Sight and sound meet in original Beall Hall concert

Uniting sound and sight in innovative ways, the School of Music and Dance will present a music recital amid an original art installation on the stage of Beall Concert Hall on Nov. 13.

“Mortal Sphere” will feature recognized soprano and UO faculty member Laura Decher Wayte and her musical collaborators, pianist Nathalie Fortin and saxophonist Idit Shner, with an original art installation and a small gallery exhibition by local mixed-media artist Lillian Almeida.

 The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are available at the door or in advance from the UO Ticket Office, 541-346-4363. General admission is $10; $8 for students and seniors.

 Musical selections will include Samuel Barber's “Knoxville: Summer of 1915,” Ellwood Derr’s musical adaptation of “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” and Ralph Vaughn Williams’ “Blake Songs.”

 “‘Mortal Sphere’ is an open exploration of childrearing and family, filtered through the prism of my own German-American cultural heritage,” Wayte explained. “My father was born in Nazi Germany — a violent, genocidal country — so he is grateful to have raised his own children here in the U.S., in an open, democratic nation.”

Large, hanging wire sculptures constructed by Almeida will set the scene and the mood for an original marriage of sound and sight. Almeida’s paintings will be on exhibit in the lobby following the recital.

For the complete story, see “Wayte Recital to Explore War, Migration” on the School of Music and Dance website.