Professor of Horn Jean Martin-Williams kicks off the 2018-2019 Faculty Artist Series

This season’s Faculty Artist Series begins with Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of Horn Dr. Jean Martin-Williams, who is also an Associate Dean in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. The concert is set for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 13th in Ramsey Hall. Joining Dr. Martin-Williams on stage for the first time in a solo recital will be faculty pianist Damon Denton.

The program will spotlight works originally written for the horn, plus a transcription from a vocal work. Even though the pieces represent music from four different countries, all of the works have a singing quality to them.

To open the recital, Dr. Martin-Williams wanted to feature horn colleague Dr. James Naigus. They will be performing one of Dr. Naigus’ own compositions, entitled “Journey’s Call,” which is aptly named as Dr. Naigus is a brand-new member of the faculty at the Hodgson School. Dr. Martin-Williams also wanted to highlight some works by women composers, so she discovered two that would fit with her program. One piece by Nyquist is traditional, while a piece by Mourey is rather unusual.

In addition to these pieces, she and Denton will be playing a beautiful piece by French composer Jean-Michel Damase. “Damon and I have particularly enjoyed learning this piece together, due to all of the different tone colors possible from this impressionistic music,” Dr. Martin-Williams says. The influence of Damase’s father, who was a harpist, can be heard in his writing. The evening will end with “Songs of Travel” by Robert Louis Stevenson, which is set to music by the British composer Vaughn-Williams.  

“There is an extra challenge to communicate the text when words are not actually being sung.  People often say the horn is like the human voice, so perhaps this is the test of that theory!” says Dr. Martin-Williams.

Speaking to how much is written about the transformative power of music, Dr. Martin-Williams says that their intent is not so grandiose. “We hope that each member of the audience will get whatever he or she needs from the recital—even if that is a good nap!” Dr. Martin-Williams. However, with the program planned for this Faculty Artist Series, audiences need not worry about falling asleep.

Tickets to the concert are $12 for adults and $6 for students and children. They can be purchased online at pac.uga.edu, by calling 706-542-4400, or at the PAC box office. Those unable to attend can watch the concert live on the Hodgson School’s website: music.uga.edu/live-streaming.

The Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia sponsors more than 350 performances each year. Go to music.uga.edu to view the school’s performance calendar and subscribe to the weekly email newsletter to learn more about the School of Music.