WVU World Music presents showcase featuring original composition

PRESS RELEASE:

The West Virginia University World Music program will present its spring Showcase Concert on April 4th at the Canady Creative Arts Center in Morgantown.  

This spring’s showcase will feature the African Music and Dance Ensemble, Steel Bands and Balinese Gamelan. The Balinese Gamelan will premiere “The Barn Swallows,” an original composition by Andrew Kohn, professor of string bass and music theory at the WVU School of Music.  

“I titled the piece after times observing the elegant flight of barn swallows,” Kohn said. “I relied on my knowledge of Balinese gamelan music, especially the genre known as Gamelan Kebyar. However, I could never compose anything that truly sounds authentically Balinese, so I gave my imagination room to roam. The piece also includes a section transcribed from a Messiaen composition, which is a transcription of birds singing at dawn, as well as an improvised cadenza for the drums.” 

The two-hour showcase is a marquee event with two optional start times. Guests who select the 6 p.m. option will begin in the Gladys G. Davis Theatre for the first hour of performances before going to the Douglas O. Blaney Lobby for more performances and refreshments. There is also a 7 p.m. option, where guests will visit the Blaney Lobby first performances and refreshments before moving to the Davis Theatre for the final performances of the evening.  

Tickets are $10 for general admission with discounts available for children, seniors and groups. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit go.wvu.edu/ccam-tickets.  

To learn about the World Music Program, visit music.wvu.edu.