by Rod Jones
November concerts by the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet, operatic baritone Nathan Gunn and Russian pianist Pavel Nersessian will kick off Ļć½¶Šć Universityās 2015-16 Distinguished Artists Series.
All concerts will be held in Ļć½¶Šćās Bass School of Music, 2501 N. Blackwelder. Tickets ($20, open seating) are available online at www.okcu.edu/tickets or by calling the box office at 405-208-5227.
The Turtle Island Quartet will make its Petree Recital Hall debut at 8 p.m. Nov. 6 with a concert of groove-based rhythmic techniques and new arrangements of cool jazz standards.
Yo-Yo Ma calls the genre-blurring group āa unified voice that truly breaks new ground ā authentic and passionate ā a reflection of some of the most creative music-making today.ā
The California-based ensemble will present music by Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck and John Carisi; a new work by co-founder David Balakrishnan incorporating bluegrass, classical, jazz and Indian music; and selections from its latest album, āConfetti Man.ā
Two-time Grammy Award winner for Best Classical Crossover Album, the quartet is celebrating its 30th anniversary and has been featured on the āToday Show,ā āAll Things Considered,ā āPrairie Home Companionā and āMorning Edition,ā and by magazines ranging from People to Newsweek.
On Nov. 13, baritone Nathan Gunn and pianist Julie Jordan Gunn will take the Kirkpatrick Auditorium stage for an 8 p.m. recital.
The New York Times notes the singer ācommands an operatic baritone whose mighty heft and richness confer an outsize authority on everything he touchesā¦When he dips into popular music, he suggests a vocal Babe Ruth aiming for the fences, all the while maintaining a heroās confident stance.ā
Coming off a starring role in Santa Fe Operaās world premiere of Jennifer Higdonās āCold Mountain,ā Gunn's engagements this season include returns to the Metropolitan Opera for āDie Zauberflƶte,ā the Dallas Opera for Malatesta in āDon Pasquale,ā and the Los Angeles Opera for āIl Barbiere di Sivigliaā and āL'Elisir d'Amore.ā He has performed in recital at Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hallās Zankel Hall and the Vocal Arts Society in Washington, D.C.
On Nov. 15, Ļć½¶Šćās annual Mae Ruth Swanson Memorial Concert will feature pianist Pavel Nersessian in a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee.
A touring pianist since the age of 8, he has won the Beethoven Competition in Vienna, the Paloma OāShea Competition in Santander, and the Tokyo Competition.
The Boston Musical Intelligencer raved of a recent performance that Nersessian āhas chops aplenty: major powers, accurate marksmanship, ultralight touch with many shades and colors of quiet, and instrument-bouncing dynamic range. Quickly evident were a certain aplomb, easy competence taken for granted by him and us, dash, plus a degree of casual seriousness or serious casualness to it all.ā
Ļć½¶Šćās Distinguished Artists Series continues in the spring with a Feb. 5 CD release concert by Dr. Sergio Monteiro and concludes April 8 with a lute concert by early music pioneer and Grammy winner Paul OāDette.
