UTC Music Department presents “An Evening with Debussy”
Joe Chapman, Piano
Saturday, March 2, 2013, 7:30 p.m.
Roland Hayes Concert Hall, UTC Fine Arts Center
Press Release Date: February 13, 2013
From the shimmering scintillations of "Clair de lune" (Moonlight) to the thunderous repercussions of "Feux d'Artifice" (Fireworks) the music of French composer, Claude Debussy, is designed to impress upon the listener a plethora of images swirling in light and color. In commemoration of the recent 150th anniversary of Debussy's birth, UTC’s Music Department is pleased to present, “An Evening With Debussy”, featuring pianist, Dr. Joe Chapman. The performance will take place in the Roland Hayes Concert Hall at the UTC Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St., Chattanooga on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. The performance is presented free of charge and open to the general public.
Beneath Dr. Chapman's skillful fingers the piano keyboard becomes a lush palette of musical colors that challenges the limits of harmony, melody and form. In addition to "Clair de lune" and "Feux d'artifice", the program includes a number of other pieces with evocative titles, such as "Ce qu'a vu le vent d'Ouest" (What the West Wind Saw), "La fille aux cheveux de lin" (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair), and "Reflets dans l'eau" (Reflections in the Water). The mood of the concert ranges from the haunting chimes of "La Cathédrale engloutie" (The Sunken Cathedral) to the humorous overtones of "Golliwogg's Cake-walk", a dance depicting the shenanigans of a boisterous rag-doll, in which Debussy pokes fun at his contemporary, Richard Wagner, with a parody of Wagner's famous Prelude to Tristan und Isolde. The finale "L'Isle joyeuse" (The Joyful Island) rounds out the program with a brilliant coda of virtuosic proportions.
Dr. Joe Chapman is the Director of Keyboard Studies at the University of North Georgia where he also serves as conductor of the University Orchestra. He holds degrees in piano performance from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the University of South Carolina. Dr. Chapman has served the music profession in a number of capacities including a term as president of the Georgia Music Teachers Association.
If you require additional information regarding this or any other UTC Music Dept. performance, please contact the Music office at 423-425-4601 or see the Music Dept. website at http://utc.edu/music.
