Composer Philip Glass at UPS on Feb 16th ( 8. January 2007, 15:16 by Derek Young) ~ A Legend Comes To Tacoma

Area music lovers have a rare opportunity to spend an evening with a musical legend on Friday, Feb. 16, when celebrated American composer Philip Glass gives a public performance and lecture at the University of Puget Sound campus. Often described as the greatest living composer, Glass will take the audience on a journey of his experiences through his multimedia presentation, Creating and Collaborating a Life in Music. The performance begins at 7 p.m. in Schneebeck Concert Hall. It is open to the public and admission is just $10. Tickets are required and advance purchase is recommended. Tickets may be purchased on campus or by calling 253.879.3419.

Since his breakthrough piece, Music in Twelve Parts in 1974, and his opera Einstein on the Beach in 1976-a five hour epic that is now seen as a landmark in 20th century musical theater-Glass has been called the most powerful composer of our time. Philip Glass continues to engage the imagination of the world with his compelling, fascinating, and sometimes challenging “minimalist” style.

Glass’ repertoire includes music for opera, dance, theater, chamber ensemble, orchestra, film-and hybrid works that do not seem to conform to any one particular genre. His film scores include Kundun, The Truman Show, and The Hours, which earned him Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Grammy nominations, along with a BAFTA award in Film Music from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

After decades in the music business, Glass shows no signs of slowing down. He continues to produce music for diverse audiences, including recent film scores for Errol Morris’ Academy Award-winning documentary The Fog of War, George Butler’s Roving Mars IMAX project, and Neil Burger’s The Illusionist, as well as being commissioned to compose a piece in celebration of the Olympics held in Athens, Greece, in 2004.

Glass’ performance at Puget Sound is sponsored by the Susan Resneck Pierce Lecture Series in Public Affairs and the Arts, named for the president emerita of University of Puget Sound. The series brings intellectuals, writers, and artists to the university to talk about interesting and challenging ideas that will stimulate further exploration and discussion on campus. Past Pierce lecturers include Cornel West, Poet Laureate of the United States Robert Pinsky, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, playwright/actress Anna Deavere Smith, and journalist/historian David Halberstam.

Tickets to Glass’ lecture are $10 and are available at the Wheelock Information Center. To place a credit card order, call 253.879.3419.

Directions to the University of Puget Sound campus and information on parking are available online at www.ups.edu/directions.xml

Link to The University of Puget Sound