In recognition of his 71st year, the Music Department highlights the sounds and achievements of Pulitzer prize winning composer Bernard Rands. On Friday, April 22, Rands offers a public lecture on aspects of his music at 4:15 p.m. in the Center for the Arts Room 221. Later that evening, the Da Capo Chamber Players perform his music at 8:00 p.m. in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall. Both events are free and open to the public.
Originally from England, Bernard Rands emigrated to the U.S. in 1975. His works have established him as one of the most important composers of the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries, and have been performed by most of the major orchestras across the U.S. and Europe. Rands is also well known as a conductor, having been engaged by many major orchestras. He established the virtuoso SONOR ensemble at the University of California at San Diego. He has taught at numerous institutions including the University of California at San Diego, Boston University, the Juilliard School, and Harvard University. Rands' Canti Trilogy, performed by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project with Gil Rose conducting, has been released as a two-disc set by Arsis.
The Da Capo Chamber Players include founding members Patricia Spencer, flute, and André Emelianoff, cello; as well as Meighan Stoops, clarinet, and David Bowlin, violin. "The Da Capo Chamber Players are at the head of their class," says the Los Angeles Times, and American Record Guidecalls their performances "stimulating concerts for a quarter of a century."