Ars Vitalis at Kean University Presents the Music of Lowell Liebermann, February 21 at Enlow Hall

Liebermann, who resides in Weehawken, is one of America’s most frequently performed and recorded living composers

UNION, N.J. ­–– Ars Vitalis: The New Jersey New Music Forum at Kean University will present an evening of compositions by Lowell Liebermann. This will be Liebermann’s third appearance on the series, and the first Ars Vitalis program devoted entirely to his music. The concert takes place on Thursday, February 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Kean University’s Enlow Recital Hall. There is no charge for admission.

“Lowell’s music is a remarkable confluence of exquisite craftsmanship and aesthetic depth—musicians delight in it and audiences are moved by it," said Matthew Halper, DMA, artistic director and professor of music composition at Kean. "We are very excited to bring Lowell Liebermann to our campus once again.”

Performing artists include Kean University Concert Artist Lisa Hansen (flute) and several prominent alumni from the Mannes School of Music, where Liebermann is head of the composition department, including Natalie Xia (violin), Sarah Schoeffler (cello), Baron Fenwick (piano), and Radosława Jasik (piano).

Full program information:

Sonata No.1 for Violoncello and Piano, Op.3 (1978)
Soliloquy for flute solo, Op.44 (1993)
Piano Sonata No.3 for piano solo, Op. 82 (2002)
Trio No.3 for violin, cello and piano, Op.122 (2012)
Gargoyles, Op.29 (1989) piano solo
Sonata for Flute and Piano, Op.23 (1987)

Ars Vitalis is an arts initiative developed by Kean University Music Conservatory faculty that showcases the works of prominent New Jersey area composers.

Eugene and Shelley Enlow Recital Hall at Kean University's East Campus
215 North Avenue in Hillside, NJ
(908) 737-7469
Visit http://www.keanstage.com

Photo caption: Ars Vitalis: The New Jersey New Music Forum at Kean University will present an evening of compositions by Lowell Liebermann on Thursday, February 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Enlow Recital Hall. Photo credit Joseph Moran.

About Kean University
Founded in 1855, Kean University is of the largest metropolitan institutions of higher education in the region, with a richly diverse student, faculty and staff population. Kean continues to play a key role in the training of teachers and is a hub of educational, technological and cultural enrichment serving nearly 15,000 students. The University’s five undergraduate colleges offer more than 50 undergraduate degrees over a full range of academic subjects. The Nathan Weiss Graduate College offers six doctoral degree programs and more than 60 options for graduate study leading to master’s degrees, professional diplomas or certifications. With campuses in Union and Toms River, New Jersey, and Wenzhou, China, Kean University furthers its mission by providing an affordable and accessible world-class education. Visit www.kean.edu.

About Ars Vitalis
Ars Vitalis is an arts initiative at Kean University that showcases the works of prominent New Jersey area composers. Ars Vitalis introduces audiences to the allure, the drama and impact of the living art of contemporary music composition. In its 20-year history, Ars Vitalis has hosted or showcased over 40 prominent composers including Pulitzer-Prize, Grammy and Oscar-winning figures such as John Corigliano, Paul Moravec, George Walker, Jennifer Higdon, Aaron Jay Kernis, Robert Aldridge, Melinda Wagner and more.

About Lowell Liebermann
Lowell Liebermann is one of America's most frequently performed and recorded living composers. He has written over one hundred thirty works in all genres, several of which have gone on to become standard repertoire for their instruments, such as his Sonata for Flute and Piano and Gargoyles for piano, each of which have been recorded over twenty times on CD.

He has been commissioned by a wide array of ensembles and instrumentalists, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Emerson Quartet and flutist Sir James Galway. His full-length ballet Frankenstein was co-commissioned by London’s Royal Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet and has been released on Blu-Ray and DVD. Mr. Liebermann has written two full-length operas, both enthusiastically received at their premieres: The Picture of Dorian Gray, the first American opera commissioned and premiered by l’Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and Miss Lonelyhearts, after the novel by Nathanael West, commissioned by the Juilliard School to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Mr. Liebermann served as Composer-in-Residence for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for four years, a role he also pursued with the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan; the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and many other organizations. He joined the composition faculty of Mannes School of Music of the New School in 2012, where he founded the Mannes American Composers Ensemble, devoted to performing works of living American composers. He was appointed head of Mannes’s Composition Department the following year.

Among his many awards are a Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, awards from ASCAP and BMI and a Grammy nomination. He was the first winner of the Van Cliburn Invitational Composers Competition, and in 2014 became the inaugural recipient of the Virgil Thomson Award for vocal composition.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 31, 2019

Press Contact for Lowell Liebermann
Caroline Heaney/Bucklesweet
(301) 318-1926
caroline@bucklesweet.com