Visiting cellist from U.S.

Press, 4 August 1981, Page 19

Visiting cellist from U.S.

Hard on the heels of the Alard Quartet, which has just returned to Pennsylvania, another visiting American musician and scholar has arrived at the School of Music of the University of Canterbury. He is the cellist. Gordon Epperson, who is the 1981 visiting Fulbright professor. He will be in Christchurch until the end of the winter term, and will give recitals as well as teaching and lecturing.

His ma.ior public recital will be presented on Sunday with the Christchurch pianist. Maurice Till, in St Alban’s Methodist Church. Rugby Street. Professor Epperson will play a programme of three contrasting sonatas by Debussy. Samuel Barber, and Rachmaninoff.

Professor Epperson, who is from the University of Arizona. has been visiting the music departments of all four universities, and has given recitals in the other three main centres. He will repeat his Christchurch recital in Timaru next Tuesday.

Art in the news

An unusual exhibition based on pictures extracted from the various news.media will open on August 14 in the Christchurch Arts Centre’s newest small , gallery — the Fire Exit Gallery, upstairs between the Court Theatre and the Bookshop.

The installation, prepared by Stuart Page, contains about 20 sheets on which are screenprinied photographic images and words collected mostly from newspapers. The images are slightly or grossly distorted from print to print.

The images are printed in "hot’’ colours on frail paper, and assume a more fragile and disintegrated appearance each day. to emphasise their temporary nature.

Stuart Page graduated from the Canterbury School of Fine Arts in 1979, with honours in photography, and since then has published a book of screen-prints and had a one-man show in Christchurch. With Graham

Snowden, he prepared the illuminated installation. “Signs" in the Robert McDougall Art Gallery’s “Street” exhibition last year. He was also co-organiser and designer, technician and photographer for the "Project 3D" exhibition which was shown in the McDougall Gallery in February, and is nowtouring New Zealand. Sitar recital

A widely praised Indian sitar player. Pandit Giriraj. will give a recital in the Ngaio Marsh Theatre on August 12. during a tour of New Zealand.

It will be his only appearance in Christchurch.

Born in 1940 at Nainital. in Northern India. Giriraj was taught sitar music at an early age by his father and elder brother, and by the time he was 19 he was performing regularly on AllIndia Radio.

In 1958, he came in contact with the music of Ustad Vilayet Khan, in Calcutta-, and he developed under the

latter’s guidance. Later, however. he created his own style in sitar music. In 1967, he won the Surinam award for a promising sitar player in the country, and in 1970 he made his first recording. Now he is a frequent performer on radio and television, and has participated in numerous music conferences.

Since 1973. he has been ; giving performances each ; year outside India, and has j appeared successfully in | West Germany, the Nether- ■ lands. Belgium, and Switzer- ; land.

“Godspell. ”

Audittons will be held next week for the Canterbury Repertory Theatre Society's major end-of-year musical, the Gospel-based show "Godspell." Penny Giddens will direct the production, with Philip Norman as musical director and choreography by George Williams. Auditions will be held in the Repertory Theatre on the evening of August 12, and prospective members of the cast will be required to book a time with the society’s office.

"Godspeir has a cast of five young men and five young women, who act out, in dialogue, mime, dance and sqng. the parables from the Gospel of St Matthew.

Those selected for the cast will begin rehearsals in three i weeks time. The show will be ' performed in the Repertory • Theatre from November 21 I to December 5.