The Amarillo College Music Department is pleased to announce its schedule for the 2021-22 Art Force Piano Series – a celebration of iconic music to be alternately performed by accomplished visiting pianists and AC faculty musicians.
The Piano Series is sponsored by Art Force Amarillo, and each of the five concerts to be featured over a seven-month span is free and open to the public.
The series, which begins on Tuesday, Oct. 5, will be conducted entirely at the Concert Hall Theater on AC’s Washington Street Campus.
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Our Seven-Month Art Force Piano Series Features
The Following Five Installments:
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Thirty Dirty Fingers
Tuesday, October 5 • 7:30 p.m.
Amarillo College Washington Street Campus • Concert Hall Theater
Dr. Bruce Lin and Dr. Nathaniel Fryml of the AC faculty, and Dr. James Rauscher, former chair of the AC Music Department (retired). The trio will compete for keyboard space on the same piano to synchronously present works from Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Sousa, and more.
Dr. Nathaniel Fryml is director of choral activities at AC and serves as artistic director of the Amarillo Master Chorale. He also actively performs as a keyboard soloist and chamber musician.
Dr. Bruce Lin has performed throughout Canada, China, Mexico, Taiwan, and the U.S. He is both a soloist and an active chamber musician. He formerly served on the music faculty at Texas Lutheran University and the University of the Incarnate Word.
Dr. James Rauscher spent 35 years teaching piano at AC. He has served as principal keyboardist for the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra, since 1981, and he also is a frequent guest soloist with the orchestra.
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Dances and Romances
Tuesday, November 9 • 7:30 p.m.
Amarillo College Washington Street Campus • Concert Hall Theater
Dr. Alex McDonald and Rachel Li McDonald.
The husband-wife duo will perform their arrangement of five movements from the Nutcracker, Piazzolla’s Grand Tango, Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne, and more.
Rachel Li McDonald has actively performed and taught throughout North America and Japan since her debut chamber performance at Carnegie Hall was broadcast on PBS. She holds a bachelor’s degree from The Julliard School, as well as a master’s degree from Rice University.
Dr. Alex McDonald, since his orchestral debut at age 11, has soloed with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de Mexico, the Louisiana Philharmonic, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and the Utah Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has received many awards and has performed across the United States as well as in Israel, Mexico, Canada, Japan, and South Korea.
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2022 Jam with Love
Tuesday, February 1 • 7:30 p.m.
Amarillo College Washington Street Campus • Concert Hall Theater
The AC Music Department faculty assembles to share music of love that nurtures the Valentine spirit. This is a chance for everyone who is feeling cooped up by winter’s inclemency to get out and hear spirited strains of optimism and hope.
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Forgotten Masterpieces of
Central European Piano Music
Tuesday, March 1 • 7:30 p.m.
Amarillo College Washington Street Campus • Concert Hall Theater
Pianist Dr. Slawomir Dobrzanski presents a program featuring the music of three long-forgotten romantic composers from Eastern and Central Europe: Maria Szymanowska (1789-1831), the first woman in history to become a professional virtuoso pianist and composer; Anton de Kontski (1816-1899), a noted friend of Frédéric Chopin who undertook a grand concert tour around the world; and Karoly Agghazy (1855-1918), considered the most accomplished Hungarian student of Franz Liszt.
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Dr. Slawomir Dobrzanski is a soloist and chamber musician who has performed in more than 20 countries on 4 continents. He resides in Manhattan, Kan., where he serves as professor of piano at Kansas State University’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance.
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Beethoven 250
Tuesday, April 5 • 7:30 p.m.
Amarillo College Washington Street Campus • Concert Hall Theater
David Palmer, artistic director of Chamber Music Amarillo, is a great fan of Beethoven, whose 250th birthday in 2020 was celebrated the world over despite the pandemic. Palmer’s artistry and musicality will charm audiences.
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David Palmer, a pianist, has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe since the early 1990s, as both a soloist and chamber musician. Chamber Music Amarillo was awarded second place in the 2017-18 Professional Division of the nationally recognized American Prize competition, which celebrates excellence in the arts. He also founded and served as artistic director of the Quartz Mountain Music Festival in Oklahoma from 2006-2011.
From his work with Chamber Music Amarillo and the Quartz Mountain Music Festival, Palmer has gained an extensive knowledge on managing and performing in the musical arts, working with such artists as the Romero Guitar Quartet; renowned opera soprano Mary Jane Johnson; Montreal Symphony Orchestra Concert Master Richard Roberts; jazz musicians Bevan Manson, Lee Rucker, Kent Kidwell, Mark Little, and Jamie Davis; and a host of other noted artists.
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Be enriched. Be inspired. Be heard.
Make music at Amarillo College
Amarillo College has an exceptional music curriculum dedicated to developing the performance, pedagogical, and industry tools needed for students to excel in their chosen musical profession, or to build marketable skills as a non-music major. As one of a handful of two-year institutions accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, AC is committed to the high learning standards needed for successful transfer to a four-year university. Closely associated with the area’s top opera, choral, and instrumental organizations, AC’s music program features a highly committed, genuinely engaged, world-class faculty. A full schedule of concerts, recitals, and special events provide free entertainment opportunities to the College and the entire regional community.
Academic and non-credit Leisure Studies enrollment options available.
Community Concert Band, Chamber Orchestra, Concert Choir, Amarillo Master Chorale, Jazz Ensemble, Piano Ensemble, Opera Workshop, Guitar Ensemble, Instrumental Private Lessons, Vocal Private Lessons
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Funding provided by Art Force Amarillo.
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