MUSIC AND DANCE FACULTY COLLABORATE ON A SPECIAL LIVE PERFORMANCE

This January, faculty members from the Department of Music, which houses the new Dance Program, will come together for a special evening of music and dance as part of the Burlington Chamber Orchestra's 2009 - 10 season. Michael Hopkins, Associate Professor of Music, founded the Burlington Chamber Orchestra in 2007; the group has enjoyed very successful first and second seasons. As part of this year's third season, the BCO will present an evening of music and dance that will include new choreography by Paul Besaw (pictured above), Assistant Professor of Dance, and Clare Byrne, Lecturer in Dance.

After their first collaboration in 2007 on a work for dancers, double bass, and electronics, Hopkins and Besaw will once again collaborate on a world premiere. Hopkins' composition for orchestra and Besaw's choreography for four dancers, recently awarded a Vermont Arts Council Creation Grant, will be entitled "Now Winter Nights Enlarge." The evening will also feature the BCO's performance of Copland's original version of "Appalachian Spring" for 13 instruments, a work famously created for Martha Graham's choreography in the 1940s.

Byrne (pictured left) will create new choreography for seven dancers to this world - famous score.

This collaborative performance, featuring the best of professional Vermont musicians and dancers, promises to be a unique experience for audience and performers.

Performances are January 22 and 23, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. in the UVM Music Building Recital Hall. Tickets are $25 Adults, $20 Seniors (65+), $8 Students and children under 18 years old. For ticket information, please visit www.bcovt.org.