If you have not joined us for Abendmusik Alexandria, make this Thursday's Trio de Llano in Concert your concert! Abendmusik Alexandria is a new chamber music series presented by the Arts Council of Central Louisiana. Outstanding music is presented in an intimate cabaret style with food and drinks served, and – as our returning fans can tell you – these concerts are not to be missed!
February’s Abendmusik features Trio de Llano, a wind trio consisting of flutist Dennette McDermott, clarinetist Malena McLaren, and bassoonist Douglas Bakenhus. At their concert February 5, Trio de Llano will play music especially written for this wonderful but often overlooked combination of flute, clarinet, and bassoon. As Trio de Llano, this group of three musicians has toured around the United States and across the world. They are also resident music faculty at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches.
As a special part of February’s Abendmusik, Trio de Llano will give the world premiere of Sunflower Dance, a new piece written by Shreveport-based composer Todd Gabriel. Trained at the Juilliard School, Todd Gabriel now serves on the music faculty of Centenary College in Shreveport. He has already had several fruitful collaborations with Trio de Llano, and through their concerts they have brought his music to audiences around the world. Written less than two months ago in December, Dr. Gabriel’s uplifting new piece Sunflower Dance will certainly be another triumph for this composer-performer team.
Trio de Llano will also present delightful chamber music by Ludwig van Beethoven as well as the American composers Walter Piston and Robert Muczynski. From Beethoven, Trio de Llano will be playing his arrangement of the familiar opera aria by Mozart “Là ci darem” from Don Giovanni. Opera fans will certainly know this song, but I bet a lot of people would recognize the melody even if they do not know it by name. Take a listen for yourself with this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji5avEmo1gI. For those interested in getting a head start, my program notes are also available online.
To accompany all this great music, Southern Creations Catering will serve bowls of their signature red beans and rice as an appetizer. Plus, Southern Creations will provide a cash bar! With this interesting mix of music and our intimate cabaret-style atmosphere, Thursday’s concert will surely delight all audiences. Trio de Llano in Concert begins Thursday, February 5 at 6 PM at the Hearn Stage in Downtown Alexandria – arrive at 5:30 for appetizers!
JSH 15.02.02
About Jackson. Jackson Harmeyer is a music historian and composer. He is a graduate of the Louisiana Scholars’ College – Louisiana’s designated honors college – where he completed an undergraduate thesis entitled “Learning from the Past: The Influence of Johann Sebastian Bach upon the Soviet Composers.” He has followed classical music around the world, attending the BachFest Leipzig in Germany, Colorado’s Aspen Music Festival, and many concerts across Louisiana and Texas. Resident in Alexandria, Jackson works with the Arts Council of Central Louisiana as Series Director of the Abendmusik Alexandria chamber music series. He also writes the program notes for the Rapides Symphony Orchestra. As his day job, Jackson serves as Operations Manager of TicketCentral.