For immediate useNov. 3, 1997 -- No. 814

Clarinetist and pianist headline third Newman Series concert

By ERIC MAY
UNC-CH News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- Clarinetist Donald Oehler will be joined in concert by acclaimed chamber musician and pianist Benjamin Rawitz on Nov. 15 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The performance, the second concert in the William S. Newman Artist Series, will begin at 8 p.m. in Hill Hall Auditorium and feature works by 19th- and 20th-century composers Bernstein, Bassi, Mason and Burgmuller.

Oehler, professor of music at UNC-CH, has worked as a soloist, chamber musician, conductor and educator. He is founder and director of the University Chamber Players, past director of the UNC-CH New Music Ensemble and a founding member of Qu'Appelle Winds, a Canadian-U.S. wind octet. As director of the UNC-CH Summer Study Abroad course in chamber music, he serves on the faculty of the Cours International de Musique in Morges, Switzerland.

A graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, Oehler performs regularly with the St. Steven's Chamber Orchestra, the Mallarmé Chamber Players and the Carolina Wind Quintet. In addition, he has appeared with the North Carolina Symphony, the Haydn and Handel Society of Boston and Ensemble Courant, UNC-CH's acclaimed baroque ensemble. Oehler recently performed the world premiere of Peter Lieuwen's “Trip for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano” in Aberystwyth, Wales, and the U.S. premiere of Peter Maxwell Davie's “Sonata for Clarinet and Piano” at Clarfest in Tallahassee, Fla.

Rawitz has been said to have an affinity for the styles of an unusually large number of composers. He has received numerous honors including the Albeniz Prize at the Maria Calas competition in Barcelona and the European Broadcasting Prize for his performance of Shostakovich in Bratislava. His recording of Schubert Sonatinas with violinist Janos Maté has gained critical acclaim, and his performance of Chopin's B minor sonata was broadcast on Austrian radio.

Rawitz is a graduate of the Rubin Academy at the Tel-Aviv University, the Royal Conservatorium in Brussels and the Conservatorium in Geneva. He is a faculty member at the Royal Flemish Conservatorium and teaches piano and chamber music at the University of North Carolina Workshop in Chapel Hill and at the International Music Course in Morges, Switzerland. In addition, Rawitz regularly appears in the Flanders Festival, the Festa Musica Pro Mundo Uno in Assisi, the Festival of Ljubljana and MusicFest in Aberystwyth, Wales.

The Newman Artist Series honors Dr. William S. Newman of Chapel Hill, Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus of music at Carolina. Newman devoted his professional life to music as a historian, performing artist and teacher. He is an internationally recognized musicologist.

Admission to the concert is $12, or $10 for senior citizens and $5 for students. For tickets or more information, call 919-962-1039. Tickets will also be available at the door the night of the performance.

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(May is a senior journalism and mass communication major from Denver, Colo.)

Note: Concert organizer David Arons can be reached at 942-2660.

News Services contact: Laura J. Toler