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TUSCALOOSA, AL – The University of Alabama College of Arts & Sciences School of Music presents the Alabama Wind Ensemble in concert on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Moody Music Building on the campus of The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL. The program will include “Fireworks Fantasy, Op. 4” by Igor Stravinsky, “Beyond” by Wataru Hokoyama, “Concerto for Horn: The Glass Bead Game” James Beckel, which will feature Director of the School of Music Charles G. “Skip” Snead on French horn, “Seeking Seeking” by Roy David Magnuson and “Maskarade Overture” by Carl Nielsen. UA Professor and Director of Bands Kenneth Ozzello and Assistant Director of Bands Randall Coleman are the conductors of the Alabama Wind Ensemble. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information visit: http://www.music.ua.edu/calendar or call 205-348-7111.

The ALABAMA WIND ENSEMBLE is a select group of the finest wind players and percussionists from within the University Band Program and the School of Music.  The ensemble has been invited to perform at prestigious events such as the College Band Directors National Association Convention, the Southern Division of the Music Educators’ National Conference and the Alabama Music Educators’ State In-service Conference.  The Alabama Wind Ensemble has been active in commissioning and premiering new works for wind band over the past several years and has worked with numerous outstanding composers including Ira Hearshen, Donald Grantham, Richard Saucedo, and Nigel Clarke. In 2008, the ensemble completed its first commercial compact disc recording for the Naxos label which includes the music of Ira Hearshen.

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TUSCALOOSA – The University of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences School of Music will host the 22^nd Annual Alabama Honor Choir on Monday, October 26, 2009 at the Moody Music Building on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The day of will culminate in a choir performance at 6:00 p.m. in the Concert Hall. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.music.ua.edu/calendar or call 205-348-7111.

This event will feature performers from Alabama Choir School, Central High School, Hillcrest High School, Holy Spirit Catholic Regional School, Northridge High School, Roswell High School and Tuscaloosa County High School. The guest choir will be from Milton High School and is directed by Drew Bowers. The choir will be conducted by UA Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Conducting Dr. John Ratledge. The guest conductor for this one-day event will be Dr. Allen Hightower of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. The program will include “O Clap Your Hands” by John Rutter, “Like As the Hart Desireth the Waterbrooks” by Herbert Howells, “Credo” from Mass in C Minor, KV 427  by W.A. Mozart, “If Music Be the Food of Love” by David Dickau, and “True Light” by Keith Hampton.

Drew Bowers was appointed Director of Choral Activities at Milton High School in 2007 where he conducts Chorale, Women’s Select and Concert Choir and teaches Advanced Placement Music Theory. Prior to his appointment at Milton, Bowers was the Choral Director at Carrollton Junior High School in Carrollton, Georgia for six years. He has served as treasurer for the Georgia chapter of the American Choral Directors Association and is currently the membership chair for Georgia ACDA. Other professional memberships include Georgia Music Educators Association, MENC, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Pi Kappa Lambda.

A native of Georgia, he holds a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Louisiana State University where he studied conducting with Ken Fulton and Sara Lynn Baird, and voice with Loraine Sims. He also holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Shorter College where he studied conducting with John Ratledge and voice with Brian Horne. Bowers has also participated in conducting master classes at the University of Alabama, Baylor University and with Chorus America where he worked with Anton Armstrong, Sigrid Johnson, and Philip Brunelle and conducted the professional vocal ensemble Vocal Essence.

As a tenor, he has sung with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and the Atlanta Sacred Chorale. His solo career began with the Carroll Symphony Orchestra and their performance of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. Most recently he was tenor soloist for Berstein’s Chichester Psalms with the LSU A Cappella Choir on a Doctoral Recital. Bowers is currently the Director of Music at Haygood Memorial United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Ga.

He currently resides in Woodstock with his wife Leslie and their daughter Tucker.

Dr. Allen Hightower is a Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Sam Houston State University. Hightower leads one of Texas’ finest collegiate choral programs. Choirs from Sam Houston sing frequently at state and national choral conventions and collaborate with such groups as the Houston Masterworks Chorus and Houston Ballet. Sam Houston’s undergraduate program in choral music education and master’s degree program in choral conducting have produced many of Texas’ finest choral directors. During the 2009-2010 school year, the SHSU Chorale and Hightower will make their third appearance before the Texas Music Educators Association and second appearance before the American Choral Directors Association.

Hightower, a native Houstonian, is now in his fifth season as music director of the Houston Masterworks Chorus. Under his leadership the chorus has renewed its commitment to present the very finest works for chorus and orchestra to the great Bayou City. Recent HMC collaborations have included performances with the Houston Children’s Chorus, the Sam Houston State University Symphonic Choir and Orchestra, the Tallowood Baptist Church Choir and the Houston Ballet.

Hightower has studied extensively with choral conductors Bev Henson and Donald Neuen and has conducted in master classes for Joseph Flummerfelt and Helmuth Rilling. From 1997-2000, he worked with Maestro Paul Salamunovich as conducting intern with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Hightower is a graduate of Sam Houston State University, Eastman School of Music, Baylor University, and UCLA.  Most recently he pursued post-doctoral studies at Trinity College, Cambridge University with conductor Stephen Layton. Hightower is married to soprano, Dr. Kristin Hightower. They reside in Houston, Texas with their daughters Caroline and Julianne.

Dr. John Ratledge is currently in his sixth year as Conductor of University Singers, Area Coordinator of Graduate Choral Conducting, and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Ratledge teaches graduate conducting, literature, and pedagogy.

Ratledge made his European conducting debut in 1996 with the Filharmonia Sudecka of Walbryzychu, Poland, and since that time, he has conducted orchestras in France, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Spain. Most recently, he made his Korean conducting debut in March 2008 when he conducted the Dangjin-gun Chorus, a professional choir in Dangjin, South Korea.  During his tenure at Shorter College of Rome, Ga., the Shorter Chorale distinguished itself nationally and internationally by giving the premiere of the full orchestral version of the Duruflé Requiem in Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Greece, the organ version premiere of same in Bulgaria, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms premiere in Poland, and the St. Petersburg, Russia’s premiere of Handel’s Messiah. He has received invitations to conduct the Athens and Bulgarian State Orchestras.

Ratledge’s compositions are published by Alliance Music, Southern Music, and Cambiata Press. Recent commissioned works include: i am the secret fire in all things, SSAA divisi and two soprano soli, a cappella, premiered by the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Jon Wasburn, conductor (November 2008); Blackberry Winter, SATB divisi, soprano solo which was premiered by the Midland Lee High School Chorale, Paula Edwards, Conductor, at the Texas Music Educators Association on February 13, 2004, and I Am (text by Rilke) SATB divisi, Mezzo-Soprano and Baritone solos, premiered on April 30, 2004 by the New Hampshire Master Chorale, Dr. Dan Perkins, Conductor. On 9 October 2006, The Lord’s Prayer was premiered by the Concert Choir of Darlington Upper School (Rome, Georgia), Dan Bishop, Conductor.

Ratledge is on the roster of Manhattan Concert Productions and will be Artist in Residence at Carnegie Hall April 30 to May 3 of 2010. University Singers has been invited to be the resident chorus for the National Festival Chorus, and Singers will perform a solo recital at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in May.

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Registration and updated information for the 25th Annual Alabama High School Honor Band Festival has released. For more information about the festival and instructions on registering, please go to music.ua.edu/honor-band. If you have further questions about the festival please contact Randall Coleman, Assistant Director of Bands.

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Tuscaloosa, AL—The University of Alabama College of Arts & Sciences School of Music presents jazz pianist Bill Anschell in residency October 21-22, 2009. Anschell will kick off his time at the Capstone with a master class on Wednesday, October 21. Later that day, he will perform with the Jazz Faculty Quartet at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall. The Jazz Faculty Quartet includes Chris Kozak, double bass; Mark Lanter, drum set; Jonathan Noffsinger, saxophone; and Tom Wolfe, guitar. Selections will include works composed by Anschell. His final performance will be alongside the Alabama Jazz Ensemble on Thursday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall. Selections include “Bright Eyes to Me” by Bill Holman, “Mean to Me” by Fred Ahlert and Roy Turk, “Tico Tico” by Zequinha Abreli, “Back Bone” and “Three and One” by Thad Jones, “Have You Met Miss Jones” by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, “Mr. Fonebone” by Bob Mintzer, and “First Love Song” and “The American Express” by Bob Brookmeyer. All of these events are FREE and open to the public. For more information, call 205-348-7111.

Seattle native Bill Anschell returned to the Emerald City in 2002 after spending 25 years studying, composing, and performing across the country and around the world. Anschell left Seattle after high school, studying for two years at Oberlin College (Ohio), then earning his Music Degree from Wesleyan University (Connecticut).  At Wesleyan, Anschell worked closely with saxophone great Bill Barron.  He also studied semi-privately with South Indian mrdangum master T Ranganathan, kindling a passion for rhythmic experimentation that has driven Anschell’s music ever since.

After leading the life of a jazz vagabond for several years, Anschell settled in Atlanta in 1989.  He was initially drawn there by the opportunity to serve as Jazz Coordinator for the Southern Arts Federation (SAF), the regional arts agency of the South.  Firing up SAF’s jazz department virtually from scratch, Anschell launched a host of high-profile programs, published a book on grants writing, and created “JazzSouth,” an internationally syndicated radio show. At night he dove headlong into the city’s thriving jazz scene, working as a sideman with various groups and leading his own trio.

By 1992, Anschell’s performing itinerary had grown to the point where it demanded his full attention.  He left the SAF post, continuing to produce “JazzSouth” out of his home while focusing on playing and composing.  Over the next ten years, Anschell ascended the jazz ranks in Atlanta, leading his trio at major festivals and becoming a first-call accompanist for visiting jazz greats.  His trio’s highlights included the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, the Montreux Atlanta Festival and five extensive tours of South America.

During the same period, Anschell enjoyed a lengthy association with vocalist Nnenna Freelon, serving as her pianist, arranger and musical director. Among their many performing highlights were the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland, the Monterrey Jazz Festival in California, the Kennedy Center in Washington, and six European tours.  Their concerts were broadcast on Radio France; French national television; and NPR’s “JazzSet.” Anschell’s piano work and arrangements were featured throughout Freelon’s 1996 Concord release Shaking Free, which was nominated for a Grammy as the year’s best jazz vocal recording.

Anschell was the featured artist in the December, 1997 issue of Jazz Player magazine, which included a “play-along” CD of his original music.  His own CDs have earned critical acclaim and widespread exposure, with the last three discs all making Jazzweek’s national “Top 50” chart for radio airplay.  Anschell’s 1998 release, A Different Note All Together, was selected by United Press International (UPI) as one of the “10 Best” jazz releases of the year.  His latest CD, More to the Ear than Meets the Eye, was chosen by numerous critics and radio stations across the country for their “10 Best of 2006” lists.

Anschell has played and/or recorded with a host of jazz greats including Richard Davis, Ron Carter, Benny Golsen and Russell Malone.  In 2001, he was selected by the American Composers Forum for its “Composer-in-the-Schools” program; his residency included a commissioned piece for chamber orchestra.  Since 2003, Anschell’s original compositions have received widespread cable and network exposure, appearing on programs including NBC’s “The West Wing,” HBO’s acclaimed series “The Wire,” and “Damages” on FX.

As a Seattleite, Anschell had the honor of playing a weekly gig with Northwest jazz legend Floyd Standifer for the final two years before his passing.  In 2005, Anschell received a Golden Ear Award as the “North-west Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year,”and in 2006 his trio his trio was named the “Northwest Acoustic Jazz Ensemble of the Year.”  Most recently, Anschell and his trio toured Colombia in October, 2008.

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Tuscaloosa, AL – The University of Alabama College of Arts & Sciences School of Music presents a faculty recital featuring Chris Kozak on double bass and electric bass on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Moody Music Building on the campus of The University of Alabama. The program will include a variation of Dave Matthews Band’s “Crash into Me” arranged by Kozak, UA Instructor of Drum Set and Jazz Studies Mark Lanter, Associate Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies Jonathan Noffsinger and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Jazz Studies Tom Wolfe, “Jordu” by Duke Jordan, “Dolphin Dance” by Herbie Hancock, “Reflections” written by Kozak, “In the Phryg” by Tom Wolfe, “Thinking Alould” by Tom Wolfe, “The Beeps, The Sweeps, and The Creeps” by Kozak, “Fantasia No. 1” by Kozak, and “Underground” by Courtney Pine. The concert is FREE and open to the public.  For more information visit: www.music.ua.edu/calendar or call 348-7111.

Christopher Kozak is an Assistant Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at The University of Alabama. He holds both a M.M. in Jazz Arranging and Composition and a B.M. in African-American Jazz Studies in Double Bass Performance from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass.

While at UMASS he studied Jazz Composing and Arranging with Jeff Holmes and Double Bass with renowned Double Bassist and composer Salvatore Macchia. He also studied advanced Improvisation Techniques with saxophonist Chris Merz and multi-reeds artist Adam Kolker. Kozak was also a composition student of Yusef Lateef and his methods of Autophysiopsyhic Music.

Previously, Kozak was an active performer in the Northeast music scene on the acoustic and electric bass in jazz, contemporary and popular styles and is currently an active performer in Alabama and the Southeast region. He has performed with Greg Abate, James Argiro, Victor Atkins, Jamie Baum, Warren Chiasson, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, Kathy Kosins, Peter Erskine, John Fedchock, Giacamo Gates, David Goloshokin, Jeff Holmes, Steve Houghton, Marlon Jordan, Adam Kolker, Yusef Lateef, Virginia Mayhew, Delfayo Marsalis, Dick Oatts, Sal Spiccola and Rob Zappulla.

He was a Downbeat Jazz Award recipient in 2000, 2001 and 2002 with the UMASS Studio Orchestra on Double Bass. He is a current member of the CMENC and Jazz Education Network.

His international work includes two trips to Colombia, South America with the Cultural Exchange Centro Colombo Americano for a Jazz Camp that he and Dr. Jonathan Noffsinger have developed and taught. They spent time in Medellin, Colombia working with students at the EAFIT University and the RED Banderas (young children) within the city for one week. The following week they were in Manizales, Colombia for another Jazz Camp for their students at the University Nationale. His quartet held several performances at the Moravia Center and San Fernando Plaza in Medellin and the National University and University of Caldas in Manizales.

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The keyboard faculty of The University of Alabama announces its Piano Solo Competition for Junior High and High School Students on March 27, 2010. This year’s event will be a celebration of the life and works of Robert Schumann and Frederic Chopin. For more information about this event, including a registration form please go to http://music.ua.edu/departments/keyboard.

Voice faculty members Stephen Cary, tenor, Paul Houghtaling, bass-baritione, and Jennifer Cowgill, soprano, will be joined by DMA candidates James Seay, tenor, and Christopher O’Rear, baritone, in a performance presentation at the CMS National Conference in Portland, Oregon on Thursday, October 22, 2009.  The presentation is entitled A Mountain of Funny Foam: The Abstract Expressionism of Virgil Thomson and will include Collecetd Poems for Baritone and Soprano on poetry by Kenneth Koch and Capital Capitals set to texts of Gertrude Stein. The presentatioin was conceived and directed by Paul Houghtaling.  Kevin Chance is the pianist.

On Friday night, October 16, 2009, Susan Fleming, mezzo-soprano, Jennifer Cowgill, soprano, and Paul Houghtaling, bass-baritone, will appear in recital at the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Mississippi.  The program will include Virgil Thomson’s Collected Poems for Baritone and Soprano, Heggie’s dramatic monologue At the Statue of Venus, and Hoiby’s tribute to Julia Child Bon Appetit!  Kevin Chance is the pianist.  For more information, call the music department office at “The W” at 662-329-7260.