GREENEVILLE – Community members and the Tusculum University family are invited to a moving recital by the higher education institution’s director of bands that will use music to highlight the emotions of the pandemic and hope as the nation emerges from it.
Dr. David Gonzalez
Dr. David Gonzalez, who has served at the university since the summer, will perform a free concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, in the Marilyn duBrisk Theatre of Annie Hogan Fine Arts Center on the Tusculum campus. He will play the euphonium and be accompanied by pianist Devin Lyon.
“Since I have joined the Tusculum faculty and restarted the music program, I have enjoyed meeting people throughout the region to discuss our plans,” Dr. Gonzalez said. “This performance will build on those connections by sharing our mutual love for music. I look forward to spending the evening with our guests and fellow Tusculum family members on our beautiful campus as we explore through music a topic that has impacted all of us.”
Dr. Gonzalez held several of these types of performances as part of the requirements for his multiple academic degrees. He enjoyed them and did not want to stop once he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts from Arizona State University. One of the benefits of the concert will be the opportunity for his students to hear him play, perhaps for the first time.
The recital will begin with Dr. Gonzalez performing “Cyberspace,” written by Peter Graham, and be followed by a euphonium concerto that consists of three pieces – “Agito,” “Quasi nocturne” and “Maestro, energico,” all written by Jukka Linkola.
Following an intermission, Dr. Gonzalez will embark on three tangos – “Milonga del Angel,” “Invierno Porteño” and “Adiós Nonino,” written by Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla and arranged by Øystein Baadsvik. Next, he will play “Pure Imagination” from “The World’s Greatest Storyteller” by Philip Harper and arranged by Dr. Gonzalez.
The performance will conclude with Dr. Gonzalez’s performance of “Napoli,” written by Herman Bellstedt and arranged by Frank Simon.
Summarizing the performance, Dr. Gonzalez said the music will tie into the pandemic by first conveying the challenging emotions, such as void, people have experienced. Later in the recital, the music will shift to a more upbeat tone, reflecting people’s return to a more traditional routine as the pandemic eases.
“We are excited to have music become an integral element of our civic engagement again at Tusculum,” said Wayne Thomas, dean of the College of Civic and Liberal Arts. “The university enjoys its connections with the community and welcomes this and other opportunities to bring people to campus. Dr. Gonzalez has done an excellent job building relationships with community members, and we are pleased to showcase his musical talent with this performance.”
Seating for the free concert is general admission. For more information, please call Tusculum Arts Outreach at 423-798-1620. To learn more about the university, please visit www.tusculum.edu.