The Fulbright College department of music will present the Lyrique Quintette in concert on Wednesday night, Nov. 5th at 8:00 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall.

The Lyrique Quintette is the faculty woodwind chamber ensemble in residence at the University of Arkansas. Members of the ensemble are Dr. Ronda Mains, flute, Dr. Theresa Delaplain, oboe, Dr. Nophachai Cholthitchanta, clarinet, Dr. Timothy Thomposon, French horn and Richard Ramey, bassoon.  A versatile troupe, the ensemble has been invited to perform throughout the U.S. and abroad. The members perform chamber music as chamber music should be heard–in an intimate, personal, and comfortable setting–bringing the performers and audience together as partners in the creation of an art form.

Featured on the November 5th concert will be the first performance of the Quintet for Winds by music department member Christopher Lacy.  Lacy, who serves as artistic director of the Opera Theater, is a 2009 winner of an Arkansas Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship in Composition.  Lacy’s Quintet was inspired by the Italian Commedia dell’Arte, whose well known operatic characters include Harlequin and Pierrot.

A member of ASCAP, Lacy has won numerous awards with his compositions, including the 1989 Virgil Thomson Award.  His compositions have been performed worldwide, and he has received grants and commissions from major funding organizations such as the Sosland Foundation and The Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation. Upcoming publications include Three Mediterranean Landscapes  for Flute Choir and Percussion from Falls House Press. The Quintet for Winds and Stick Figures for Two Clarinets and Two Bassoons are published by Trevco Music.

The Lyrique Quintette is also performing Debussy’s Children’s Corner suite, arranged by university graduate Richard Bobo, from the original piano work. A suite of six pieces, this work evokes an adult view of childhood.  Originally written for Debussy’s daughter, each piece has a descriptive title, among them “Golliwog’s Cakewalk” and “The Snowflakes are Dancing.”

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition rounds out the evening.  A walk through an exhibit of paintings, originally for solo piano, inspired this work. The quintet’s performance will include a slide show of some of the original paintings, which include the famous “Hut of Baba-Yaga” and the “Great Gates of Kiev.”

The Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall is located in the Fine Arts Building on the UA campus.  Free parking is available in the parking deck, which can be accessed from Stadium Drive and is located directly to the west of the Fine Arts Building.  The admission is free and the public is cordially invited to attend.  A reception in honor of Lacy’s Quintet will follow the concert, sponsored by the John Harrison Opera Foundation.  For more information, please call the department of music at (479) 575-4701 or visit us on the web at www.uark.edu/depts/uamusic.

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