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Pianist Robyn Wells joins other members of The C of I music faculty in Thursday’s College of Idaho Showcase, the premiere of the 48th Annual Caldwell Fine Arts Season.

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Dan Lea
dlea@idahopress.com
Sunday, September 13th, 2009

CALDWELL — Caldwell Fine Arts premieres its 48th season Thursday with an innovative first-time-ever College of Idaho Showcase.

Thursday's performance features multi-talented faculty members from The C of I music department in an evening of instrumental and vocal music from featured performers, including The Langroise Trio with tenor Corey McKnight, formerly with the Chanticleer; Soprano Mari Jo Tynon; pianists Lisa Derry, Paul Moulton and Robyn Wells, and organist Sean Rogers.

The Langroise Trio, with guest violinist Jill Rowley, opens the Showcase concert. The Trio has performed on chamber music series across the country including performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Their repertoire includes music from the Romantic, Classical, Baroque and Renaissance eras, as well as the 20th and 21st centuries. One of the evening's highlights is the Trio's performance of original music written by Idaho composers Jim Cockey and David Allen Earnest.

"The audience will be privileged to hear a work written this year for The Trio and tenor Corey McKnight, a graduate of Vallivue High School," Caldwell Fine Arts director Sylvia Hunt said. "It is always exciting to feature a local student who has had success on the national and international stage."

McKnight began voice lessons with Dorothy Barnes at the University of Idaho in 1984 and toured around the world with Chanticleer, the Grammy Award winning 12-member a' cappella vocal ensemble. He was with the group when they performed at Jewett in 2000. McKnight has sung on a dozen Chanticleer recordings including two that are on the movie soundtrack of Jack Black's film, "Nacho Libre."

In 2005, McKnight released a solo CD entitled "My Solitude." Currently, he performs as a soloist with local musical groups including the Boise Philharmonic, Boise Baroque Orchestra and Opera Idaho.

Sharing the spotlight Thursday is Soprano Mari Jo Tynon, professor of voice at The C of I. She will sing an aria by Rosini. Marianne Saunders, director of vocal jazz will perform with trumpeter Rob Walker and the Justin Nielsen Trio. Rob is the newest C of I faculty member and Director of Jazz Studies.

Aage Nielsen, a member of the Darkwood Consort, returns to the Renaissance era with a performance on a unique period instrument related to the oboe and clarinet. Aage performs with the Philharmonic and Sun Valley Summer Symphony.

Pianists Dr. Lisa Derry, Dr. Paul Moulton and Robyn Wells will provide a variety of pieces. Derry will perform one of Chopin's masterpieces, "Fantasy Impromptu," while Moulton brings a newly published piece by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, the older sister of Felix Mendelssohn.

Wells, an adjunct piano teacher and performance artist, has presented more than 250 concerts. She is a graduate of Caldwell High School with a masters in piano performance from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She was a featured soloist in the 2007 Idaho Showcase. She will play "Caprice Italien from the Napoli Suite" by French composer, Poulenc.

Sean Rogers, director of Choral Activities, will present selections on the organ.

"Many people have never heard the instrument or have said they want to hear more organ pieces," Hunt said.

Rogers is a 1994 C of I graduate and is active in musical performances and as a church musician throughout the Treasure Valley.

"The format for this program will be a new experiment," Derry, chair of the school's music department, said. "We hope that the audience will enjoy it as if they went to a house concert in a large living room. There is music from 1350 to 2009 and a great variety of styles that will make this program interesting to perform and to hear."