A birthday party for Beethoven and a celebration of Valley composers is one highlight of the 2021-2022 Pacific Artist Series at Fresno Pacific University. The signature music series returns in-person after a year on hiatus due to the pandemic.
The first concert features Walter Saul, D.M.A., emeritus music at FPU, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Saul, a pianist and composer, will also perform selections by himself and fellow area composers Kenneth Froelich, John S. Hord and James A. Abbate. Saul taught composition, theory and piano at FPU for 17 years and created the Pacific Artist Series. Froelich is associate professor of music at Fresno State, Hord is a longtime member of the Fresno City College faculty and Abbate is a graduate student at FPU, luthier and business executive.
The music begins at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 26, in McDonald Hall Atrium on the main FPU campus, 1717 S. Chestnut Ave., Fresno. Admission is $15 for general audiences, $10 for seniors and $5 for the FPU community. Tickets may be purchased at the door, but advance reservations are requested (to aid social distancing) at eventbrite.com/e/pacific-artist-series-walter-saul-piano-recital-tickets-169342384631. More information at music@fresno.edu or 559-453-2267.
A weekend of early music is featured on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 22 and 23, 2022, with a masterclass, concert, lecture-demonstration and hymn sing. The featured performers are Andrus Madsen, harpsichord; Pehl Evans, Ph.D., traverso; and FPU choirs.
The master class will be at 1 p.m. and the concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and the lecture-demonstration and hymn sing will be at 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $15 for general audiences, $10 for seniors and $5 for the FPU community, payable at the door. All events will be in Butler Church, 4884, E. Butler Ave., Fresno. More information at music@fresno.edu or 559-453-2267.
The PAS welcomes the Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers (CFAMC) Conference Friday and Saturday, March 25 and 26, 2022. FPU choirs will be featured in concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, led by Jeffrey Wilson, D.M.A., music program director and director of choir activities at FPU. A chamber music concert featuring selections by CFAMC composers will be at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Both events are in Butler Church, 4884 E. Butler Ave., Fresno. Friday’s choir concert features a reduced admission price of $7 for general audiences, $5 for seniors and $3 for the FPU community. Tickets for Saturday’s performance will be $15 for general audiences, $10 for seniors and $5 for the FPU community. Payable at the door. More information at music@fresno.edu or 559-453-2267.
Fresno Pacific University is the only accredited Christian university founded in the Central Valley. FPU offers undergraduate, graduate and seminary programs that stress solid academic preparation and a strong ethical foundation to about 4,000 traditional and adult students on the main campus in southeast Fresno and regional campuses in North Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield and Merced as well as online. The university also reaches about 8,000 students through professional development studies. FPU has the highest four-year graduation rate of any Central Valley college or university, is a Hispanic Serving Institution, with a Hispanic student population of 47 percent. FPU is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and ranked in the top tier among western universities—master’s category by U.S. News & World Report.
