School of Music Presents a Collage of Music

by Jaime Bates, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

Collage II will showcase the wide variety of talent of the Baylor University School of Music at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23, in Waco Hall on the Baylor campus.

The concert 's name was derived from its unique style of arrangement, which combines the performances of student orchestras, bands, choirs, small ensembles, and soloists into a "collage" - a single performance in rapid succession without transitions.

On Friday, Waco Hall will be transformed into multiple stages giving the audience the chance to turn from one performance to the next without pause, said Richard Veit, concert and promotions manager for the School of Music.

"This concert will be a great way to step back and look at the big picture," said Matthew J. Pool, a freshman organist who will perform "Litanies" by Jehan Alain on Friday. Pool has been working on the piece for more than a year and said he chose it because of the "indescribable feeling of joy, agony, meditation and triumph it evokes."

Another soloist who will perform Friday is Zachary Ridgway, a graduate student. He will play a piano piece by Franz Liszt, "St. Francis of Paola Walking on the Waves," which describes a medieval legend of St. Francis crossing a lake.

"The piece I am performing is pure magic. It is powerful, overwhelming and passionate, but suffused throughout with a sense of awe and reverence," Ridgway said.

The first Collage concert was held five years ago and performed to a sold-out crowd.

General admission tickets are $25. Proceeds will benefit students and programs in the Baylor University School of Music. For ticket details, call (254) 710-3571, or purchase tickets online at www.baylor.edu/music.

For more information, contact Richard Veit at (254) 710-3991.