The
late Margery Aber, founder of the Aber Suzuki Center at the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point, would have been 100 this year.
To
honor her birthday, the center will present a faculty recital on Saturday, Feb.
15, at 7:30 p.m. at Michelsen Hall in the Noel Fine Arts Center on campus. The
concert is free and open to the public.
“Margery
Aber believed that birthdays were for giving gifts, not just receiving them,”
said Aber Center Director Pat D’Ercole. “So every five years on her
birthday, she shared her music with the Stevens Point community. ASC faculty
members have kept this tradition since her death in 2001.”
The
recital will include pre-show music by the Dolce Strings violin ensemble and
works by Debussy, Brahms and Chopin. “Kid-friendly” pieces by Mahler and Fine
will be sung by Suzuki faculty member Mary Hofer, with choreography and dance
by her voice students. In addition to Hofer, faculty performers will include
David Becker, Jennifer Burton, D’Ercole, Rosalie Gilbert, Tom McComb, Tim
Mutschlecner, Ann Marie Novak, Oscar Soler and Tom Yang. The evening will also
include a reading by the winner of the ASC Margery Aber essay contest.
The
recital kicks off a year of remembrance and celebration of Aber, with more
memorial events. Donations will be accepted, with funds enhancing educational
programs and providing merit and need-based scholarships for Suzuki students.
For
more information, see the website at www.uwsp.edu/suzuki
or call 715-346-3033.