Donald Duncan will appear as faculty soloist with the 麻豆传媒 Summer Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 15, in Wilner Auditorium.
Mark Laycock
Tickets are $7 with discounts available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office, (316) 978-3233.
Duncan, an assistant professor for Wichita State and Principal Trumpet of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, will perform the Trumpet Concerto in Eb Major by Hummel.
Hummel was an Austrian composer, pianist and teacher active in the early Romantic period. The Trumpet Concerto remains his most popular work, though he composed in nearly every genre popular in the early 19th century.
The concert will also feature Dvorak's New World Symphony, composed in the late 1890s during his three-year tenure as artistic director and professor of composition at New York鈥檚 National Conservatory of Music in America. The New World Symphony, with its use of such folk materials as African-American spirituals and Native American music, provided a significant model for indigenous composers. Premiered by the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in 1893, it was one of Dvorak鈥檚 greatest successes.
Higdon's 鈥淟oco鈥� will open the program. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for her Violin Concerto, Higdon is one of the most frequently performed composers of the 21st century. 鈥淟oco,鈥� propulsive and chaotic, was commissioned in 2004 by the Ravinia Festival. The title references both trains (the rail line carrying concertgoers north from Chicago to the festival grounds) as well as the Spanish word for 鈥渃razy.鈥�
Duncan, originally from Ohio, grew up in Kansas City. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education at Wichita State in 1987 as a student of Walter Myers, while also performing in the Wichita Symphony Orchestra as an undergraduate. He received his Master of Music from Arizona State University, in the studio of David Hickman. He is on the substitute list for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the symphonies of Phoenix, New Mexico and Illinois. He has spent more than 10 years in church music ministry, serving churches in Phoenix, Chicago and, most recently, Newton, Kan.
Laycock, director of orchestras, holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship. His work as guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator spans 20 states, including leadership of all-state, regional and district honor orchestras; upcoming engagements include the Fulton County (GA) Honor Orchestra and the all-state orchestras of Arizona and Washington. His appearances with professional ensembles include Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Wichita Grand Opera and Opera Kansas.