Art of Ages: Journey from Elizabethan England to Modern Jazz

Performance Night Photos
Thanks to all involved

Sally Hunter with Julie Beck on Puccini aria (photo by Des Penny)

MB3 Jazz Quartet

Southern Utah String Quartet

Sally Hunter Jensen and Julia Tawa

Julie Beck, Bill Brough, and Sally Hunter Jensen performed Purcell

Joceylnn Green performed a viola concerto movement with Julie Kluber

Purcell opened the recital

Dvorak finale of "American Quartet

Julia Tawa performed original music.

MB3 Jazz Quartet

Special Thanks to Lisa Cox, stage manager, and Frank Stearns, sound engineer, for technical work on recitals

Recital Finale is a Musical Journal on Tuesday

You are invited to the final Fall Recital with a journey through musical styles starting with Elizabethan England and culminating with modern jazz.  The “Art of the Ages” recital sponsored by Orchestra of Southern Utah starts at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Heritage Center Theater, 105 N. 100 East in Cedar City. 

Soprano Sally Hunter Jensen begins the evening with a famous aria by Henry Purcell accompanied by Julie Beck and Bill Brough. Jocelynn Green takes us to late Baroque and early Classical era with music by attributed Johann Christian Bach, son of Sebastian, but now understood to be written by a French composer named Henri Casadesus. She plays the exciting first movement in the style of late Baroque and early Classical eras accompanied by OSU musician Julie Kluber.

The Southern Utah Quartet plays the finale of Dvorak’s exuberant “American” String Quartet Opus 96 moving the recital into the Romantic era.  The grand opera melodies of Puccini are in the same musical period with a selection from La Boheme featuring a vocal/violin duet with Sally Hunter Jensen and Sara Penny accompanied by Julie Beck.

Folk inspired music is an essential part of our musical journey and Julia Tawa will share an original piece called Valkyrie with vocal and guitar.

The MB3 Jazz Quartet concludes the recital with favorites such as Doxy by Sonny Rollins and Round Midnight by Thelonius Monk plus an original by David Bolsover.

The OSU Fall recitals are in their 21^st year and give community musicians an opportunity to perform in a wide range of musical styles.  “We appreciate everyone who is involved with the recitals,” said Emily Hepworth, OSU manager. “Having a beautiful concert hall like the Heritage Theater and a professional staff gives performers a positive experience.  Everyone who has performed, attended, or assisted with the recital series is helping keep music strong for our area. We recommend this for families ages 6 and up as recitals are recorded.”  More information on the orchestra is at myosu.org and updates with photos and reviews are at http://osucedarcity.blogspot.com/

The Recital is Tuesday at 7:30 pm in the Heritage Theater. A suggested donation of $8 for adults and $5 for students is gladly accepted at the door, although any amount is welcome! Best for ages 6 and above with adult supervision as recital is recorded.

Jocelynn Green

Julia C Tawa 

Sally Hunter Jensen

Southern Utah String Quartet  

MB3 Jazz Quartet

Performer Bios:

Jocelynn Green is 17 years old and is attending her Senior year of Canyon View High School. She is in her eighth year of studying violin and is in her fifth year of studying viola. She started in St. George with the Dixie Strings and Kris Palmer, playing violin while doing choreography. Then she moved to Cedar City and learned in Suzuki Strings. She played in all four of the Canyon View Middle Orchestras, including the Honor’s Orchestra. This is where she started learning viola, and is currently studying viola with Sara Penny. She is also studying violin with Marin Colby. She is currently playing in the Canyon View High School Philharmonic as viola section leader, along with three of Canyon View High School Choirs, including Madrigals. She has been a part of the Orchestra of Southern Utah for a year and a half. She has gone to State Solo and Ensemble every year of High School and has received the highest rating each time. She competes in the annual Music Festival each year and has received Superior ratings every year. She has just recently started instructing students in the Suzuki method. Music is Jocelynn’s passion and she plans to continue pursuing it for the rest of her life.

Her pianist is Julie Kluber who plays bassoon for OSU.

MB3 Jazz Quartet

 David Bolsover plays sax, writes tunes, and leads the group. Christian Bohnenstengel plays keyboard; he is also the piano professor at SUU. Last spring, Christian played a Rachmaninoff concerto with the Orchestra of Southern Utah. Lydia Feild plays drums. She is also a pianist and percussionist, and works as a staff piano accompanist in the SUU Music Department. Trekker Burt plays electric bass; he is a student at SUU and plays in several bands in the Cedar City area. The group plays bebop, standards, funk, ballads, blues, and Afro-Cuban styles.

(David Bolsover on sax, Christian Bohnenstengel on keyboard, Trekker Burt on bass, and Lydia Feild on drums.) 

The Southern Utah String Quartet has provided community music for 25 years.  Lindsay Szczesny joins the group this season as first violin.  Other members are Suzanne Stewart on violin, Leah Brown on cello, and Sara Penny on viola.  All are active string teachers.  Lindsay is returning to Cedar City after living in Texas and completing her music degree from Utah State.  The other three perform with the Orchestra of Southern Utah.  Their recital selection is the exuberant finale of Dvorak's "American Quartet" that was written when the Czech composer was spending a summer in Iowa in 1894. 

Sally Hunter Jensen, proud Cedar City native, business owner or The Wizz, a retail store, and graduate student, currently in the Southern Utah University Arts Administration program, finds it absolutely necessary to find time to perform and chair the OSU fall concerts and has been involved as a performer for many years. This is her 4th year as concert chair and is co-chairing with Sara Penny, past president of OSU for the evening of September 26th.

Jensen will tell you that performing is her most favorite sport. “Some people jump out of airplanes and challenge themselves physically and some of us perform, which is the same kind of challenge, but emotionally,” claims Jensen.

This year she is revisiting her operatic roots and will be singing two very different and recognizable pieces, “When I am Laid in Earth” by Henry Purcell and “Quando m’en Vo” by Giacomo Puccini. Jensen’s musical and theatrical background is varied, but her time spent on the stage in operas, has been substantial. In fact, she sang the role of Musetta when SUU last performed “La Boheme.” She has worked with the Shakespeare Festival, Neil Simon Festival as an actor and on stage in many other capacities throughout her career.

Jensen enjoys adding her own creative flair to her pieces and hopes that Purcell and Puccini would be pleased with the unusual arrangements of these two arias. Musical guests Bill Brough, Sara Penny and Julie Beck will be joining her in September.

Julia C Tawa has been what one might call a 'closet artist' for many years. She enjoys painting, collaging, writing short stories and poetry, dancing many different styles, singing and songwriting, and speaking with nature. She has been dancing since she was a toddler, and grew up in an environment surrounded by performers and entertainers. She began playing the guitar at the age of 13 and took some time to grow into her own style. She enjoys a rare method of improvisational performance where her art is not pre-planned and happens in the moment according to intuition and her environment. Julia brings with her a background of diverse cultures, which greatly influences her musical taste. She is often surprised by what comes out when she is on stage, and that is part of what makes her performances so enjoyable.