'Music of Applebaum' highlights faculty concert

Contact: Maridith Geuder

Piano, guitar, saxophone and multi-media sights and sounds highlight a Sept. 10 faculty concert at Mississippi State.

The department of music education presents "The Music of Mark Applebaum, Performed by Mark Applebaum and Friends" at 7:30 p.m. in the McComas Hall theater. Tickets are $5 for general admission; $3 for faculty, staff and students.

Applebaum's solo, chamber, choral, orchestral, and electro-acoustic music has been performed throughout the United States, Japan and Europe, including the Young Nordic Music Festival in Sweden and the Festival Spaziomusica in Italy.

When not performing, the assistant professor builds and improvises with sound-sculptures made of junk, hardware and found objects mounted on electro-acoustic soundboards. "Mousetrap Music," a CD of his improvisations, has been released on the Innova label.

The Mississippi State concert will feature a performance of his composition, "Hymn," by the Sacrifice Quartet, including assistant professor Gail Levinsky, soprano saxophone; and students Josh Power of Beavercreek, Ohio, alto saxophone; James Bell of Seabrook, Texas, tenor saxophone; and Kevin Poe of Starkville, baritone saxophone.

Applebaum will present "S-tog," a sound sculpture that he premiered in 1991 in Denmark. He also will perform "Quadrivium B" on piano and "Untitled #1," composed when he was in high school, on guitar. He also will present "Dead White Males ReMix" for computer-generated sound and visual projection.

A final concert selection will be a short set for jazz combo, featuring Applebaum on piano, Scott Bauer of Mississippi University for Women on trumpet, London Branch of Jackson State University on contrabass, and MSU art major Chad Anderson of Starkville on drums.

Applebaum received his bachelor's degree from Carleton College and his master's and doctorate from the University of California at San Diego. He joined the MSU faculty last year.

For more information on the program, telephone (601) 325-3070.