Faculty Artist Series celebrates Maestro
The University of Indianapolis Faculty Artist Concert Series opened its 32nd season with the event “Maestro Raymond Leppard’s 85th Birthday Celebration.”
The concert was held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 17 in Ruth Lilly Performance Hall of Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center.
The gala featured the university’s Festival Orchestra, accompanied by Anne Reynolds, Austin Hartman, Thomas Gerber, Kathleen Hacker, Daniel Blosser and Thomas Schurich.
Benjamin Britten’s “Simple Symphony,” Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 5,” and Franz Schubert’s “Mass” were three of the pieces played during the gala.
Professor of Music Richard Ratliff said the purpose of the concert series is to share the great musical works with the community.
Maestro Raymond Leppard’s enjoys being honored for his 85th Birthday. Photo by Annisa Nunn.
University of Indianapolis President Robert Manuel said in his welcome speech for the gala that the performance “is a perfect example of the bridges being built between the university and the community.”
The concert series includes 19 events, all held on Monday nights throughout the year.
This event included the university’s student Celebration Chorus, which added to the Festival Orchestra.
This event also celebrated the 85th birthday of the international conductor Maestro Raymond Leppard.
Leppard has conducted more than 170 recordings and earned five Grammy awards, a Grand Prix Mondial du Disque, a Deutsche Schallplattenpreis and an Edison Prize.
Leppard was born in London and grew up in Bath, the United Kingdom. He has led multiple performances at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera and Santa Fe Opera.
Leppard also holds many honorary degrees from the University of Indianapolis, Indiana University, Purdue University, Butler University and Wabash College. He is currently an artist-in-residence at UIndy.
The gala included a brief, on-stage talk between Leppard and Professor of Music Paul Krasnovsky during which they shared information on Leppard’s 60-year career.
The audience learned that in addition to Leppard being a wise man, he is portrayed as very amusing and exuberant.
“It was my first time [attending any type of orchestra concert], and I really, really enjoyed it,” said freshman visual communication major Oreonna Shepherd. “It calmed me because I was really frustrated after my class.”
