Department of Music to present John Bluel, Linda Li-Bluel in saxophone/piano concert

Sept. 20, 2010 -- The Department of Music at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro will present John and Linda Li-Bleuel in a saxophone and piano concert on Monday, Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the ASU Jonesboro Fine Arts Recital Hall, 2412 Quawpaw Way, Jonesboro. The concert will include performances of “San Antonio Sonata for alto saxophone and piano” by John Harbison, “Postcard from Home” and “Elegie et Rondeau” by Karel Husa, “Brillance” by Ida Gotkovsky, excerpts from “Pieces Caracteristiques” by Pierre-Max Dubois, and “Pequena Czarda” by Pedro Iturralde.  The performance is free of charge and open to the public. 

John Bleuel is a professor of Music at the University of West Georgia, where he teaches saxophone, conducting, ear training, and conducts the University of West Georgia Saxophone Ensemble. He also serves as director of the University of West Georgia Saxophone Symposium. As a Fulbright Lecturer in Taiwan, he served as resident guest conductor of the Taipei National University of the Arts Wind Ensemble and visiting artist/lecturer at National Chengchi University during the fall 2008 semester.

He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in saxophone performance from the University of Georgia, a Master of Music in instrumental conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a Bachelor of Music in saxophone performance from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. His principal teachers were Kenneth Fischer (saxophone) and Thomas Dvorak (conducting). He has performed on the Bridge New Music Series at Lincoln Center; the Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth World Saxophone Congresses; international, national, and regional meetings of the College Music Society; national and regional meetings of the North American Saxophone Alliance; and the Festival of Women Composers at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

With pianist Linda Li-Bleuel, he has recorded for Arizona University Recordings and ACA Digital. They presented the world premiere of Lucie Robert’s 10 + 1 for solo piano and large saxophone ensemble with the University of West Georgia Saxophone Ensemble at the 2010 North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Meeting.

He has served on the faculties of the Britt Institute's Siskiyou Saxophone Workshop in Oregon and the University of Georgia Saxophone Workshop, and has been guest professor at three music schools in China: Shanxxi Normal University (conducting), the Central Conservatory of Beijing (saxophone), and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu (saxophone).  He has contributed teacher resource guides to three volumes of GIA Publications' Teaching Music through Performance in Band series, has written articles for the Yamaha Educator Series and the North American Saxophone Alliance Update, and has several arrangements for saxophone ensemble published by Dorn Publications. John Bleuel is a Yamaha Performing Artist.

Dr. Linda Li-Bleuel is a professor of Music in the Department of Performing Arts at Clemson University, where she teaches applied and collaborative piano, music history, and music appreciation. Dr. Li-Bleuel maintains an active solo and chamber musician career. As a Fulbright Lecturer in Taiwan, she served as visiting professor of piano and chamber music at Chinese Culture University in Taipei fall 2008. Between 2006 and 2008, she was a visiting associate professor at Shaanxi Normal University in Xian, China, and the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China and the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu, China.

She has performed in Spain, Austria, Japan, Ireland, and throughout the United States, and has been a guest recitalist on the North/South Consonance series in New York City, the Music From Almost Yesterday concert series in Milwaukee and the Bridge New Music Series at Lincoln Center. Conference performances include national and international College Music Society meetings and the 1998 and 2004 International Festival of Women Composers.

Dr. Li-Bleuel has recorded for Arizona University Recordings and ACA Digital. She was the director of the 2002 and 2005 Clemson University Woman's Arts Festivals, and was a National Endowment for the Arts recipient for her work on the 2005 Clemson University Women’s Arts Festival. Dr. Li-Bleuel is the 2007-08 vice-president of conferences for the South Carolina Music Teachers National Association (SCMTA), has served as vice-president of competitions for SC MTNA, and is a frequent clinician/adjudicator. Dr. Li-Bleuel has served on the faculties of Georgia Southern University and Carroll College.

She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Georgia, a Master of Music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her teachers have included Jane Allen, Kenneth Drake, and Richard Zimdars.

For more information about the concert or ASU music, contact the music office at (870) 972-2094. 
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