Set your calendar. Alabama State University’s Department of Music and ClefWorks, a Montgomery nonprofit music group, have pulled together a special musical event for the tri-county area — “Music in Montgomery Benefit Concert.” The ticketed event is Thursday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. in the Wilson Auditorium of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, 1 Museum Drive.
Several Music Department faculty will headline the show with the goal of concert proceeds benefiting ASU music students. Faculty performers include Dr. Katrina Williams, clarinet; Dr. Joseph Ortiguera, violin; Dr. Michael Westmoreland, saxophone; Dr. Brenda Luchsinger, horn; Dr. Jonathan Houghtling, trombone, Dr. Cordelia Anderson, soprano; Professor Tyrone Hayes, baritone; Dr. Jessica Williams, marimba; Dr. Joel Jones, piano; Mr. Isaac Bell Jr., piano; Dr. Kristofer Sanchack, piano; and Dr. Adonis Gonzalez-Matos, piano.
The concert will feature musical genres ranging from classical to jazz, including selections by composers Alexander Tcherepnin, Joseph Horvitz, Fritz Kreisler, Jarryd Ellis, Colin Lett, Gina Gillie, Giuseppe Verdi, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
“It is so wonderful to see artist musicians who serve on the faculty at Alabama State University have the opportunity to perform and shine out in the greater Montgomery community!… Our ‘Music in Montgomery’ concert will give wonderful exposure to the music program at ASU and will generate financial support for music students at ASU…The success that we enjoy as being one of the premiere HBCU music programs in the nation is entirely reflective of the support that we have received here at ASU and from local community organizations such as ClefWorks, our concert patrons and alumni donors, ” said Dr. Carly Johnson, chair of the Department of Music.
Johnson noted that ClefWorks’ mission of community engagement and providing music education outreach and commissioning projects to Montgomery’s underserved community aligns perfectly with ASU’s mission as an HBCU music school. “It has been a perfect marriage and really ties our ASU campus community and ASU music students into the greater Montgomery community and current music scene in Montgomery, and we are so looking forward to even more collaborations and shared projects in the future!”
Johnson invites the public and especially ASU’s music alumni to attend the concert. “It’s an opportunity to connect and catch up on what all our graduates are doing out in the community.”
Johnson said she is excited about all the successes of the ASU music program, including the ASU Choir. “Right now, besides our upcoming concert, the Alabama State University Choir, under the leadership of Dr. Sanchack, is fundraising to travel to and perform at Carnegie Hall in New York next spring. It’s a great honor to receive an invitation to perform there.”
General admission to “Music in Montgomery” is $10 with tickets available for purchase in advance or on-site the night of the performance.
