BYU NewsNet - ‘Potpourri’ wraps up chamber music series

Faculty members will wrap up this spring’s performance series tonight with a unique blend of musical selections designed to appeal to a wide variety of listeners.

The Deseret Chamber Music Series, featuring professional BYU faculty members, will perform tonight at 7:30 in the Madsen Recital Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center. Admission is free.

The performance will be a “potpourri” of various styles of music, said Jaren Hinckley, coordinator of the event and participating clarinet professor. Faculty members will be performing “Deux Rhapsodies” by Charles Martin Loeffler, “Caprice on Danish and Russian Airs, op. 79” by Camille Saint-Saëns and “Violin Sonata No. 1 in F Minor” by Sergei Prokofiev.

This performance provides the community with a unique opportunity to observe live music from trained professionals, Hinckley said.

“People can be a witness of the creation of art,” he said, which is an artistic bonus because music can change according to the interpretation of the artist.

LeeAnn Morgan, professor of violin and viola, said students would better appreciate the performance if they learned a little about the selected pieces beforehand.

“The energy of a live performance being created on stage is thrilling,” she said. Hinckley collaborates with professors about certain pieces they may want to perform and takes suggestions for the evening’s repertoire. Scott Holden, director of piano and organ, and Morgan deliberately chose Prokofiev’s “Violin Sonata No. 1 in F Minor.”

“There is a deep well of emotion in this piece,” Holden said. “After the Prokofiev piece, I feel emotionally exhausted. It’s so profound.”

This work was written during the grim atmosphere and nervousness of World War II, Holden said. He commented that knowing the history before hearing the songs gives greater depth.

Despite decline in Spring/Summer enrollment, the audience has been large in the Deseret Chamber Music Series, Hinckley said. This program was originally developed because of the lack of musical performances offered to students during the summer months. Hinckley said many students attend to fulfill a performance attendance requirement in music classes.

“Turn off MTV and come with open ears and an open mind,” Holden said, and he assures the performance will be enjoyable and informative.