Caldwell College Concert Series Kicks Off in September

The Caldwell College Concert Series will begin its 18th season this September. 

The college will kick off its annual concert series with a special faculty favorites concert at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Alumni Theatre. 

Other fall concerts will include Italian opera performed by the Garden State Opera, Haitian kompa and an international Christmas Spectacular. Spring concerts will feature jazz guitarist Paul Meyers, a faculty vocal recital, the chamber ensemble Terzetta and Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS band.

As part of homecoming activities, Music Department faculty will perform favorite works from the classical and jazz repertoires at the opening concert on Sept. 21. Performers will include department chair and pianist Nan Childress Orchard, wind ensemble director and flutist Rebecca Vega, choral director and soprano Laura Greenwald and jazz ensemble director and tenor saxophonist Rob Middleton. 

Caldwell alumni will receive a special $10 admission rate.

October

The Garden State Opera will appear 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, at the Student Center Auditorium. School groups can see a free dress rehearsal 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25. 

Assisted by the Caldwell College choir and Kennedy Dancers, the singers will perform Donizetti’s one-act comedy “Il Campanello di Notte” and premiere “Tamar da Timna.” Sung in Italian with English super-titles, the performance will be accompanied by full orchestra and conducted by GSO founder and artistic director Francesco Santelli. 

For more information, go to www.gardenstateopera.homestead.com.

The program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts administered by the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.

November

The Sky Band will perform 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013, at the Student Center Auditorium, with a talk and demonstration at 3 p.m. The Haitian band plays kompa direk, music that reflects the spirit of Haiti and its people living in New York City. 

The music is vibrant and spiritual with strong beats and melodic rhythms.  It tells of the desire to preserve the Haitian culture while learning and loving a new language and culture. There is a special ticket price of $10.

December

The Christmas Spectacular will be held 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, 2013, at the Student Center Auditorium. The High School Honor Band and Caldwell College wind ensemble and choir will perform. The event will feature works by New Jersey composer Joseph Turrin and an international Christmas celebration, culminating with the annual carol sing-along under the direction of Laura Greenwald and Rebecca Vega.

February 

Paul Meyers will perform the music of Brazil and beyond 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, at the Alumni Theatre. The snow date is Feb. 13. One of the top jazz guitarists of our time, Meyers combines a deep understanding of the jazz tradition with strong influences of Brazilian, Latin and classical music to create a unique sound.

March

The event “Music and the Arts through Song” will take place 4 p.m. Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Alumni Theatre. It will feature pianist Warren Helms, soprano Laura Greenwald, mezzo soprano Betsy Mackenzie Stubbs, tenor Kerry Stubbs and baritone James Splond. 

The event will explore the relationships of music with architecture, sculpture, poetry, painting and literature through the arias and art songs of Handel, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Debussy, Verdi and others performed by the quartet of professional singers accompanied by Helms.

The trio Terzetta will perform music from the early 19th century through the early 21st century 8 p.m. Thursday, March 27, 2014, at the Alumni Theatre. Pieces will include a trio by Austrian composer and pianist Johann Nepomuk Hummel, “Trois Aquarelles” by the French composer and flutist Philippe Gaubert, and “Voices of the Rainforest” by the Spanish composer and pianist Elisenda Fábregas. 

April

Trombonist Chris Washburne and SYOTOS will be in concert 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, 2014, at the Alumni Theatre, following a 7 p.m. discussion. Founded by Wasburne in 1992, SYOTOS performs Latin jazz with a global reach, combining Afro-Cuban, funk, jazz, gospel and contemporary classical music. SYOTOS pushes the genre of Latin jazz into uncharted waters, embracing dissonance and weaving contemporary uptempo beats with a driving sound. For more, see www.chriswashburne.com.

Tickets 

General admission is $20, and tickets are $15 for students and seniors. All tickets for the Christmas Spectacular are $10. Individual tickets and group or subscription discounts are available through advance purchase by mail, online or at the door.

The group discount (10 or more tickets to a single concert) is 20 percent. A subscription to eight concerts is $112 for general admission and $88 for students and seniors. Checks should be made payable to Caldwell College and sent to Caldwell College Concert Series, Laura Greenwald, Music Department, Caldwell College, 120 Bloomfield Ave., Caldwell, N.J. 07006-6195.

Parking is free. Receptions will follow the concerts. For more information, go to www.caldwell.edu or call (973) 618-3520.