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(continued...)
THE
BAKER ARTISTS, AT A GLANCE
- 1992-1993 – Marni Nixon, vocalist and coach
- master classes in voice; coaching individual singers; performed
in concert with Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra
- 1993-1994 – Teatro Pregones, Puerto Rican theatre company
- created and staged an original bilingual theatre piece with
students, in conjunction with Mayfair Arts Festival, Casa Guadalupe
and Pennsylvania Stage Company
- 1994-1995 – David Dorfman, dancer and choreographer
- taught public workshops; created a new work for the Muhlenberg
Dancers; taught the course, Movement for Athletes; company performed
in concert; spent a day in residence at Jefferson Elementary
School
- 1995-1996 – Gary Burton, vibraphonist
- taught technique and jazz classes; performed in concert with
Douglas Ovens and the Muhlenberg Jazz Ensemble
- 1996-1997 – Marie Irene Fornes, playwright and director
- taught a course in playwriting; directed a production of her
play, “Fefu and Her Friends,” which she revised
especially for our students
- 1997-1998 – John Ramsey, actor
- artist in residence to prepare a major production of Bertolt
Brecht’s play “Galileo;” consulted with students
considering careers in the theatre
- 1998-1999 – Doug Varone, dancer and choreographer
- taught a course on creative process for theatre and dance
students, as well as technique classes in modern dance; set
a work from his repertory on the Muhlenberg Dancers; company
performed in concert; contributed to several community workshops
- 1999-2001 – The Opera Project
- music, theatre and dance programs combined two years’
Baker residency funds to produce Muhlenberg’s first fully
staged opera, Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas.”
Choreographer Thomas Baird, a specialist in Baroque dance, taught
a class and joined theatre and music faculty in staging the
production, which was performed with members of the Lehigh Valley
Chamber Orchestra; the departments of theatre, music, dance,
and English also hosted an academic conference, Unmasquing 17th
Century English Performance, featuring some of the world’s
leading scholars in the field of Baroque performance styles
- 2001-2002 – Danny Buraczeski, dancer and choreographer
- taught in the dance program; set a work from his repertoire
for the Muhlenberg Dancers Concert; company performed in concert;
offered jazz master class for students and community
- 2002-2003 – Mac Wellman, playwright
- taught a course in playwriting; collaborated with faculty
and guests artists on the world premiere production of “Anything’s
Dream,” his new play inspired by William Shakespeare’s
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream;” collaborated
with the community-based Theatre Outlet in center city Allentown
on their production of his play, “Fnu Lnu”
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Jeremy Slavin, instructor of music at the College since 1972 and director
of the Muhlenberg College Choir since 1992, was a founding member of
the Philadelphia Singers and suggested a project with them when the
music department drew up its original list of potential Baker Artists-in-Residence
in 1991. The Philadelphia Singers will be the third Baker Artist for
the music department, following singer Marni Nixon and vibraphonist
Gary Burton, as well as the contribution of one of its Artist years
to the 2001 Opera Project (see sidebar for details). The department
makes it a point to engage both vocalists and instrumentalists to serve
all its students.
David Hayes, artistic director of the Philadelphia Singers, will travel
to Allentown each Tuesday afternoon during the spring semester to work
with the Muhlenberg College Choir to prepare the Requiem. Hayes was
appointed music director of the Philadelphia Singers in 1992. In January
2001, he was appointed to the conducting staff of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
He is also the director of orchestral and conducting studies for the
Mannes College of Music in New York City and staff conductor of the
symphony orchestra of The Curtis Institute of Music.
The College Choir, currently 130 voices strong, will be augmented with
several members of the faculty and staff for rehearsals and the performance.
The 24-member Philadelphia Singers will attend the last few rehearsals
with students to prepare for the Requiem, which will be accompanied
by the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra. A final component of the residency
will occur in fall 2004, when The Philadelphia Singers will once again
travel to Allentown to present a full concert performance for the Lehigh
Valley Community.
The Mozart Requiem will be presented on Friday and Saturday, March
19-20, at 8 p.m. each evening. You may purchase tickets for the concert,
which are $30.00 each, by calling the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra
at 610-266-8525. The fall Philadelphia Singers concert will be presented
at 4 p.m. on September 12, 2004, and will be free to the public. For
more information about these concerts and the department of music at
Muhlenberg College, call 484-664-3363.
Doug Ovens directs the Muhlenberg College Chamber Orchestra –
a music department success story.
Ken Butler is executive assistant to President Helm.
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• Winter 2004
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