Peter B. Lewis, bass (and Colleagues) - Faculty Recital

Pealer Recital Hall, PAC

PETER B. LEWIS (AND COLLEAGUES) TO PRESENT FACULTY ARTIST SERIES RECITAL

FSU Department of Music Faculty Artist Series presents Peter B. Lewis (string bass), joined by Music colleagues (both faculty and student) in recital on Sunday, April 20, at 7:00 p.m. in the Pealer Recital Hall of FSU’s Woodward D. Pealer Performing Arts Center. The concert is free and open to the public; it will also be livestreamed, click the red “Join Stream” button on this page to view the live performance.

The program will open with Peter performing solo bass works, including: "Glimmer" by Shruthi Rajesekar; "Come Together" by Lennon/McCartney, arranged by Brian Bromberg and Peter Lewis; and "Caritas" by Michael J. Burritt. Also in the first half of the program he will be joined by Dr. Mackenzie Jacob LaMont on marimba to perform "Catching Shadows" by Ivan Trevino.

Jazz is in the line up for the final half of the program as Peter is joined by jazz musicians Dr. Brent Weber (bari sax), Max Partlow (tenor sax), Gabe Hicks (alto sax), Patrick Godfrey and Sam White (trumpets), Tom Harrison (piano), Mackenzie Jacob LaMont (drums), and Mack Taylor (vocals) to perform "The Chicken" by Pee Wee Ellis; "My Foolish Heart" by Victor Young; and "What is Hip?" by Castillo, Kupka, Garabaldi (Tower of Power).

"Glimmer": glimmer is the possibility revealed in a sliver of light. Drawing from the rich Carnatic raga Kalyani, this piece is the experience of glimpsing infinity within even the smallest of movements.

"Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon/McCartney. The song is the opening track on the band's 1969 studio album Abbey Road. Lennon later referred to "Come Together" as "one of my favourite Beatles tracks. It's funky, it's bluesy, and I'm singing it pretty well."

"Caritas" by Michael Burritt is a 3-movement piece that employs a traditional harmonic language throughout. The 1st movement, Mystic, employs rapid double lateral and sequential sticking patterns that create a blurred effect while maintaining a strong rhythmic pulse. The 2nd movement, Solemn, is a chorale that employs one-handed, traditional, and double lateral rolls. The 3rd movement, Majestic, is a dance-like conclusion that has rapid arpeggiated figures in the left hand as well as octaves and sequential sticking patterns. In Spanish, “Caritas” means “little faces”, and in the spirit of the Spanish translation, the composition is dedicated to Michael Burritt’s children.

"Catching Shadows": award-winning composer Ivan Trevino's music has quickly become some of the most popular in the percussion repertoire. He has a unique voice that blends rock, alternative, metal, and other popular styles into classical percussion.

"The Chicken" is an instrumental funk tune composed by Pee Wee Ellis that was the B-side to James Brown's 1969 single "The Popcorn". The tune gained greater exposure with versions by jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius. Since then it has become a jazz funk standard, and has appeared on albums by Maceo Parker, The Buddy Rich Big Band, and Breakestra.

"My Foolish Heart", first published in 1949 but not gaining notoriety until 1962, has become a standard in the jazz repertoire. Lewis writes: "I really have never learned the lyrics, but for me, it is one of the most beautifully crafted melodies in the entire jazz canon. There is nothing overly complicated about the melody, it just has the right "je ne sais quoi".

"What is Hip?" from the album Tower of Power by the Oakland-based band of the same name, was written by band members Emilio Castillo and "Doc" Kupka. In a Songfacts interview Castillo said: "I would give most of the credit for that concept lyrically to Doc. He said he wanted write a song about being hip.... 'What I mean is being hip is so short lived. You can be hip by wearing your hair a certain way today and then in three months that style's gone and you're as unhip as you could possibly be. I want to write a song about that.' It's saying what's hip today might become passé." The group's drummer, Garabaldi, helped out with the rhythms. Castillo continued, "It was his idea to get Rocco to play those sixteenth notes on the bass.... He said 'We're going to push it one sixteenth in front of the one every time.' ...and that sort of prevailing thing throughout the tune is what made that song drive."

PETER B. LEWIS is the Director of Bands at Frostburg State University and conducts the Marching Bobcats, Chamber Orchestra, and Wind Ensemble, as well as teaches coursework in conducting and music education. Previously, he served as the Assistant Director of Bands at the SUNY Potsdam Crane School of Music. He holds dual bachelor's degrees in performance (percussion) and music education from Kent State University where he studied conducting with Wayne Gorder, and dual Masters of Music degrees in research in music education and wind conducting from UMass Amherst where he studied with Malcolm W. Rowell, Jr. He has additional study in conducting with Shanti Simon, Mark Davis Scatterday, Courtney Snyder, Craig Kirkhhoff, Michael Haithcock, Emily Thrienen, Col. Jason Fettig, and H. Robert Reynolds.

He is the founder of the chamber wind ensemble, Bay State Winds, and served as their artistic director and conductor from 2016 until 2022. As a champion of new music for winds and percussion he commissioned several new works for chamber winds including compositions by composers Robert Spittal (Winsome Variations - 2020) which premiered in Boston, and Jake Gunnar-Walsh (Tower of the Winds - 2018).

Peter has had the distinct privilege to share the stage with performers such as jazz piano legend Hank Jones, Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan, and Nexus Percussion Ensemble founding member Bob Becker. Many of his students have enjoyed successful careers in music including Sean Rosati, guitarist for pop music stars Ava Max and Doja Cat.

Dr. Mackenzie Jacob LaMont biography: https://www.frostburg.edu/academics/colleges-and-departments/music/faculty.php#LaMont.

For more information, contact FSU’s Department of Music at 301-687-4109.

Music, Performance, Recital