
Kean University's Affiliate
Artists Gather for A Perfect 10
Evening of Chamber Music for Strings and Piano
UNION, N.J. – Kean University is privileged to employ world-renowned
chamber musicians as affiliate artists and professors who enthrall music
lovers with special concerts and students with an outstanding opportunity
to learn from the best. On Monday, March 1, at 8 p.m., these musicians
will reach out to the community with their A Perfect 10 concert
at Kean’s Wilkins Theatre at 1000 Morris Ave. in Union, N.J. The
concert title results from the sum of two perfect fives – quintets,
that is. A celebration of chamber music masterpieces, the program will
feature Dvorák’s Double Bass Quintet in G –
the finest work of double-bass chamber music – and the Brahms’
Piano Quintet in F Minor – the greatest of all piano quintets.
"A piano quintet is a work for piano and string quartet, not five
pianos, and the double-bass quintet is written for two violins, viola,
cello and double bass,” explained Affiliate Artist program director
and founder, Dr. Anthony Scelba. “The performers offer a four-concert
series each year at Kean that features chamber music, solos and jazz.”
In addition to being an active musician, Scelba is also an associate professor
in the Department of Music.
The musicians in this concert include some of the more celebrated in New
Jersey. Allison Brewster Franzetti, affiliate artist in piano and chamber
music, is a 2001 Latin Grammy® Award-winner and 2003 Grammy® nominee.
She has received international acclaim for her recordings and live concerts
and has recently returned from a solo tour of Argentina. Her awards include
a First Prize from the Paderewski Foundation and one of her solo CDs has
been featured in Classical Music Review.
Sharon Roffman, affiliate artist in violin, who played with Itzhak Perlman
as soloist in a "Live from Lincoln Center" telecast, went on
to win third prize in the prestigious 2003 Naumburg International Violin
Competition. In December she appeared in Perlman’s honor in Washington,
D.C. at the Kennedy Center Honor Awards, a program that aired on the CBS
network.
Victoria Stewart, affiliate artist in violin and chamber music, is familiar
to local audiences. She and her husband, double bassist Scelba, are members
of a number of orchestras throughout New York and New Jersey.
Before embarking on their present careers, Stewart and Scelba were principal
string players in the New Jersey Symphony and met on the job. They played
the New York Premiere of the complete five-movement version of the Dvorák
Quintet on one of Scelba's doctoral recitals at the Juilliard
School in 1972. They have appeared on stages together as far away as Korea,
and on March 7 will perform as guest artists at the University of Colorado
in Boulder.
Kevin Roy, affiliate artist in viola, is also active in New York and New
Jersey. He was a member of the Houston Symphony and principal violist
of the Houston Opera and Ballet Orchestras before becoming principal of
the Alabama Symphony, a post he held for 18 years. In addition to festival
appearances throughout the United States, he has been a member of the
Rotterdam Philharmonic in Holland and often performs with the Metropolitan
Opera.
Ted Hoyle, a professor at Kean, was for 15 years cellist of the Kohon
String Quartet. He has played with the American Symphony Orchestra, the
Princeton Chamber Orchestra and the New York City Ballet Orchestra. He
has appeared in recitals at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago and has recorded
widely, including two solo albums, and others with George Benson, Roberta
Flack, Engelbert Humperdinck, Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, Diana Ross
and Dionne Warwick.
Admission charge is $10, and tickets are available at the door and from
the Wilkins Theatre Box Office at 908-737-SHOW (7469).
Save the date: The final presentation of the 2003-04 Affiliate Artist
Concert Series, Springtime Showcase: Music from the Broadway Stage,
is scheduled for Monday, April 19, at 8 p.m. in the Wilkins Theatre. For
more information, call the Department of Music at 908-737-4325.
