“21st Century Wind and Wood"
This lecture recital features compositions for bassoon and viola by Philippe Hersant, Eberhard Eyser, and Ruth Matarasso. Wind and Wood explores the dynamic range and sonic possibilities of both instruments, highlights the collaborative process in making chamber music, creates an expanded appreciation of 21st century repertoire, and introduces new possibilities for recital programming with innovative and exciting compositions. Also to be unveiled, a world premiere written just for this occasion....
Franck Leblois is currently professor of bassoon and chamber music at the National Conservatory of Angoulême in France. He began playing bassoon at the age of seventeen with Robert Dalmasso in Tours. He continued his studies at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Lyon with Professor Jean-Pierre Laroque, winning first prize in 1993. That same year, he graduated with a superior in chamber music education. He perfected his studies through master classes with Pascal Gallois. In 1994, Leblois won second prize in the International Chamber Music competition of Illzach (France) and obtained his Professor Pedagogy Certificate (the higher French diploma).
Leblois has performed with the Tours Opera Orchestra, the Philidor Ensemble (a wind octet) and orchestras such as the National Orchestra of Bordeaux, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Morocco, and as a soloist with the Durango Symphony Orchestra (Mexico) and the Octava Orchestra (Seattle, Washington). He teaches at the Ameropa Festival in Prague, and is in high demand all over the world as a master class teacher and clinician, including the USA, Mexico, Japan, Romania, France and Morocco. He plays a 222 CL-Moosmann bassoon.
Violist Nancy Buck is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and the Cleveland Institute of Music, from which she earned undergraduate and graduate degrees, respectively. Currently, she is on the faculty at Arizona State University, where she teaches applied viola and coordinates the string chamber music program. Prior to joining the faculty at ASU, Ms. Buck taught at Bowling Green State University, where she served as the Assistant Chair for the Department of Music Performance Studies and was a member of the Bowling Green String Quartet and the Toledo Symphony.
In Arizona, Ms. Buck performs regularly with the Phoenix Symphony, the Arizona Bach Festival and the Arizona MusicFest Festival Orchestra. She has traveled the world as an artistic collaborator and teacher, touring the Czech Republic, France, Germany, and Italy. Ms. Buck is consistently acclaimed for her extraordinarily insightful studio teaching and is frequently cited for her outstanding musicianship skills in chamber music coaching. She has adjudicated for the Primrose International Viola Competition and the American String Teachers Association National Solo Competitions. In 2008, Ms. Buck served as Host Chair and Artistic Director of the 36th International Viola Congress.
