Contact: Margaret Kovar
STARKVILLE, Miss.--World-class trombonist Abbie Conant and composer William Osborne will visit Mississippi State University April 1-2.
During their visit, husband and wife Osborne and Conant will give lectures, recitals and work with students.
All events are free and open to the public:
Monday [April 1]
- Brass master class with Conant at 10 a.m. in the Band and Choral Rehearsal Hall.
- Conant's recital "Music for the End of Time" at 7:30 p.m. in the McComas Hall Auditorium.
Tuesday [April 2]
- "21 Questions for Young Performers" talk by Conant and Osborne for MSU music majors at 11 a.m. in Music Building C.
- Coaching with the MSU Trombone Troupe at 2 p.m. in the Band Choral and Rehearsal Hall.
- "The Status of Women in European Orchestras" Gender Studies Lecture by Conant in conjunction with MSU Unity Week at 3:30 p.m. in Colvard Student Union 328.
Conant has spent a major part of her career working toward gender equality in European orchestras, and she and Osborne have researched and travelled the world addressing these issues. Conant received her bachelor's degree in 1977 from Temple University, where she studied with Dee Stewart of the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1979, she received her master's degree from the Juilliard School in New York City. The trombonist performs internationally as a concerto soloist, recitalist and performance artist, including appearances with the Hessische Rundfunk Symphonie Orchester, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic and the St. Joseph's Symphony. Her work as a performance artist has taken her to most of the large state theaters in Germany, where she has performed to great critical and public acclaim.
Osborne has received two awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and a doctoral fellowship to Columbia University. He has written numerous scholarly articles about women in music, music sociology and philosophical/theoretical concepts. His article "You Sound Like A Ladies' Orchestra: A Case History of Sexism Against Abbie Conant In the Munich Philharmonic" has won a "Best of the Web" award and led to a 90-minute documentary film about Conant's experiences broadcast nationally on German State Television. His article "Art Is Just An Excuse: Gender Bias In International Orchestras" was published in the Journal of the International Alliance for Women In Music, where it initiated worldwide press coverage and protests against the Vienna Philharmonic.
The events are made possible by the Department of Music, College of Education, gender studies program and the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center at MSU.
For more information, contact Richard Human Jr. at 662-325-8021.