World renown fluitist to perform recital set at McNeese

Ransom Wilson, fluitist

From Staff Reports
The Contraband

The McNeese State University Performing Arts Department will present a free flute recital featuring Ransom Wilson at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, in Tritico Theatre of the Shearman Fine Arts Annex.

The program includes: “Sonata in B minor” by Johann Sebastian Bach; “Les Folies d’Espagne” by Marain Marais; “All Alone at Last” by Randall Woolf; “Sonata in C major” by Franz Josef Haydn; “Sonate Posthume” by Maurice Ravel; “Syrinx” by Claude Debussy; “Oiseaux tendres” by Jean Rivier; “Pour que demeure le secret, nous tairons jusqu’au silence” by Andre Jolivet-Asceses; and “Sonatine” by Philippe Gaubert.

Wilson will also conduct a free master class from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, in Tritico Theatre.

Recognized as one of the world's leading flutists, Wilson is a professor of flute at Yale University, as well as an artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York City and artistic director, founder and flutist in a new ensemble, LE TRAIN BLEU. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

As a flute soloist, he has performed with many great orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony, the Puerto Rico Symphony, England’s Halle Orchestra and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Wilson’s successful recording career includes three Grammy Award nominations and several other honors including the Award of Merit in Gold, presented by the Austrian government for his efforts on behalf of Mozart’s music in America. He has also received the first Alabama Prize from the New York Times Foundation, which is awarded to natives or residents of that state who have distinguished themselves in the performing or visual arts, and shared a National Public Radio award for best performance by a small ensemble on a national broadcast.

A strong advocate of contemporary music, Wilson has commissioned new works, arranged his own music and conducted his own orchestrations at Carnegie Hall. He is equally esteemed as an outstanding conductor of orchestral and operatic repertoire and has participated in two productions at the New York City Opera, is currently an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and has been guest conductor of many prestigious ensembles.

For more information, call the McNeese Department of Performing Arts at 475-5028.