KENNESAW, Ga. | Jan 11, 2022

Annual scholarship fundraising concert features more than 200 students and faculty

Kennesaw State University’s Bailey School of Music will present the annual Collage Concert at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 5. Led by Dr. Jesús Castro-Balbi, the Bailey School of Music will present the signature production for the 16th year in a row as the sole fundraising concert for student scholarships. 

“Collage is a much beloved tradition at the Bailey School of Music. We are excited to invite you to join us and celebrate the many facets of this extraordinary school. Our students and faculty will amaze and surprise you, while at the same time giving you an opportunity to support our students through scholarships,” said Castro-Balbi. 

Over 200 students and faculty members will grace the stage, highlighting the wide range of specialties offered at the Bailey School of Music. Patrons can expect to see performances in all areas, including Opera, Symphony Orchestra, Treble Choir, and Wind Ensemble. As is tradition, each selection will once again be presented in flowing musical vignettes, making for a truly unique performance. 

The Wind Ensemble, led by Dr. David Kehler, will open Collage with movie composer John Williams’ Sound the Bells. This celebratory opening piece “is an inspiration of Japanese temple bells, so there is a lot of percussion, chimes, and mallets that ring and pitch; it’s a super fun piece,” said Kehler.

“We are excited to be back for the 2022 Collage concert; it is always one of our favorite events to perform in and share with the audiences,” said Dr. Alison Mann, director of Treble Choir. Under the leadership of Eileen Moremen, Opera Theater will perform a scene from Regina (1948), an opera by Marc Blitzstein, based on the play The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman. Set in the turn of the 19th century in the Deep South on a sultry rainy day, the characters indulge in the Rain Quartet (with a splash of a roaming Spiritual outdoors). 

“Four opera singers will be down in the gallery and a six-person ensemble will be in the mezzanine for the Rain Quartet. One of the things I’m excited about this year is the sheer variety, as we feature every concentration in the Bailey School of Music, one right after another,” said Dr. Douglas Lindsey, Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Assistant to the Director, Operations and Programming.

Excerpts from Partisan March, the third movement of KSU composer-in-residence Laurence Sherr's Sonata for Cello and Piano–Mir zaynen do! will be performed by cellist Charae Krueger and pianist Robert Henry. In 2015, the duo gave the East Coast premiere of the work at KSU, followed by a performance at the Music of Resistance and Survival Concert at The Temple in Atlanta.  

The goal of this year’s Collage is to raise a substantial amount to support student scholarships, especially since last year’s concert in 2021 was offered virtually because of the pandemic. As part of annual gifts, the 2020 College Concert supported over 75 music students through scholarships.

This year’s College Concert will be presented on February 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15-30; to buy tickets, please call 470-578-6650 or purchase online. 

--Kathie Beckett