This fall, the Pomona College Department of Music’s free concert series will shine the spotlight on many musical innovators, including two renowned musicians who taught at Pomona College and inspired students for decades.
Faculty and students will present a musical tribute Nov. 1 to late emeritus faculty member and composer-in-residence Karl Kohn, who arrived on faculty at Pomona College in 1950 and continued to compose and perform into his late 90s. Jazz trumpeter Bobby Bradford, who taught at the College for 44 years and is still performing at age 91, will bring together longtime collaborators for a performance at Bridges Hall of Music on Sept. 26.
“This semester, our curriculum highlights several exceptional composers and performers of our time, including a few with very special ties to Pomona College,” says Joti Rockwell, chair of the music department.
Visiting artists this semester include Ghanaian singer-songwriter Okaidja Afroso, GRAMMY® Award-winning baritone Nmon Ford, and celebrated composer Lori Laitman.
Many of the department’s programs will feature faculty and friends in collaborations that celebrate innovators past and present. New music champions Cindy Fogg (viola) and Tom Flaherty (cello) continue an annual tradition known as “Celliola and Friends,” featuring Flaherty’s own works. A “Fête Musicale” offers solo piano works by Rachmaninoff, Mozart’s oboe quartet in F major and Valerie Coleman’s Tzigane for woodwind quintet. Bartók and Martinů bookend a program titled “Geometry and Folk Themes” that also includes works by Paul Ben-Haim and Bobby Ge.
Faculty artist Genevieve Feiwen Lee (piano) will present a solo recital showcasing music by Mary Ellen Childs, Debussy, Ives and others. Pianist Rosa Li and guest artist Warren Hagerty (cello) will offer a program following the lineage of three composers: Beethoven, Brahms and Clara Schumann.
In addition to these faculty and guest performances, the department’s student ensembles—the Pomona College Orchestra, Pomona College Choir, Pomona College Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Balinese Gamelan and West African Music Ensemble—will present concerts with music by Dvořák, Guilmant, Mahler, O’Regan, Saariaho and other composers from across the globe.
All the department’s concerts are free and open to the public.