The Faculty Artist Concert Series conducted its season finale performance on April 17, according to UIndy 360. Faculty musicians from the University of Indianapolis performed at Ruth Lilly Performance Hall in the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center. Each concert in the series during this academic year has been performed free of charge to the Greyhound community and general public, according to the university website.
Director of Percussion Terence Mayhue said this season was built on the strengths and interests of everyone involved. They started asking faculty for submissions at the beginning of the year, he said, and then congruent sounds are pieced together throughout the season.
Mayhue said the Faculty Artist Concerts are usually more classically-oriented, but the series finale strayed away from this. Director of Keyboard Studies Ryan Behan, who performed a solo piano piece, said this concert was special since it highlighted lesser-known compositions from names less-frequently played in a concert hall.
“I think one of the wonderful things about our faculty artist concert series is that it offers such a wide variety of pieces that one rarely hears in the concert hall…,” Behan said. “What’s special [is], you’re not going to be able to find anywhere else where you can hear such a variety—in one place, at one time—of great music performed by great performing artists.”
Mayhue said the concert is only a small part of what the music department does in a single season. He said the concert series offers a great opportunity for students to learn by watching professionals to then apply it to their own performances.
“It gives [students] a chance to kind of reenact what they were seeing the faculty do… and that’s how we use it as a faculty; we use them [the concerts] as moments where we can teach through example,” Mayhue said.
Those who will return to campus next year or are able to make an evening of it will have more chances to experience these faculty-run performances. There are already ideas being generated for performances next season, according to Mayhue. He said he enjoyed working with his colleagues throughout the season and that it is a close-knit faculty.
According to Behan, one of the benefits of the Faculty Artist Concert series is that it offers and highlights a wide variety of pieces rarely heard in concert halls. He said they offer a chance to share musical expression with others.
“I would just encourage students, faculty, everyone to come,” said Behan. “Once you walk through that door and you enter the concert hall, you’ll realize what we have to offer, and you won’t want to miss another one.” Those who are interested in attending future performances at the Ruth Lilly Performance Hall can find information regarding a wide range of concerts via the UIndy 360 music page.
