Sweet Sounds Concert - WVU Parkersburg

WVU Parkersburg to host "Sweet Sounds in the Afternoon" featuring Pianists, Professors, and a President.

CONTACT: Rebecca Phillips, professor of English, 304-424-8282.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

West Virginia University at Parkersburg will host a concert Sunday, Nov. 20, entitled “Sweet Sounds in the Afternoon,” featuring local musicians, retired college faculty, and WVU Parkersburg President Marie Foster Gnage.

The 2 p.m. concert will take place in the college theatre, Room 1305, with a dessert reception to follow in Rooms 2536-38.

“Sweet Sounds in the Afternoon” is the first in a series of fundraising concerts for the WVU Parkersburg Bulgaria Project. The project grew out of a 2002 Fulbright Study Abroad Project between the college and the University of Rousse, Bulgaria. Funds raised will be used so Bulgarian faculty may travel to Parkersburg to strengthen ties between the two institutions.

The program will open with pianists David W. Nuss and Barbara Beittel performing pieces by Grieg and Bartok, among others. Mrs. Beittel holds a B.Sc. in music education and a master's in music. She has taught in the public schools of Pennsylvania and Ohio and has served on the faculties of the University of Toledo and Central State University and is Associate Professor Emerita at WVU-P, having retired in 1990. She has been piano soloist with the Cincinnati and Philadelphia Symphony Orchestras, among others.

Nuss holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Sioux Falls College in South Dakota. He studied composition at Indiana University with Bernhard Heiden, Thomas Beversdorf, and Juan Orrego-Salas. He has served as accompanist for the Marietta College Chorale and is currently organist at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Parkersburg.

The concert will also feature the Professors Trio, formed some years ago by three WVU-P professors: historian George Lamb, pianist; technology division chair Gene Barry, bassist; and humanities division chair Roger Allen, vocalist. All are now retired but have reconvened for this event. Claude Deegan, adjunct instructor of engineering, later joined the group as a drummer. The addition of President Gnage as a vocalist has led to the group’s current incarnation as “Four Profs and a Prez.”

Lamb is a jazz pianist and guitar maker. Barry performs with the Valley Renaissance Consort and the River Cities Orchestra. Allen is perhaps best known for his performance as Aaron Burr in “Eden on the River.” President Gnage delighted the campus community with a Christmas performance last year; this is her debut for the larger community. Joining them in this afternoon performance of light jazz and standards will be vocalist Laura Thrash, Allen’s daughter, who has sung in a number of local productions.

Tickets for the concert and reception are $15 each or two for $25 and are available in the WVU-P business office. They will also be available at the door. For more information, contact Rebecca Phillips, 304-424-8282 or Emily Lamb, 304-372-4426.

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For additional information, contact:
Connie Dziagwa
WVU Parkersburg
Executive Director
Institutional Advancement
304-424-8203