Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 22, 1991 TAG: 9102220379
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Donna Alvis
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But make time for the Modern Jazz Quartet.
John Lewis (piano), Percy Heath (bass), Milt Jackson (vibraharp) and Connie Kay (drums) have been playing together since 1952 and they're still going strong. They were the first jazz group to perform a solo concert tour of Europe, introducing jazz in the classical concert halls there. The MJQ also was the first group to perform in an outdoor concert at the popular Berkshire Music Barn in Lenox, Mass.
Their performance in 1961 with the Cincinnati Symphony was unprecedented. Trailblazers, pioneers, leaders of the bands, the Modern Jazz Quartet wrote the book on style.
The quartet will play its specialty - classic jazz - Monday at 8 p.m. in Radford University's Preston Auditorium. Admission to the concert is $8 for adults, $4 for children and free for Radford University students.
\ REBECCA ORR MEMORIAL BENEFIT CONCERT: The eighth annual concert, sponsored by the Highlands chapter of the Virginia Music Teachers Association, features classical and contemporary music performed by local favorites.
Caryl Conger, piano, and Clarity James, mezzo-soprano, will team up for Aaron Copland's "Twelve Poems of Emily Dickenson" and Thomas Pasatieri's "Vocal Modesty."
Pianist Teresa Ehrlich will play "Seven Anniversaries" by Leonard Bernstein, and Virginia Carol Tubbs will pay tribute to Mozart with her performance of his "Fantasia" in f minor for organ.
Also performing are Mary Louise Hallauer, piano; David Jacobsen, flute; Katherine Burkhart, organ; and David Brandon Phillips, piano. The concert is a fund-raiser for the Rebecca Orr Piano Festival and Scholarship Competition organized by the association of music teachers each year. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students or senior citizens and $10 for families.
The music will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday at Blacksburg United Methodist Church. Following the concert, there will be a reception in the fellowship hall of the church.
For more information, call the Virginia Tech music department at 231-5685.
\ SOUTH MAIN SUNDAY: It's an all-day concert to benefit the New River Valley Environmental Coalition and it's happening Sunday, starting at 2 p.m., in Blacksburg's South Main Cafe.
Afternoon entertainment for the whole family includes original and traditional folk music by Idlewilde and The McKenzies, plus a variety of jazz by groups such as the Riverboat Ramblers, 'Round Midnight and Honk. The latter features five different saxophones.
Joe the Fireman will start the rocking nighttime show with a punk-pop program. The Kind and Electric Woodshed will pump up the volume and keep your heart thumping throughout the evening.
Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for kids. The South Main Cafe is at 117 S. Main St.
\ NATIVE AMERICANS: Representatives from two to three dozen American Indian tribes will visit Radford University this weekend for the fourth annual Powwow put on by the Native American Heritage Association.
Becky Morgan, president of the association, said the organization was formed in 1987 ". . . to bring an awareness to people."
"It was started as a way of preserving the native American culture and as a means of educating the community and the campus," Morgan said.
Events include ceremonial and intertribal dancing and singing. Traders will sell handmade crafts and visitors may sample authentic Indian foods.
"In the past, we've had 15 to 20 different tribes represented," Morgan said. "Usually, about 2,000 people come in and out during the weekend."
Registration begins at 6 p.m. today in Peters Gym on the Radford University campus. Events continue throughout the day Saturday.
Admission is free but donations are welcome. For more information, call Morgan at 633-1871.
\ AHHHHH . . . BACH! Caryl Conger and David Jacobsen will present recitals of J.S. Bach's Sonatas for Flute and Harpsichord this week with two performances in Radford and Blacksburg.
Cellist Clyde Shaw of the Audubon Quartet will join Conger, harpsichord, and Jacobsen, flute, Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Radford University's Preston Auditorium. Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for children and free for Radford students.
As an added treat, Conger will play the university's new Flemish harpsichord constructed by master builder Willard Martin and painted by Pamela Gladding. The harpsichord is painted in an oriental motif and, as Conger says, ". . . is a real work of art besides being an instrument."
Conger and Jacobsen will perform again Thursday at 8 p.m. in Blacksburg United Methodist Church. Admission to this concert is $3 for all tickets.
by CNB