A week-long concert event hosted by the music department at the University of Maine at Augusta will be presented Tuesday, April 16, through Friday, April 19. There will be vocal performances, chamber music, rock and jazz, and even steel drums.
All concerts will be presented free of charge and begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday’s performances will be in Jewett Hall on UMA’s Augusta campus at 46 University Drive in Augusta, as well as livestreamed on our YouTube channel youtube.com/UMaineAugusta. Friday’s Junior and Senior concert also will begin at 7 p.m. and can be viewed only on YouTube.
Our Rock and Jazz Ensembles kick off with “a wide variety of music utilizing rock-band instrumentation while exploring more sophisticated melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic territories.” according to Scott Hughes, a member of UMA’s Artist Faculty, and an in-demand performer and instructor in his own right.
Directed by Duane Edwards, Juice Joint will be playing selections by Louis and Lillian Armstrong, Thelonius Monk, and Joao Gilberto; and The Peepers, will perform songs popularized by Ella Fitzgerald, Dr. John, and Miles Davis. Uniquely, The Gatsby-Zuckerberg Society Band, an online collaboration of musicians who learned to adapt jazz performance techniques for digital age performance, will present two early 20th century compositions by Oscar Pettiford and Hoagy Carmichael.
Vintage Steel, the Community Steel Drum Band of the University of Maine at Augusta comprised of UMA students and central Maine community members, will perform Wednesday, April 17. Under the direction of Christine Letcher, Assistant Professor of Music, Vintage Steel plays a wide variety of musical genres from Caribbean to Classical. The group frequently performs in the community for fundraisers and private parties.
UMA’s a cappella vocal ensemble, Envok, takes the stage with a selection of popular songs on Thursday, April 18. Our instrumental Chamber Ensembles, comprised of different combinations of trios and quartets, will perform common practice classical era works such as pieces by Handel and Mozart, two compositions by Joseph Haydn and his less well-known brother, Michael Haydn, as well as some contemporary classical pieces. Linda Theriault, Artist Faculty member and accomplished violist and violinist says, “Playing chamber music, at its core, feels like conversing with friends; this group would like to share that conversation with you.”
Finishing out the week is the Junior and Senior Concert on Friday, April 19. Performers are selected through successful completion of a jury process. Performances will be pre-recorded and available to watch on UMA’s Youtube channel.
All Concert Week performances, in person and online, are free and open to the public.
For more information about any of these concerts, Vintage Steel, or UMA’s music programs, email christine.letcher@maine.edu.
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