KENOSHA — As this month is Women’s History Month, a concert Thursday night at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha will highlight women composers, featuring a diverse repertoire of music.
Professor Laura Rexroth has been teaching at Parkside for more than 10 years. She is passionate about exposing her students to a wide variety of music.
Watch: Concert to highlight women composers at UW-Parkside:
"I want them to have lots of material when they go out to teach," said Rexroth.
The upcoming concert will feature 70 musicians, made up of both students from the Parkside Wind Ensemble and members of the community band. The community band is made up of a diverse group of people from recent grads all the way up to 96-years-old. People who are passionate about music.
They will play select pieces from multiple women composers, including a piece by Li Chan called "Variations on Plum Blossom Theme", which highlights Chinese culture and a moving piece called "Ash" by Jennifer Jolley.
“It’s a very powerful piece. It will be a very intense experience for the audience. There is a lot of contrast between sudden changes in dynamics. There’s dissonance, and just when you expect something to relax, it gets more intense. It’s a fabulous piece," said Rexroth.
Professor Rexroth said she hopes the audience connects to the emotion of the music, describing the concert as more of a musical journey.
“I talk to the ensemble about how our main goal is to communicate with the audience. Everyone gets uptight about performance, and I say, well, it’s not about that, it’s about communicating. What does the composer have in mind? We do that frequently at a level where I get responses from the audience, almost every concert, someone will come up to me—someone I don’t even know—and say, ‘Oh, I’m so glad I came tonight,” said Rexroth.
The concert will also feature a piece called “Women of the Podium,” a march by Virginia A. Allen along with other composers.
The performance begins at 7 p.m. at Bedford Hall, with tickets available both online and at the door.
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