Campbell to host Concert of Living Composers Nov. 2

Campbell University will present the Concert of Living Composers — featuring various styles of music by composers from North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Missouri — at 7 p.m. in Scott Concert Hall on Nov. 2.

Admission to the concert will be free.

Alejandro Rutty, UNC-Greensboro composer best known for his distinctive mix of South American styles and exotic textures, will perform “Suite for Bass,” solo works for extended-range electric bass. Rutty recently became captivated by the resonance of the instrument and dedicated his attention to composing bass solos, duos, trios and quartets.

Hailed by critics as “a pianist of enviable power,” Kalina Mrmevska will perform two pieces by Kansas City-based composer Ian Guthrie. “A Farewell Elegy” is intended to stimulate people’s imagination. It is an introspective spiritual composition where he had something to say that could only be expressed in music. 

Guthrie will also perform a selection from his piano suite “Wy’east,” a Native American colloquial term for Mount Hood.

Percussionist Daniel McCloud will perform Keith Dippre’s “Bison Pete,” an homage to the bison found in the National Bison Range in northern Montana. “Bison Pete” involves marimba, vibraphone, gongs and electronic sound.

Charis Duke finds inspiration in the music of Palestrina, George Crumb, Stephen Sondheim and Mozart. She currently teaches piano and voice and coaches theater students at University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Baritone David William Duke will perform Charis Duke’s “Why Should a Man Be Singing,” a work that addresses love both lost and found.

The concert will also feature music for brass by two local composers — “Meter Quest” for brass quintet by Ran Whitley, professor and Alma Dark Howard Chair of Music at Campbell. The piece is a composition in the pedagogy of asymmetrical time signatures.

William Beach will perform “Sketches” by Betty Wishart. Originally commissioned by Joe Alexander to depict his career, the tuba solo represents the four stages of a musician’s life.nA brass quartet will also perform “Intertwining Brass” by Wishart.