NATCHITOCHES – A tribute concert to teacher, composer, theoretician and author Milton Babbitt will be held at Northwestern State University on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. NSU faculty member Dr. Adam Hudlow will present a pre-concert lecture at 6:45 p.m.
The concert will feature Northwestern State faculty Paul Christopher, Malena McLaren, Oliver Molina and Terrie Sanders, Centenary College faculty member Thomas Hundemer, Louisiana Tech faculty member Cain Budds and Northwestern State student Andrew Boyd.
A long-time member of the faculties of Princeton University and the Julliard School of Music, Babbitt was an early exponent of electronic music and advanced the serialist approach to composition as exemplified by Arnold Schoenberg. The program will feature demanding, but stimulating works for solo instruments and voice performed by some of the region’s most adept Babbitt enthusiasts.
Hudlow began serving as assistant professor of music theory at Northwestern State in the fall of 2016. Along with acting as coordinator of the music theory area at NSU, he teaches music theory, aural skills, form and arranging at the graduate and undergraduate levels. He also serves as the staff music arranger for the Spirit of Northwestern marching band. Before accepting his current position, he served as an adjunct instructor of music theory at NSU from 2013-2016.
McLaren is the chair of the Department of Music and professor of clarinet at Northwestern State. She received the Bachelor in Music Education and Master of Music degree in Clarinet Performance at The University of New Mexico. McLaren received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Clarinet Performance with a minor in musicology from the University of North Texas. She has performed in orchestras throughout Mexico and the United Kingdom. As a member of Trio de Llano McLaren has performed throughout the U.S., Slovakia, the Czech Republic, England and Spain. She is a core member of the Rapides Symphony Orchestra.
Molina is an assistant professor of music and assistant director of bands at Northwestern State. Molina is an active percussion performer, educator, arranger, adjudicator and clinician. He is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Percussion Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Iowa. Molina is a Yamaha Performing Artist and endorses Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, Remo Drum Heads, Sabian Cymbals and Black Swamp Percussion.
Hundemer is principal horn with the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra and other orchestras in the region. At Centenary College, he is the director of the Hurley Music Library and the Centenary Wind Ensemble where he also teaches horn and music technology classes. Hundemer is an active composer and arranger with works for various chamber ensembles, orchestra, choir and keyboard, from the large orchestra work “On Highways and Byways,” commissioned by the Shreveport Symphony to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase, to the solo horn with audio delay piece “Gently Weep.”
Budds received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Classical Guitar Performance at Arizona State University. He has performed numerous solo and chamber recitals in the U.S. and Mexico and in master classes. Most recently he appeared as soloist with Moscow’s Chamber Orchestra Kremlin. Budds is associate professor of guitar and music theory as well as head of the string area at Louisiana Tech.
Boyd is a percussionist and educator currently attending Northwestern State working on his undergraduate music education degree. He has performed in numerous large ensembles, chamber ensembles and jazz combos/orchestras.
Sanders, a soprano, holds the rank of associate professor of music and has been on the faculty at NSU since 1992. Sanders teaches voice, diction for singers and vocal pedagogy. She holds degrees from Emmanuel College, Lee University and Northwestern State. She also holds a certification with the McClosky Institute of Voice and is a master teacher for that organization. Sanders is an active performer and lecturer. She has presented at state, regional and international Conferences.
Christopher is an associate professor of cello and music theory at Northwestern State. His articles have been published in the Jacques Offenbach Society Newsletter, Strings, American String Teacher, and Bass World. A longtime member of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra as principal cello, Christopher continues to perform with area orchestras, such as Rapides Symphony and South Arkansas Symphony. In the summers, he served as assistant principal cello with the Peter Britt Festival Orchestra.
For more information on the concert, call (318) 357-5802.
