The Lieurance Woodwind Quintet will present the second concert in the 2008-09 Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts season with a 3 p.m. performance at Hesston Mennonite Church on Sunday, November 23.
The Lieurance Woodwind Quintet has firmly established its reputation in the Midwest as a premiere chamber ensemble. More than a regional quintet, the group maintains an active teaching and performing schedule, including concerts, radio broadcasts, seminars, and workshops at home and abroad. The quintet’s Hesston performance features works by Ferenc Farkas, Carl Nielsen, Elliott Carter, Samuel Barber, and Malcolm Arnold.
“HBPA has developed a tradition dedicating one concert each year to a premiere musical act from right here in Kansas.” said HBPA Chair Matt Schloneger. “Our state is home to some world class talent, and we’re excited to present a group that has consistently received national and international acclaim for the quality of its work. They’ll present an exciting program that contains a lot of variety for music lovers of all types.”
The Lieurance Woodwind Quintet takes its name from Thurlow Lieurance, a Kansas composer and noted historian of Native American music, who served as the first dean of the College of Fine Arts at Wichita State University. The members of the quintet serve as faculty artists at WSU and also as principal players in the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. Quintet members are Frances Shelly, flute; Andrea Bank, oboe; Suzanne Tirk, clarinet; Nicholas Smith, horn; and Scott Oakes, bassoon.
The ensemble has been received enthusiastically concertizing at major musical venues, including the Library of Congress and Phillips Collection in Washington D.C.; the Merkin and Carnegie Recital Halls in New York City; Composers, Inc. in San Francisco; and throughout Europe and Central America. The Lieurance Woodwind Quintet is a 1989 recipient of the Kansas Governor’s Arts Award.
In addition to its Sunday concert, the quintet will be in residence at Bethel College on Monday, November 24, presenting Bethel College’s convocation at 11 a.m. and a master class with Bethel College and Hesston College students at noon. Both events will take place in Krehbiel Auditorium and are free and open to the public.
This program is presented in part by the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.
Other concerts in the 2008-09 season include: The King’s Singers (7:30 p.m., Feb. 10, 2009, Memorial Hall, Bethel College), David Munnelly Band (3 p.m., March 1, 2009, Memorial Hall, Bethel College), and Trio Voronezh (3 p.m., April 5, 2009, Hesston Mennonite Church).
Season tickets range from $60 to $70. King’s Singers tickets range from $19 to $23. All other concerts are priced between $14 and $17. Discounts are available to students and senior citizens. Free child care is available to patrons who request the service in advance. Call 620-327-8158 for tickets or to arrange child care or call 316-284-5205 for tickets only.