Congratulations to UT Music and Jazz alumna, Estar Cohen!

Estar is one of 15 recipients of The ASCAP Foundation’s 2018 Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards. The program, which was established in 2002 to encourage young gifted jazz composers up to the age of 30, is named in honor of trumpeter/composer/bandleader Herb Alpert in recognition of The Herb Alpert Foundation’s multi-year financial commitment to support this program.
Additional funding for this program is provided by The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund. The recipients, who receive cash awards, range in age from 14 to 29, and are selected through a juried national competition. The ASCAP composer/judges for the 2018 competition were: Sylvie Courvoisier, Wycliffe Gordon, and Sachal Vasandani. In addition, one of the recipients of the Herb Alpert Awards will be featured during the 2018 Newport Jazz Festival in August.
https://www.ascap.com/…/…/01-18-herb-alpert-award-recipients
https://www.facebook.com/estar.cohen
http://utoledoalumni.olhblogspot.com/2018/03/15/a-lyrical-journey/

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers – ASCAP

APRIL 1-3 at 7pm | CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS RECITAL HALL

The University of Toledo Department of Music Spring Festival of New Music opens Tuesday, April 1 with two compositions dedicated to the late Bernie Sanchez and concludes with guest artist Latitude 49.

Guest Artists Latitude 49, to perform Thursday, April 3 at 7 p.m.

In between, is an exciting and varied mix of new music in virtually every genre. A total of three concerts will be presented, one each night at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 1 through Thursday, April 3 in the UT Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall. All concerts in the festival are free and open to the public.

The UT Spring Festival of New Music is one of the highlights of the cultural year for both the campus and the Toledo music community. For 37 years, guest composers and performers have interacted with students and faculty, resulting in exciting concerts and presentations on campus. The Festival has also sponsored premiere performances of student and area composers.

TUESDAY, April 1  This year, the winner of the student composer contest will be announced at the Faculty and Student Chamber Music Concert, which kicks off the Festival on Tuesday. In addition, two works – “Tribute in Brass” for brass quintet, composed by UT professor Dr. David Jex, and “To the West Wind,” composed by Music faculty member Dr. Lee Heritage, will also be premiered at this concert.

Bernie Sanchez (1935-2013), former UT Music Department chair, performer, teacher, conductor, & advocate for music and the arts.

Both compositions honor the memory of UT Professor Emeritus Bernard Sanchez, who passed last October. Professor Sanchez retired after serving for more than 30 years at UT and in our area as a performer, teacher, conductor, department chairman, and advocate for music and the arts.

Heritage said, “While I was composing this quintet, the news came suddenly – and with a great sense of shock and tragedy – that Bernie had died.  I was deeply saddened, and gradually realized that the second movement of my woodwind quintet was taking shape as an elegy to our great friend.  The movement is set for flute solo, singing an angular, emotional melody, accompanied by somber chords in the rest of the quintet.”

“To the West Wind” will be performed by the Toledo Symphony Woodwind Quintet. The instrumentalists are Joel Tse, flute; Michele Tosser-Smith, oboe; Georg Klaas, clarinet; Sandra Clark, horn; and Gareth Thomas, bassoon.

The “Tribute in Brass” quintet will be performed by UT faculty members David Jex, Alan Taplin, Dan Harris, Andrew Rhodes, and features guest trumpeter David Kosmyna, a UT alumnus who is currently Professor of Music at Ohio Northern University.

The Good, The Bad, and The Blues – to perform Tuesday, April 2 at 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, April 2 The second concert of the Festival is an eclectic mix of new music in a variety of genres. The Good, The Bad, and The Blues!, a funk, fusion quartet, will perform a set of original songs. They are 4-time Black Swamp Blues Society Challengers, and were among the International Blues Challengers Semi-finalists of 2013 in Memphis.

UT graduate student and teaching assistant Christina Eck, an electronic music composer, singer and songwriter, will be performing her album “Diamond in the Rough,” featuring a collection of four original songs. Stephen Mariasy, a UT Film/Video student, will present his new composition “Raindance,” all realized by virtual-instrument, computer-based digital sound.

David Mariasy, Senior Lecturer of Music Technology will debut his new composition, “Requiem for Violin and Digital Orchestra.” Performing on the work will be violin soloist, Cecilia Johnson, a member of the strings faculty at UT. Video projections will be part of the concert as well, produced by Holly Hey, Associate Professor of Film and Head of Film at UT.

THURSDAY, April 3 Concluding the festival is guest artist Latitude 49. The music of Latitude 49 explores new sounds, engaging diverse audiences, and holding hands with composers of today. Twice featured by the Michigan Muse magazine, the group’s University of Michigan roots have grown to include performances on stages across the Midwest and public radio. L49’s top priority is to foster future audiences by creating dynamic concert experiences that give a voice to some of today’s hottest composers.

Guest Artists Latitude 49, to perform Thursday, April 3 at 7 p.m.