Lecture-Concert Series presents pianist Jennifer Blyth

Oct. 24, 2007 -- Jennifer Blyth, concert pianist, will be the featured performer in the sixth event of Arkansas State University’s 2007-2008 Lecture-Concert Series. Blyth present a concert on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 3 p.m. in Riceland Hall, Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive.

Jennifer Blyth’s broad repertoire ranges from music of the early Baroque period to the new piano works of today’s leading composers.  Her performing schedule has taken her to twenty states throughout the U.S. Internationally, she has appeared as a concerto soloist and as a solo recitalist, as well as a chamber recitalist in Russia, South Africa, Canada, England, France, Iceland, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Australia.

Blyth earned her bachelor’s degree in Music at the Western Australian Conservatorium of Music in 1991, and in 1993, enrolled at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N. Y., where she earned her master’s degree in Music in 1993, her Performer’s Certificate in 1995, and her doctoral degree in Musical Arts in 1996.

While at the Eastman School, Blyth became interested in contemporary American music, and as a result, she has dedicated a significant portion of her career toward the commissioning and performing of new works. Blyth is half of the Helding/Blyth duo with her Dickinson College faculty colleague, mezzo-soprano Lynn Helding, and Blyth is also a member of the Timaeus Ensemble, a six-member chamber ensemble specializing in 20th-century music. Blyth has commissioned and performed works by such composers as Augusta Read Thomas, Carter Pann, Pat Long, Frederic Rzewski, and Shulamit Ran.

Blyth has performed in venues such as Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Corcoran Gallery, and Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow. Her performances have been broadcast by National Public Radio, Icelandic Radio, and by both the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s National Radio Network and its television network. Currently associate professor of Music and chair of the Music Department at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Penn., she gives lectures, master classes, open lessons and participates in residencies across three continents.

Blyth's program will include two selections from Frederic Rzewski's "De Profundis," with text by Oscar Wilde for "The Gods are Strange" and "What a Wonderful Beginning." She will also perform J. S. Bach's "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" and "In dir ist Freunde," arranged by Ferruccio Busoni, with text by Martin Luther. She will perform Charles Ives' "The Alcotts" and Patrick Long's "Sonata with Words," with poetry by Eric Berlin, as well as two selections from Jacob Ter Veldhuis.

For more details, contact Dr. Gil Fowler, associate dean for the Honors College, at (870) 972-2308 or via e-mail at gfowler@astate.edu, or visit http://honors.astate.edu.

The Lecture-Concert Series presents diverse programs to enrich the cultural life of the campus, community, and region. All programs in the Lecture-Concert Series are free and open to the public.

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