50th Anniversary Season!
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., Sept 16, 2014 — West Liberty University opens its Concert Artist Series 2014 with a performance by soprano Colleen Gray, accompanied by Nanette Solomon on the piano. The concert begins at 4 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 28 in Elbin Auditorium, College Hall and is free and open to the public.
“Colleen Gray is an internationally acclaimed authority on the works of American composer and classical pianist Lee Hoiby. Her concert will focus exclusively on the song repertoire of Hoiby, known for being inspired by music from many time periods and cultures. Please don’t miss this very special event,” said Gerald Lee, WLU concert series coordinator and professor of piano.
Associate Professor of Music Colleen Gray works at Slippery Rock University where she teaches voice, language diction, vocal pedagogy and opera performance. She holds a doctoral degree in vocal performance and literature from West Virginia University, a master’s of music in vocal performance from Duquesne University, and a Bachelor of Science in music education degree from West Chester State College.
Dr. Gray also earned a performance certificate from the Accademia Vocale di Lucca, Italy, and completed an apprenticeship with the Pittsburgh Opera Center. Her awards include winning the Jewish Community Center Emerging Artists Competition, the West Chester State College Concerto Competition, the Pottstown Philadelphia Orchestra Competition and the Pittsburgh Concert Society Artist Competition.
Gray has performed extensively in Europe and the United States.
Nanette Kaplan Solomon, pianist and professor emerita of music at Slippery Rock University, performs frequently as soloist and chamber musician.
She has presented lecture-recitals at the College Music Society national meetings in San Diego, Savannah, Cleveland, San Juan, and many other locations, and has performed at the international conferences in Berlin, Vienna, Kyoto, Limerick, Costa Rica, Madrid, Bangkok, Zagreb, Croatia; Seoul, Korea and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
She has been a soloist with orchestras in Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, as well as featured artist with the Butler, Youngstown and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras, regionally.
Dr. Solomon also has performed at the Phillips Collection, the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., Wigmore Hall in London, the Lincoln Center Library in New York City and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.
The Concert Artist Series is organized and sponsored by WLU’s College of Arts and Communication’s Division of Music and dates to 1964. The West Liberty State College Concert Series was organized in 1964 after the Frazier Concerts, which had served Wheeling for many years, ceased operations. At that time, music professor Dr. Edward Wolf, now deceased, suggested to President Paul N. Elbin that the annual celebrity organ recital should be expanded into a complete college-community series. Elbin heartily agreed, and the Concert Series was born. Each year, the series brings world-class musicians and performing artists to the Hilltop campus for public concerts and artist master classes for students.
“Though the name of the series has changed over the years, the mission remains firm: To host the finest musical and performance talent the world has to offer,” Lee said.
The Division of Music at West Liberty University offers undergraduate degrees in music education, music performance and music technology. Its ensembles include: University Chorus, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Choir, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble and the Hilltopper Marching Band.