Cameron University’s Lucas Kaspar, Assistant Professor of Music, will present his debut faculty recital since joining the CU faculty on Saturday, March 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the University Theatre. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $8 for senior citizens, K-12 students and members of the military. Cameron students, faculty and staff are admitted free with valid ID. Due to COVID-19 precautions, seating is limited. To ensure a seat, please call 581-2346.
Kaspar, who holds a doctorate in trombone performance, will present several contemporary selections on the bass trombone. He will be joined harpist Chelsea Bushong, vocalist Sandy Greene, and saxophonist J.D. Little.
The recital will open with “Capriccio,” composed by Krzysztof Penderecki in 1980. Although composed for solo tuba, Kaspar will perform an arrangement for bass trombone.
“The piece utilizes the extreme registers of the bass trombone and includes many large leaps and fast passages,” Kaspar says.
“Capriccio” will be followed by “Alien Loop de Loops,” composed by Howard Buss for solo trombone and electronic recording in 2015. Kaspar explains that the electronic recording includes a combination of traditional instruments and electric effects, and is intended to emulate the sounds one may hear at an Alien Aircraft Show.
“When I heard ‘Alien Loop de Loops,’ I was immediately drawn towards the accompaniment track which uses a combination of electronic sound effects and traditional instruments,” Kaspar says. “There are times during the composition when the trombonist is required to produce alien space-craft sound effects by turning the mouthpiece upside down while hissing and blowing through the instrument.”
He promises that the style of “Alien Loop de Loops” is very different from anything else he’ll be performing during the recital.
Kaspar will be joined by vocalist Sandy Greene for “Galgenlieder,” a 1992 composition by Jan Koetsier.
“I discovered ‘Galgenlieder;’ when I was writing my doctoral dissertation, “The Bass Trombonist's Guide to the Tuba Repertoire,” Kaspar says. “I fell in love with the strange text and tonal ambiguity that Koetsier used.
J.D. Little will join Kaspar on saxophone for “Duo for Alto Saxophone and Bass Trombone, composed in 2011 but unknown to Kaspar until Fall 2020.
“I have always enjoyed the combined tone colors of the bass trombone and saxophone,” he says. “Cameron University's Dr. J.D. Little is a great saxophonist, so I wanted to find a piece that would feature his talent, while also enriching and challenging both of us in a chamber setting.”
.
To close the recital, Kaspar will be joined by harpist Chelsea Bushong for “Zoom”. The piece was composed by Howard Buss in 2001 specifically for bass trombone and harp after zooming in on the coastline of the Netherlands with a satellite camera.
“I last performed ‘Zoom’ during my master’s recital in 2012 and have been eagerly waiting for another opportunity to perform the piece. When I first heard ‘Zoom’ in 2001, I was intrigued by the technically challenging low register Buss employed for the bass trombone and the atypical aggressive harp playing.”
Kaspar is an assistant professor of low brass and concert band. He earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from The Ohio State University in 2018 and a Master of Music degree from The University of Alabama in 2013.
###
PR#21-011
