Introducing the Evening Express Concert Series

William Kanengiser

The College of Human Development, Culture, and Media, and the Seton Hall Classical Concert Series are excited to introduce the Evening Express concert mini-series. Concerts in this series will take place in the University Center theatre on Mondays from 5:30 -6:30 p.m., and light refreshments will be served before each performance starting at 4:45 p.m. This time allows members of the Seton Hall community to wind down and enjoy live music after work and still be home by dinner time.

The first performance in the Evening Express concert series will take place on Monday, February 10, and will feature Grammy-winning guitarist and New Jersey native, William Kanengiser. Kanengiser will perform pieces from his "Diaspora Project," which features music inspired by Spain, Africa, Tibet and the British Isles, along with a healthy helping of Jazz. The pieces in this project focus on issues related to migration and assimilation.

Kanengiser has been a member of the guitar faculty at the USC Thornton School of Music since 1983. There, he serves as chair of the Thornton Musician's Wellness Initiative, which offers health screenings, a lecture series and a Musician's Wellness course. Additionally, Kanengiser is a prolific arranger, who has created dozens of transcriptions for solo guitar and guitar quartet, and composed a number of works for four guitars. He is also a founding member of the internationally renowned Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.

Carmit Zori

The next concert in the Evening Express concert series will take place on Monday, April 14, and will feature the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society. The Brooklyn Chamber Music Society was founded in 2002 by violinist Carmit Zori and has become an important presenter of classical chamber music in the tri-state area. The Brooklyn Chamber Music Society performs regularly in the chapel of the First Unitarian Church in Brooklyn Heights, New York. The group, which was described as "top-tier artists" by the New York Times, has also performed in venues like the Brooklyn Public Library and the South Orange Performing Arts Center.

In the past, the Seton Hall Classical Concert Series held their performances at the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC). According to Associate Professor of Music and Director of the Classical Concert Series Dena Levine, D.M.A.,"SOPAC is a wonderful space and our evening concerts there have been very successful - but for a number of years I have wanted to bring some of our music events back to our campus home to encourage the participation of the Seton Hall community." Levine added that the Evening Express mini-series is especially exciting because it "brings top-flight performing musicians to our very own University Center theatre" at a time when "many members of our university community can stop by right after work before they head home for dinner." Additionally, she shared that she envisions the pre-concert reception as "a nice opportunity for people to gather and unwind from the workday before they head in for some beautiful music."

Admission to events in the Evening Express concert series is free, and tickets are not required.

Categories: Arts and Culture