Tagged: American Music

On this edition of ST, we welcome back Machele Miller Dill, an assistant professor of musical theatre here at the University of Tulsa. Dill is directing "Spring Awakening," which the TU Department of Theatre will present in the Lorton Performance Center (here on the TU campus) from tomorrow night (the 11th) through Sunday afternoon (the 14th).

On this installment on ST, we are pleased to welcome the classical-music husband-and-wife team of violinist Dylana Jenson and conductor-cellist David Lockington. Both will appear as special guests tomorrow night (Saturday the 6th) at the Tulsa PAC's Chapman Music Hall at 7:30pm, which is where and when the Tulsa Symphony will present its final "classics concert" of the current season; Jenson will be the Guest Soloist and Lockington, the Guest Conductor.

On this edition of ST, we welcome the poet/playwright/actress/musician Lenelle Moise as well as the actress/singer/songwriter Karla Mosley, who comprise the dynamic and diversely talented duo behind "Expatriate," a two-act, two-woman drama-meets-music performance piece that was presented Off-Broadway to glowing reviews in 2008, and that will soon be offered here in Tulsa by the Living Arts Gallery as part of that organization's New Genre XX Festival.

On February 23rd, March 1st, and March 3rd, Tulsa Opera will present Frank Loesser's masterful "Broadway opera" --- as some have called it --- "The Most Happy Fella," with all three performances happening at the Tulsa PAC. A classic American musical that dates back to the middle 1950s, "The Most Happy Fella" is the show that gave us the beloved pop tunes "Standing on the Corner" and "Big D." Our guest on StudioTulsa is the internationally renowned baritone --- and current associate professor of voice at the University of Oklahoma --- Kim Josephson, who stars in this production.

The Tulsa Youth Symphony, now comprised of more than 150 middle-school and high-school musicians from throughout Northeastern Oklahoma, will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. For more than 40 of those years, our guest on ST has been at the helm of this outstanding local arts organization; in fact, just last month, Ron Wheeler --- who's been the CEO and conductor of the Tulsa Youth Symphony since 1972, and who's also a violinist with the Tulsa Symphony --- was given the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Music Educators Association.

When Bruce Sorrell was starting his tenure, about a year ago, as Executive Director of Chamber Music Tulsa, someone told him that this outstanding organization --- which will turn 60 next year, and which has been bringing world-class music ensembles to our community for decades --- was "one of Tulsa's best-kept secrets." As he tells us on this edition of ST, Sorrell wants to change this.

On today's ST, we're spinning a seriously tasty variety --- a gumbo, in fact --- of great Mardi Gras music with Denis McGilvray, a local music blogger and longtime New Orleans music enthusiast.