Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music is readying for the fall with a schedule of concerts for its 2013-2014 Second Thursday Scholarship Series.
“We are delighted to showcase our students and faculty again this year,” said Dale Monson, director of the Hodgson School. “These performances are always the highlights of our season, and each year they seem to rise to new levels.”
The series’ opening concert will feature the UGA Symphony Orchestra Sept. 12 in a performance with bass-baritone Brandon Cedel, a winner of the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Other highlights of the concert season include the UGA Wind Ensemble, which will play a Rossini march—never before performed in the U.S.—for the Czar of Russia on Oct. 17; the UGA Opera Theatre in a concert version of Bizet’s Carmen on Nov. 14; Evgeny Rivkin on the piano on Jan. 9; the African American Choral Ensemble and UGA Jazz Band on Feb. 13; the UGA Symphony Orchestra with oboe professor Reid Messich on March 6; and “Chamber Music for Piano and Strings” with Rivkin, violinist Levon Ambartsumian and cellist David Starkweather on April 10.
Of special note this year is the UGA Holiday Concert on Dec. 3, a community tradition that brings together the UGA Symphony Orchestra, Hodgson Singers and University Chorus. The concert will be held for the first time in the Classic Center Theatre.
“The Holiday Concert is an event that Athenians look forward to each December,” Monson said. “Holding it in the Classic Center this year allows us to reach a broader audience while still performing in a first-rate concert hall.”
In addition to the 2nd Thursday Series, the school of music sponsors more than 350 concerts and recitals each year, including the Hugh Hodgson Faculty Series. This year’s lineup includes flutist Angela Jones-Reus on Sept. 10, Starkweather on Oct. 1, Messich on Nov. 4, pianist Anatoly Sheludyakov on Jan. 8, pianist Peter Jutras with violinist Kristin Jutras on Feb. 20, and percussionist Timothy Adams Jr. on March 18.
Established in 1980, the Second Thursday Scholarship Series offers showcase performances by UGA students and faculty the second Thursday of each month throughout the academic year. Proceeds from individual ticket sales and season subscriptions help fund year-long academic scholarships and assistantships for students and present donors the opportunity to sponsor individual students of the Hodgson School at several levels of giving.
Subscriptions to the 2013-2014 Second Thursday Scholarship Series are on sale from the UGA Performing Arts Center box office at 706-542-4400 or toll free at 888-289-8497. For more information on the Second Thursday Series or the Hodgson School, see www.music.uga.edu.