SFA School of Music to present ‘Well-Tempered Keyboards’

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS – The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will present “Well-Tempered Keyboards,” a collaborative project for piano and keyboard percussion featuring percussionist Robert Crutchfield and pianist Dr. Maria Guénette. The performance will be at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

“‘Well-Tempered Keyboards’ is about the joining of two keyboard instruments that creates a unique blend of sound possibilities,” said Scott Harris, associate professor of percussion and interim director of the School of Music at SFA. “This duo is committed to exploring established works, as well as promoting new works for this genre that appeals to a larger audience.”

WTK has given concerts and premiered several Japanese works in the United States and Canada. In addition, the duo is pursuing short-term educational residencies and has given master classes.

Guénette made her musical debut at 14 with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. Since then, she has appeared in numerous solo and collaborative performances in Canada, the U.S., Japan and Austria, including appearances on public radio stations. She is also keyboardist for the East Texas Symphony Orchestra and serves as an accompanist/vocal coach in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Texas at Tyler and an examiner for The Royal Conservatory of Music Examinations and The Carnegie Hall Royal Conservatory Achievement Program.

Crutchfield is percussion instructor at the University of Texas at Tyler and Trinity Valley Community College. He teaches percussion lessons at area middle schools and high schools in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He also plays in the percussion section with the Longview Symphony and the Shreveport Symphony.

“It is a pleasure to have Robert Crutchfield and Maria Guénette on campus for this event,” Harris said. “It’s very exciting for the SFA percussion students and faculty to hear new compositions for marimba and piano.

“Surprisingly, this instrument combination is not as common as with other orchestral instruments,” he said. “The marimba is typically a solo and/or chamber music instrument, so I personally look forward to the colorful combinations of the piano and marimba.”

The performance is free. For more information, call (936) 468-4602.