David Starkweather, professor of cello, will give a solo recital Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. in Ramsey Concert Hall as part of the Hugh Hodgson Faculty Series.
The performance, which also features staff accompanist Damon Denton, offers a diverse program of baroque, romantic and impressionist compositions. Tickets are $10, $5 for UGA students with ID.
“These pieces encompass a broad spectrum,” Starkweather said. “One of my favorites I discovered in 2011, when the ARCO Chamber Orchestra performed in Venice. My wife and I stayed behind to travel France, and I ended up with a pile of sheet music from this dusty, quintessentially Parisian music store. In that pile was a composition by Louis Vierne called ‘Soirs étrangers,’ a wonderful, post-Debussy bit of French impressionism.”
Vierne spent over half of his life as principal organist of the Notre-Dame de Paris, composing “Soirs étrangers” nine years before his death in 1937. The piece, roughly translated as “Foreign nights,” evokes mystery and atmosphere, and is not frequently performed in America.
Starkweather is the longest serving full-time professor at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, having been on the faculty since 1983.
“When I began at the University of Georgia, I had three cellists in my studio, and all of the string faculty performed in the orchestra with their students-otherwise, there wouldn’t have been enough personnel to fill out the instrumentation,” he said. “The music program has truly grown since I first arrived, and it’s been really encouraging to see such great things happen over the years.”
