The Susan Allen Tribute Concert at CalArts will celebrate the musical legacy of the beloved alumna and faculty member of the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts, Susan “Susie” Allen. A renowned harpist, Allen’s musical talents and passion for education touched a generation of students, peers and audiences around the world. The range of performers honoring her memory demonstrate the depth of her cultural engagement: they include current CalArts harp students and acclaimed alumni, current and former faculty and a youth group from CalArts Community Arts Partnership for which Allen served as a teacher and mentor.
Allen spent her career championing new and contemporary music for the harp. “She was a consummate musician, a supremely accomplished harpist, and a musical scholar,” said Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts Dean David Rosenboom. “Her long engagement with the Institute and our School began in the 1970s during her student days. She continued, after some time away, as a faculty member, Associate Dean, member of the original 20th Century Players—later renamed The New Century Players—and Coordinator of our Musical Arts Program. Susie will remain a CalArts legend.”
Among the featured tribute concert performers are stellar CalArts alumni harpists Mia Theodoratus and Carolyn Sykes, and mezzo-soprano Kimball Wheeler. They will be joined by pianist and former faculty member Bryan Pezzone. The concert will include works by John Cage, former CalArts faculty John Bergamo, alumnus William Hawley, and founding Dean of the CalArts School of Music Mel Powell. In honor of Allen’s distinguished international career as a master improviser, faculty member Vinny Golia will direct a series of improvisations, including one for multiple harps.
Released in April 2015, Allen’s most recent solo album is Postcard from Heaven. MusicWeb International praised her placing of “the timeless tones of the harp firmly into the world of 20th and 21st century music”and called the album “a fascinating step into the unusual, with the 'antique' sound of the harp meeting musical minds of our times.” Postcard from Heaven can be ordered or downloaded from New World Records.
Allen’s friends and family have established the Susie Allen Scholarship at CalArts to provide annual tuition support for deserving students in the Herb Alpert School of Music. Gifts to the Susie Allen Scholarship Endowment are tax-deductible and will enable exceptional music students to pursue their studies and expand their musical talents. Contributions can be made online at https://calarts.edu/support/special-giving/endowment or through the CalArts’ Office of Advancement 661 253-7728.
Calendar Editors Please Note:
What:
The Susan Allen Tribute Concert at CalArts will celebrate the musical legacy of the beloved alumna and faculty member of the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts Susan “Susie” Allen.
When:
Saturday, February 20, 2016 at 2 pm
Where:
CalArts, Roy O. Disney Hall
24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355-2340
Click here for directions
Tickets:
Admission is FREE
For information call 661 222-2778.