Department of Music presents first concert of 2008-09 Faculty Recital Series

Oct. 10, 2008 -- The Department of Music at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro will present the first concert of the 2008-2009 Faculty Recital Series on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m., in Riceland Hall, Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro. The performance is free, and the public is welcome. This popular series of concerts began in 2004 as a venue to showcase the artistry of the music faculty at ASU. Featured in the program are faculty members Dr. Lauren Schack Clark, Dr. Marika Kyriakos, Dr. Dale Clark, Dr. Robin Dauer, and Dr. Dan Ross.

The evening will begin with “Sonata in A Minor,” composed by Franz Schubert, featuring Dr. Lauren Schack Clark, piano. From the French opera “Les Contes d’Hoffmann,” will be “Les oiseaux dans la charmille” by Jacques Offenbach, featuring the voice of Marika Kyriakos, soprano, and Luca Strazzullo at the piano. “Concerto for Horn” by Ralph Hermann will follow, featuring Dr. Robin Dauer, horn and Dr. Lauren Schack Clark, piano. The concert will conclude with “Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano” by Andre Previn, featuring Dr. Dan Ross, oboe, Dr. Dale Clark, bassoon, and Dr. Lauren Schack Clark, piano.

Dr. Lauren Schack Clark performs frequently as a soloist and collaborative artist.  She was voted Teacher of the Year 2008 by the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association. Recent performances have included a recital at the University of Florida as part of the ASU Double Reed and Piano Trio, programs with violinist Stephen Sims at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Denison University, and solo recitals in Boston and Naples, Italy. She recorded a CD of solo piano music for Centaur Records, with music written by Boston composer Dr. Rosey Lee, a faculty member at Berklee College of Music. Her book, “Keyboard Theory and Piano Technique,” was recently published by Longbow Publishing.

Dr. Marika Kyriakos is new to the voice faculty of the Arkansas State University Music Department. Her primary responsibilities are teaching studio voice and directing the opera program. Though originally from Columbia, Mo., Kyriakos comes to ASU from Texas, where she taught at Tarleton State University of the Texas A and M System for nine years. Her favorite projects involve studying, teaching, and performing abroad. Recent summer ventures have included leading roles with the Rome Opera Festival in Italy as well as studies and performances in Nice and Paris. Kyriakos collaborated in the development of a summer program with the Lorenzo de Medici school, for which she taught and performed this past June in Tuscania, Italy. In July, she visited Greece to set the groundwork for a study-abroad program in Athens.

Dr. Dale Clark is Principal Bassoon of the Delta Symphony Orchestra, a member of the North Arkansas Symphony, and has appeared as guest Principal Bassoon with the Memphis Symphony and Arkansas Symphony Orchestras.  He has appeared as guest artist and master class teacher at the Cork School of Music in Cork, Ireland, and Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA among many others. In 2003 he was Principal Bassoon of the Sewanee Festival Orchestra and bassoon instructor at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.  He is a former member of the Memphis Woodwind Quintet.

Dr. Robin Dauer is professor of Horn at Arkansas State University. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University and the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.  He is currently a member of the ASU Brass Quintet and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Dauer’s recordings include “Horn Americana,” works for horn and piano by American composers, “Souvenir,” French pieces for horn and piano, both available from Mark Recordings, and the recently released “Alan Hovhaness: Music for Horn, Voice, and Strings” on Centaur Records.  At Arkansas State, he conducts the horn ensemble, student chamber ensembles, and teaches music appreciation.

Dr. Daniel Ross received his Bachelor of Music Education degree at Arkansas State University and his Doctor of Arts degree from the University of Mississippi. Dr. Ross is well known throughout the double-reed world for his important research, design, and construction of reed gouging machines. He performs regularly as soloist with the Forum Sinfonia of Krakow, Poland, in the United States, in Poland, and throughout central Europe. He has performed and presented classes at numerous International Double Reed Society conventions and also teaches and presents master classes at major music schools throughout the United States.

The Faculty Recital Series will continue with two more performances scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009, and Tuesday, March 10, 2009, at 7:30 in Riceland Hall, Fowler Center.

During intermission, the audience is encouraged to visit the Bradbury Gallery. The exhibition on display will be entitled “Artists at Play: The Art of the Toy.” It will be on display through Friday, Nov. 14 and feature selections from the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection. The exhibition will include selections of toys made by artists from the Arkansas Arts Center, paintings of toys by Beth Edwards, sculpture made of toys by Dusty Mitchell, and drawings of toys by Tom Richard.

The concert is free and open to the public. For more details, call the Department of Music at (870) 972-2094.

###