BC Alum Bobby Fish Returns to Porter Center for Performing Arts for March 22 Concert

Brevard College alumnus Bobby Fish will return to the College’s Porter Center for Performing Arts to perform his master’s thesis concert on Sunday, March 22.

Fish, a 2003 graduate of Brevard College, is now an Appalachian State University (ASU) Chancellor’s Fellow studying percussion performance for his master’s degree in music.

His solo mallet instrument performance at the Porter Center will feature the marimba and vibraphone and include works by composers from Denmark, France, Japan, Brazil and the United States. The concert will also include Japanese drums called Taiko. Fish, who founded the Davidson River Taiko for high-risk youth at Davidson River School in Brevard, is writing his Master’s Thesis on American Taiko.

Joining Fish on stage will be pianist Melissa Lesbines, ASU graduate percussionist Tommy Smith and ASU undergraduates Tim Cockerill and Diana Loomer.

The 3 p.m. concert is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted for the Blue Ridge Center for Integrative Musical Arts, a new Western North Carolina-based music education nonprofit corporation that Fish recently founded.

Fish, who studied concert percussion at Brevard College with Associate Professor of Music Laura Franklin, recently performed as a marimba soloist with the Appalachian Symphony Orchestra after being selected as a winner of the 2008 ASU Concerto Competition. With the help of an ASU International Student Research Grant award, he traveled to Japan last summer to study under master Taiko artist Art Lee.

Fish plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Education once he graduates from ASU in May.

Internationally Acclaimed Amsterdam Cello Octet to Perform at Brevard College’s Porter Center for Performing Arts; Discounted Tickets Now On Sale

The internationally acclaimed Amsterdam Cello Octet (formerly Conjunto Ibérico), the only full-time cello octet in the world, will perform at Brevard College’s Porter Center for Performing Arts on Tuesday, March 17.

Amsterdam Cello Octet is a unique ensemble in the world of classical music. According to cellist Yo-Yo Ma, “This ensemble is a treasure indeed, a fine example to the world of music…Wherever I play – Brazil, Japan, the USA – people talk to me about Cello Octet.”

The 7:30 p.m. performance is described as both eclectic and captivating, leaning on Spanish and Latin American music. The program will feature works from Joaquin Nin, Manuel de Falla, Alberto Ginastera, David Popper, Fant de Kanter, Philip Glass and Astor Piazzolla/Jorge Luis Borges.

The octet will be joined onstage by Spanish mezzo-soprano Elena Gragera, who enchants audiences with her flair and rhythmic élan. Gragera is considered by many to be one of the most serious and interesting talents on the Spanish musical scene today.

The Dutch chamber music ensemble was founded in 1989 by Elias Arizcuren, who was formerly their main conductor. The special composition of the group, which now performs without a conductor, demands specially written music and the octet has inspired many great contemporary composers to write pieces for them. Among these are Arvo Pärt, Terry Riley, Mauricio Kagel, Theo Loevendie, Franco Donatoni and Luciano Berio. At present, Amsterdam Cello Octet has more than 70 original works in its repertoire.

Amsterdam Cello Octet has performed on stages in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Germany, England, France, Italy, Poland and Croatia, among others.

Performance tickets are now available at the price of $25 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets may be purchased from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Porter Center Box Office. For more information on tickets, please contact the Porter Center Box Office at 884-8330.

April 17 Luciana Souza Concert Cancelled at Brevard College’s Porter Center for Performing Arts

Brevard College’s Porter Center for Performing Arts sadly announces the cancellation of the scheduled performance of Luciana Souza due to unforeseen circumstances.

Patrons with tickets to the April 17 performance will receive mail notification of the cancellation with a check refund.

Brevard College sincerely regrets the disappointment and inconvenience that this may cause. Patrons with further questions may contact the Porter Center Box Office at 884-8330. For any additional information visit the Web site at www.theportercenter.org.