Hansen Musical Arts Series

Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony, becoming the first woman to head a major American orchestra. Called a “born communicator and effective proselytizer for music” by The New York Times and a “lively entertainer as well as a powerhouse musician” by The San Francisco Chronicle, Alsop has spent a lifetime dedicated to music. She will take up the post of Chief Conductor of the São Paolo Symphony Orchestra, Brazil's premiere orchestra, at the start of the 2012 season. She can be heard regularly as a commentator on NPR’s Weekend Edition program, “Marin on Music,” BBC’s Radio 3 and XM Satellite Radio.

As performed in sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, and the BBC Proms, Apollo's Fire presents "A Night at Bach's Coffeehouse" in the music of J.S. Bach and his most admired colleagues. Inspired by the lively coffeehouse concerts led by Bach in 18th-century Leipzig - fiery strings and colorful recorders...it's an evening of rampant virtuosity!

Named for the classical god of music and the sun, Apollo’s Fire was founded by its Artistic Director Jeannette Sorrell to revive the baroque ideal that music should evoke the various Affects, or passions, in the listeners. Apollo’s Fire is a collection of creative artists who share Sorrell’s passion for music, drama and rhetoric.

A world-renowned trumpeter/composer/band leader and Blue Note recording artist, Terence Blanchard is the most prolific jazz musician to ever compose for motion pictures. Born and raised in New Orleans, where he studied with the Marsalis brothers at the famed New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, he won a scholarship to Rutgers University and immediately began performing in the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. Two years later he succeeded Wynton Marsalis in the legendary Jazz Messengers, before forming his own influential groups. He originally began performing on Spike Lee’s soundtracks, including Mo Better Blues in which he ghosted the trumpet for actor Denzel Washington.

Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education in Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, Howard Gardner is widely recognized in educational circles for his theory that humans have eight relatively autonomous intelligences rather than just one that can be assessed by standard instruments. He visited BGSU for a mini-residency Sept. 7–9, 2005. Gardner has written many books on developmental psychology, including the development of creativity in children and adults, and is also well regarded for his work with artistic development. He is a founding member and senior director of Harvard’s Project Zero, which is focused on systematic studies of artistic thought and creativity. In recent years, Gardner has embarked on a study of “GoodWork”—work that is socially responsible as well as excellent in quality.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Paul W. Hogle will be bringing his wit and wisdom to BGSU and the Hansen Musical Arts Series with a talk titled “Music: Turning a Commodity into Community.” It will take listeners on an imaginary journey into their favorite relative’s home and invite us to think about what happens in the family living room. "The more time I spend on university campuses," observes Hogle, "the more I observe that a university is a place where identity is created through the engagement with others, as in a family living room." The living room challenges the notion that isolation and independence are at the root of human nature. Research shows that people—given the right circumstances—can be caring, nurturing and collaborative. Presented with the opportunity, they gravitate toward actions and policies embodying empathy, fairness, and trust instead of competition, fear, and greed. The regeneration of social ties and the sense of caring and purpose that comes from creating community drive this essential transformation. Mr. Hogle will address his thoughts on how a major, influential university like BGSU can intentionally create a family living room dynamic that engages all with music, in a community of practice, thereby engaging the community itself with each other and with the university.

Often referred to as an “unsung jazz hero,” platinum recording artist, Lou Marini, Jr. is the seasoned soul and adept multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer, educator, and producer credited with inspiring the origins of a fan-following cult across multiple genres of music.

Making a name for himself as a sideman in various high profile groups, any top New York jazz musician will tell you he’s “one of the absolute best jazz musicians.” The New York based Marini is famed for his chameleon-like adaptability to imagine and perform inventive ideas in jazz, rock, blues and classical music. Describing Lou’s performances, the New York Times said, “(he’s) the focal point of the group…(who) gives the band most of its colors and shadings, and provides it with a strongly melodic lead voice.”

Five time Grammy Award winning arranger / composer Bob Belden had this to say about one of the time-honored contributions from Lou Marini, Jr., “This composition and arrangement reflects Lou’s ability to create exciting, new music that embraces rock and the most advanced ideas of jazz music.” The statement helps illustrate Marini’s ability to inspire and traverse multiple music disciplines.

Popular since the early 1970s, Lou Marini, Jr. continues to be one of the most sought-after sidemen and session musicians on the New York scene. Due in part to his incredible skill and talent of the highest calibre, Marini masters many styles and instruments. He is accomplished on soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxes, piccolo, flute, alto flute, bass flute and clarinet.

The ever-present influence of Lou Marini, Jr. is all around you. Jingles, television, radio and concerts all reflect the irresistible, innovative sounds of this veteran performer who electrifies audiences internationally. He truly is one of the industry’s most prolific luminaries who demonstrates a tireless commitment to his craft.

Lou Marini, Jr. is best known as a member of several distinguished bands: Woody Herman Orchestra, Doc Severinson, Blood, Sweat and Tears, The Band, Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars, Dr. John, Frank Zappa, Saturday Night Live (SNL) Band, The Blues Brothers, Maureen McGovern, Lew Soloff Quintet, Blue Beck with Joe Beck, Eric Clapton, Red House, and the Magic City Jazz Orchestra. He has toured four times each with James Taylor’s Band of Legends and the John Tropea Band. A true blue lover of big bands, Lou has had the honor of performing with some of his childhood idols such as Thad Jones-Mel Lewis and the Buddy Rich Band, the latter with whom he also arranged.

Is it any wonder Marini’s arrangements and compositions display influences from the work of his heros? Gil Evans, Bob Brookmeyer, Thad Jones, Don Ellis, along with rock, pop and avant-garde techniques can be heard in his music. His unusual, off-the-wall notions, for example, are featured in his composition “Hip Pickles,” a tune whose title doubles as the abstract name of his publishing company.

The high profile cultural icon, Blue Lou Marini has recorded on numerous albums, many of which went platinum. Celebrities with whom his “Blueness,” as Lou is also known, has recorded with include Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Aerosmith, Maureen McGovern, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Luther Vandross, Lou Reed, Brecker Brothers, Dr. John, Donald Fagan, Eddie Palmieri, Jimmy Buffet, Frank Zappa, John Tropea, and Steely Dan. Contrasting, yet notable icons he has also performed with include Eric Clapton Smokey Robinson, Jose Carreras, Lou Rawls, The Supremes, Dr. John, Four Tops, Sting, and Tina Turner.

It is Marini’s seven year association as an original SNL band member that led to his role as “Blue Lou” in John Belushi and Dan Akroyd’s cult classic movie, “The Blues Brothers.” To this day, the remarkable popularity of the Blues Brothers Band is kept alive. Lou and the other band members tour worldwide, giving live concerts to packed houses and hundreds of thousands screaming fans.

No stranger to film, Lou Marini enjoys a formidable roster of success in this arena, too. His character as a band member and the saxophone soloist, who performs with his sax on the counter of a diner as Aretha Franklin sings “Think” in “The Blues Brothers” movie, remains throughout the sequel “Blue Brothers 2000.” Dubbed ‘Blue Lou’ by Dan Akroyd, he is also well-recognized for his saxophone solos at the open and close of SNL episodes, and as the golden pharaoh who plays a solo instrumental hit for comedian Steve Martin’s “King Tut” sketch on a 1978 episode.

“Pedrito is a genius…working with him has been a revelation to me.” – Wynton Marsalis

“The Pedrito Martinez Group is the real thing. They had the club JUMPING! It made me feel like a teenager!" – Quincy Jones

“The Pedrito Martinez Group is writing a new chapter in Cuban music history” – NPR All Things Considered

Pedro Pablo “Pedrito” Martinez was born in Havana, Cuba, Sept. 12, 1973. Having settled in New York City in the fall of 1998, by 2000, he had been awarded the Thelonius Monk Award for Afro-Latin Hand Percussion.

Pedrito has recorded or performed with Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, and Sting and has contributed, as a percussionist and vocalist, to over 50 albums.

Pedrito’s career as a leader began in 2005 with the formation in New York City of The Pedrito Martinez Group. The group’s Grammy-nominated first album was released in October 2013 and was chosen among NPR’s Favorite Albums of 2013 and The Boston Globe's Critics Top Ten Albums of 2013.

Habana Dreams, PMG’s second album, was released in June 2016. Accolades for Habana Dreams include #1 Latin Jazz Album in NPR’s Jazz Critics Top Jazz Albums for 2016 and being named among the Boston Globe's World Music Albums for 2016.

Principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, Anthony McGill served as principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, with whom he has also appeared as soloist. Also at Carnegie Hall, he has appeared as a soloist with the American Symphony Orchestra and the New York String Orchestra. As a chamber musician, he has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, including appearances at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and the University of Chicago Presents, and festival appearances at Tanglewood, Marlboro, Mainly Mozart and Santa Fe. He has collaborated with Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Gil Shaham, Midori, Mitsuko Uchida and Lang Lang, and on Jan. 20, 2009, performed with Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and Gabriela Montero at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. He has appeared on “Performance Today,” Minnesota Public Radio’s “St. Paul Sunday Morning” and “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” In 2013, with his brother Demarre, he appeared on “NBC Nightly News,” the “Steve Harvey Show” and on MSNBC with Melissa Harris-Perry.

Winner of a 2003 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Demarre McGill has performed concertos with the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Baltimore Symphony and Milwaukee Symphony, among others. He is currently principal flutist of the Seattle Symphony, and has held the same position with the San Diego Symphony, the Florida Orchestra and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. An active chamber musician, he is a member of the Florida-based Ritz Chamber Players and has been a member of Chamber Music Society Two, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s program for emerging young artists. He has been featured on a PBS “Live From Lincoln Center” broadcast and has participated in the Music from Angel Fire, Santa Fe, Kingston, Cape Cod, Music@Menlo, Bay Chamber Concerts, Mainly Mozart, La Jolla and Marlboro music festivals and has performed on the Ravinia Festival’s “Rising Star” series and the A&E Network series “The Gifted Ones,” and was a special guest on “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” In addition to his performance schedule, he is the co-founder and artistic director of Art of Élan, a chamber music organization in San Diego that aims to expose new audiences to classical music.

Bob McGrath The College of Musical Arts hosted a three-day mini-residency by Bob McGrath of Sesame Street fame on Sept. 3–5, 2003.

Appearing for more than 30 years on Sesame Street, McGrath is one of the original hosts of the groundbreaking children’s show. He was recently inducted into the Silver Circle of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and is the recipient of the American Eagle Award by the National Music Council, as well as the Fame Award, presented by the National Association of Music Educators for furthering the cause of music education.

McGrath attended an invitation-only dinner co-sponsored by the College of Musical Arts and WBGU-PBS; met with students from the Arts Village, a University residential learning community; held an interactive presentation for approximately 400 first- and second-grade students from the Bowling Green City Schools; presided over storytelling at the Wood County Public Library, and spoke at the College of Musical Arts’ Fall Convocation.

Roomful of Teeth is a GRAMMY-winning vocal project dedicated to reimagining the expressive potential of the human voice. Through study with masters from vocal traditions the world over, the eight-voice ensemble continually expands its vocabulary of singing techniques and, through an ongoing commissioning process, forges a new repertoire without borders.

Craig Schulman, Singer and actor Craig Schulman, whose Broadway credits include Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and Jekyll & Hyde, visited BGSU for a mini-residency Oct. 4–5, 2004. A veteran of Broadway productions, national and international tours in such starring roles as Jean Valjean, the Phantom and Jekyll & Hyde, Schulman presented educational activities for high school and college students, as well as a live public performance. Schulman conducted master classes with BGSU voice and theater students, as well as worked with several talented high school students nominated by their teachers. He also spoke with students enrolled in an introductory opera class, sharing his experience in switching back and forth between the worlds of opera and musical theater.