Entertainment
Westport Arts Center presents world premiere by composer Joel Puckett
By Westport Arts Center
Jul 18, 2008 - 1:10:53 AM

Antares

Westport Arts Center will present a concert by Antares, featuring a world premiere by composer Joel Puckett on Friday, August 15, as the final concert of WAC’s Composers Project and South Shore Summer Music Series, of concerts and conversations. Comprised of four virtuoso instrumentalists, Antares draws from a vast and colorful repertoire for clarinet, violin, cello and piano.

The Composers Project continues the tradition of South Shore Music, the notable summer music series with a 75-year history. Since last year, South Shore and the Westport Arts Center have joined forces to present year-round chamber music with an array of world-class artists, ensembles and composers of all eras.

The program begins at 7:30 p.m. with a pre-concert talk followed by the concert at 8 p.m., at Westport Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport. Tickets are $35; student tickets (under 18) with valid ID are $5.

The 2008 Composers Project artists-in-residence are the four members of Antares, who have curated this series and, in addition to playing two concerts in the series, will be on hand to conduct the pre-concert talk with the featured composer.

Hailed by The Chicago Tribune as "powerful," "striking" and "razor-sharp," Antares' high-energy performance style and remarkable ensemble dynamic led to the quartet's selection as first prize winner of the 2002 Concert Artists Guild International Competition and two ASCAP/CMA Awards for adventurous programming in 1999 and 2004. In addition to Antares’ release “Eclipse,” featuring six captivating new works, the ensemble has also recorded Ned Rorem's “The End of Summer,” and Fred Lerdahl's “Marches.” Named after the brightest star in the Scorpius constellation, and one of the most luminous stars in the nighttime sky, Antares identifies its artistic mission with Scorpius' essence of change, rebirth, and bringing new life to old forms.

Born in 1977 on the south side of Atlanta, composer Joel Puckett is the son of a Dixieland jazz musician and a classical tubist. Formerly a cantor at St. John's Episcopal Church in Detroit, he has also been an active performer of both contemporary and cabaret works. He is a member of “the original skin percussion project,” which serves to promote the creation and performances of new works for percussion. Since 2004, Puckett has served on the faculty of Towson University and currently serves on the graduate faculty at Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA. The recent past has brought the premiere of two song cycles and several awards including a BMI Award, and a grant from the department of humanities and a Rackham Dissertation Grant from the University of Michigan, where he recently completed his D.M.A.

The Westport Arts Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating arts experiences that contribute to individual growth and enrich the community. The Westport Arts Center is supported with funds from The Artur and Heida Hermanns Holde Foundation, Inc., Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, National Endowment for the Arts, Connecticut Light & Power, Fairfield County Bank, Gault, Inc., Main Street Resources, U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, and Westport Resources.

For information and tickets, contact Westport Arts Center at 203-222-7070, purchase online at www.westportartscenter.org, or visit the gallery, M-F, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sat. and Sun. from 12 noon to 4 p.m., at 51 Riverside Avenue, Westport.

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