Music specials

Grand Valley State University is starting the new year off on a high note by featuring a world-class mezzo-soprano, an acclaimed jazz pianist, and the Grand Rapids Symphony in three separate performances on its Allendale campus.

All three musical events take place in mid-January, beginning with a performance on January 15 by mezzo-soprano Mary Keller Creswell. On Tuesday, January 16, David Lockington will conduct the Grand Rapids Symphony in a noontime concert in Allendale, followed on Friday, January 19, by Joey Calderazzo, a member of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, premiering his solo concert.

All performances are open to the public and provide free parking. More information about each performance follows.

Monday, January 15 ¿ Mezzo-soprano Mary Keller Creswell

World-class mezzo-soprano Mary Keller Creswell and pianist Robert Byrens will present an evening of art songs at 8 p.m. on Monday, January 15, in the Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center. The performance is open to the public, free of charge.

Creswell, a native of Grand Rapids, has had leading roles in opera and oratorio throughout the United States, including the mezzo role in Samuel Adler's Choose Life, which premiered at Lincoln Center. She has served on the voice faculties of several universities, including Michigan State, Western Michigan, and Grand Valley State, and is a teacher and performer at the Interlochen Arts Academy. A regional MET finalist, Creswell was named Singer of the Year by American Mothers, Inc. (an organization that promotes mothers in the arts).

Accompanying Creswell will be pianist Robert Byrens, an artist-faculty member at GVSU providing vocal and viola instruction. Byrens, whose music studies include the Geneva Conservatory in Switzerland and the Westminister Choir College, is an active stage musician, performing with GVSU's Perugino String Quartet, the Grand Rapids Symphony, and as rehearsal pianist and vocal coach for Opera Grand Rapids.

The evening's program will feature Robert Schumann's Frauenliebe und Leben, Op. 42, Poulenc's song cycle Banalit¿s, and songs by Rossini, Quilter, Copland and Michael Moores.

Tuesday, January 16 ¿ The Grand Rapids Symphony

Each year, Grand Valley State University is treated to a special performance by the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra. This year's concert, presented as part of GVSU's Arts at Noon Series, takes place at 12 noon on Tuesday, January 16, in the Louis Armstrong Theatre in the Performing Arts Center.

Symphony Music Director David Lockington will lead the performance, which will include Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante. The concert is open to the public, free of charge.

Friday, January 19 ¿ Jazz pianist Joey Calderazzo

Conviction and raw energy may not be words often associated with piano performance ¿ unless one is describing Joey Calderazzo. Calderazzo, who at age 35 is acclaimed as one of the world's finest jazz pianists, will be presenting his first solo concert when he performs at GVSU, at 8 p.m. on Friday, January 19, in the Recital Hall of the Performing Arts Center.

Calderazzo exploded onto the jazz scene in the late 1980s as the youngest member of Michael Brecker's band. He has since released five recordings as leader, including his high-energy, self-titled Columbia Jazz debut produced by Branford Marsalis and featuring a trio setting with drummer Jeff Watts and bassist John Patitucci. In 1996 Calderazzo joined Marsalis in his eclectic jazz-funk-hip-hop project, Buckshot LeFonque, and now tours worldwide as a member of Marsalis' jazz quartet.

Calderazzo's concert is open to the public. Tickets are $25 general admission, $20 for students. Call (616) 895-3484 for reservations.