Arts, Etc.Music

Concert showcases classic American music

Alan Raines has resigned as assistant professor of music to take a job at Georgia State University next year. In his final days this semester, he will conduct two concerts, this Friday and Saturday at Chaffey High School and Santa Monica College, respectively. / photo by Miki Chishaki
Alan Raines has resigned as assistant professor of music to take a job at Georgia State University next year. In his final days this semester, he will conduct two concerts, this Friday and Saturday at Chaffey High School and Santa Monica College, respectively. / photo by Miki Chishaki

by Brice Nixon
Staff Writer

Grammy Award-winning vocalist William Warfield will be the headlining performer in “An American Music Celebration,” a spring concert which will be presented today and tomorrow by the University of La Verne Music Department, in conjunction with Santa Monica Community College.

The music of George Gershwin, Aaron Copland and Halsey Stevens, among others, will be performed, which will feature the singing of Warfield, who is coming from Chicago to take part in the concert.

“It’s a real honor and a privilege to have him here at La Verne,” said Assistant Professor of Music Alan Raines.

Warfield is a renowned baritone who has performed worldwide since the 40s and ’50s. He will be performing a piece that was written for him by Copland and which he first performed in 1951.

The music will be sang by 160 voices, comprised of La Verne’s Chorale and Choral Society, the Santa Monica College Concert Chorale and a full orchestra consisting mostly of University of Southern California students.

Dr. Raines will conduct the concert, which will also be marked by a performance of “Rhapsody in Blue” from Warfield and piano soloist Timothy Durkovic.

Dr. James Smith, a music professor at Santa Monica, will conduct one piece.

Another well-known piece to be performed is “The Lincoln Portrait.” Copland wrote the song, which includes lyrics from the Gettysburg Address.

Friday’s performance will be at Gardiner W. Spring Auditorium at Chaffey High School in Ontario beginning at 8 p.m.

The Saturday concert will take place at Beverly Hills High School and will also begin at 8 p.m.

Saturday’s concert will be Dr. Raines’ final performance for La Verne, as he will be a professor at Georgia State University next year.

“These two big concerts I’ve done these two years have been part of my contribution,” said Dr. Raines. “I’ve been very, very happy here at La Verne. I’m extremely happy here. My students have loved me, and I’ve loved them.

“I’ve felt nothing but support from the chair of the music department [Professor of Music Reed Gratz], from the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences [John Gingrich]. They’ve given me full reign. I’ve been able to come here and add what I want to it,” he said.

Dr. Raines cited personal reasons for his departure from ULV.

“The past year was, personally, an awful time in my life,” he said. “I feel like it’s the right time for me to leave Los Angeles and to move on to a new chapter in my life.”

Dr. Raines said he is happy with the progress he has made in the department and added that it will not be easy for him to leave.

“I leave encouraged about this university and about the music department and about Reed and about the students,” he said. “In fact, I’m terribly sad to leave.”

The concert will also be the penultimate performance in the department’s Spring Concert Series, which concludes with senior Sergio Velazquez’s senior recital.

Velazquez’s performance will also be Saturday at 8 p.m. at La Verne’s Dailey Theatre.

Tickets for “An American Music Celebration” are $10 for general admission and $5 for non-ULV students and is free for La Verne students. For tickets and information, call (909) 392-2740 or ext. 4917.

Brice Nixon
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Miki Chishaki
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