The University of Louisville Alumni Magazine: for alumni, faculty, staff, students and anyone that is a UofL Cardinal fan.
Issue link: https://louisville.epubxp.com/i/535203
S U M M E R U O F L M A G A Z I N E | 4 5 Ensemble to perform at interna- tional festival The University of Louis- ville Wind Ensemble will appear front and center at the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles International (WASBE) Conference this July. For the third time, the group, directed by Professor Frederick Speck, received an invitation to play a feature concert performance at the interna- tional level. They previ- ously performed at the WASBE conference in 2007 in Killarney, Ireland, and the 2013 Jungfrau Music Festival in Interlaken, Swit- zerland. This year's WASBE concert takes place at the historic California Theater in San Jose, the home of Opera San Jose and Sym- phony Silicon Valley. Along with the concert, UofL will perform as the ensemble-in-residence for the International Conduct- ing Masterclass with Por- tuguese conductor Maestro Alberto Roque. A sound legacy Distinguished UofL professor and local trum- pet legend Michael Tunnell passed away Dec. 19, 2014 after a long battle with cancer. A professor at the School of Music since 1988, Tun- nell contributed to the education of hundreds of students. An accomplished musician, he performed with Louisville Brass and the Louisville Bach Society, and he was a founding member of Sonus Brass. He played with the Ken- tucky Baroque Trumpets and President Lincoln's Own Band, performing with that group in the 2012 movie, "Lincoln." He recorded several albums with local musicians and composers and frequently appeared as a guest on WUOL. Tunnell relished his role as a teacher and his interactions with students, as he previously explained on the website for the Mike Tunnell Trumpet Studio at UofL. "Part of the joy in teaching trumpet and music is that one can often see a transformation and development with students that perhaps do not exist in every discipline. Music contains an intensely personal and humanistic quality that goes beyond cerebral learning." Beer and an opera The School of Music tried a new take on traditional opera in March and April when it presented "Four on Tap" at The Bard's Town, a "pub theatre" in the Highlands. Students in the School of Music performed the "Four on Tap" series of four one-act operas in English. All four shows sold out, with close to 300 visi- tors taking in the shows. "We wanted to make opera accessible," said Mi- chael Ramach, co-director of opera theatre at UofL. "Guests were able to grab a beer and a snack and ex- perience music theatre in an unconventional way." SCHOOL OF MUSIC A C R O S S C A M P U S McCONNELL CENTER Power covers world issues in UofL speech Stepping up sanctions on Iran could thwart efforts to prevent the country from acquiring nuclear weapons, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power told an audience in UofL's Bigelow Hall this winter. Power, who gave a wide-ranging speech in January as a guest of the McConnell Center, also touched on U.S.-Cuba relations, the struggle for democracy in Burma, terrorism in Syria, the Ebola threat and the importance of bipartisan- ship in Congress. The Associated Press, Reuters News Service, Politico, Voice of America and other news out- lets covered her talk. "To have America's ambassador to the Unit- ed Nations with us for two days to talk about critical world events, from negotiations with Iran to new diplomatic openings in Cuba, was a unique privilege for the university community," said Gary Gregg, McConnell Center director. Power spoke through the McConnell Cen- ter's Distinguished Lecture Series, which has brought 47 prominent leaders to campus since 1993 to give public talks on current events. While visiting Kentucky, she also met with students at Atherton High School and Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, Paynev- ille Elementary School in Meade County and Franklin County High School and Elkhorn Middle School in Franklin Country. Samantha Power, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, tackled issues ranging from nukes in Iran to relations with Cuba in a talk through the McConnell Center's Distinguished Lecture Series. Tunnell Four on Tap UofL Wind Ensemble