KNOXVILLE — Wesley Baldwin, associate professor of the Cello Studio in the School of Music, opens the Pre-Game Faculty Showcase at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with “Brazilian-Bach Fusion: The Music of Villa-Lobos.”
The first Pre-Game Faculty Showcase program begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, in the University Center Ballroom before the football game against Alabama-Birmingham.
Baldwin will talk about the cello, and the UT Cello Studio will play one of the most well-known pieces ever written for a group of cellos, the “Bachianas Brazilieras No. 1” by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.
The UT Pre-Game Faculty Showcase, now in its 19th year, is held two hours before every home football game. The College of Arts and Sciences selects a top faculty member for each presentation. The programs are free and open to the public.
Baldwin has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe and South America. He is principal cellist of the New World Symphony and is artist-in-residence at Sweet Briar College and the State University of New York at Oswego.
At UT, Baldwin received the Provost’s Award for Professional Promise in Research and Creative Activity. Many of his former students play and teach throughout the nation. He is founding director of the Tennessee Cello Workshop, an annual three-day seminar for young performers. Each summer he performs and teaches at the Hot Springs Music Festival, the Michigan City Chamber Music Festival and the Wintergreen Festival.
Each showcase program lasts 45 minutes, including 30 minutes for the presentation and 15 minutes for a discussion period. Light refreshments will be served, and door prizes will be awarded.
The Pre-Game Faculty Showcase is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences with the support of the UT Alumni Association, the UT Knoxville Office of Alumni Affairs and UT Athletics.
The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest college on UT’s campus with 600 faculty and 23 departments and schools encompassing the humanities, fine and performing arts, social sciences, life sciences and physical sciences. The college places special emphasis on academic outreach, and its faculty and students are actively involved with the community through the Faculty Speakers Bureau, service learning and other programs.
The University Center is located at 1502 W. Cumberland Ave., a short walk from Neyland Stadium. The ballroom is in Room 213 on the second floor. For more directions, visit http://www.utk.edu/maps/campus/.
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Contacts:
Elizabeth Davis, Media Relations, (865) 974-5179, elizabeth.davis@tennessee.edu
Lynn Champion, (865) 974-5332, champion@utk.edu
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