The musical hub that is Alumnae Lounge will come alive for two nights this week with performances by two respected Boston area pianists.
Donald Berman will grace the recital hall tomorrow evening at 8 p.m. Berman is an adjunct faculty member who co-directs the New Music Ensemble (NME) at Tufts along with music department chair John McDonald. Berman's performance will be a preview of his own upcoming Carnegie Hall recital, which will occur on Oct. 16.
The other pianist, Paul Carlson, is a Boston area musician with a private studio in Arlington, Massachusetts. He will be performing on Friday, Oct. 11, also at 8pm in Alumnae Hall.
The event will serve to expose the community to works by modern composers and artists. As a composer himself, McDonald says he is committed to the performance of new music, which he brings directly to Tufts students through his work with NME.
Berman's program tomorrow and at Carnegie Hall consists entirely of music written by Rome Prize Winners. While enjoying a residency at the American Academy in Rome, Berman selected music composed by Americans at the Academy. The series is called "Americans in Rome" and features music by ten composers dating from 1928-1929.
Carlson's invite to Tufts came about because of her personal friendship with McDonald, who he met two years ago at a lecture. Since then, the two have been frequent guests at each others' programs; Carlson invited McDonald to speak at the music club that he co-directs in Lexington.
While Carlson has an interest in performing 19th century pieces _ like Don Berman _ he also has a keen interest in new music, as well as an interest in playing music composed by people with whom he is acquainted. McDonald therefore agreed to compose an introductory piece to the Sonata, entitled "Partial Resetting." He also added to Carlson's program works by Kirchner and Valen, also 1850s composers whose pieces are similar Brahms' in their serene tone.
The Tufts Music Department usually has four guest artist events every month, and will often invite guest artists to play with the recitals. For more information about this week's featured performers, see www.tufts.edu/as/music.
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