ISSUED: 28 February 2023
MEDIA CONTACT: Dana Costa
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — The Sylvan Waters Duo with bassist Raymond Irving and harpist Tula Ruggiero will perform the world premiere of “Strange Dances,” a commission funded by a grant from the American Harp Society and composed by Shepherd University alumnus Walker Williams, during the next Salon Series concert. The free concert, sponsored by Jefferson Security Bank and titled “Dances and Mirrors,” will take place Thursday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the Frank Arts Center C.W. Shipley Recital Hall. It will also feature a program of music old and new, including works by Claude Debussy, Florence Price, Astor Piazzolla, and Arvo Pärt.
Irving received his early training in his hometown, Chicago, where he was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. His first professional orchestral experience was with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, where he performed for three seasons. Irving came to Washington, D.C., as a member of The United States Army Field Band, the U.S. Army’s premier touring ensemble. Irving continues to be active as a teacher and freelance musician and is principal bassist for both the Apollo Orchestra and the Prince George’s Philharmonic.
Ruggiero is an adjunct professor of harp for Shepherd’s School of Music and on the faculty of Shepherd’s Community Music program. She is also a harp instructor at Berkeley Springs School of the Arts, a piano instructor at Berkeley Springs High School and Berkeley Springs Community Education, and maintains a private studio. Ruggiero performs regularly in concert with area orchestras, as a recital soloist, with the Healing Waters Ensemble, for religious services at area churches, and with cellist Kevin Uppercue as the duet Duo Chordae. She has performed with Sinfonia Gulf Coast, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and Florida State University Symphony Orchestra. She can be heard playing principal harp on the Naxos recording of Ernst von Dohnányi’s “Symphony No. 2/Two Songs.”
Williams is an eclectic composer from rural West Virginia, whose compositional style runs the gamut from conservative tonality to microtonal electronic music to avant-garde performance art. His compositions have been performed throughout Europe and North America, including the Alba International Music Festival and the Blackstad in Residence program. In 2018, Walker’s “Vandalia” for string orchestra was selected as a winner at the EAR, a classical music composition competition in New York City.
For more information about upcoming events, visit the Calendar of Concerts and Events webpage.
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