Louisville Orchestra Principal Trombonist Donna Parkes to Perform with Commonwealth Brass Band at IU Southeast March 21

New Albany, IN – March 10 – The Music Department at Indiana University Southeast will present the Commonwealth Brass Band on Sunday, March 21 at 3:00 p.m. in the Richard K. Stem Concert Hall of the Paul W. Ogle Cultural and Community Center on the IU Southeast campus, 4201 Grant Line Road in New Albany. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students, seniors, and IU Southeast faculty & staff, and are available at the Ogle Center ticket office, at all Ticketmaster locations, by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, or online at ticketmaster.com.

Under the baton of director J. Jerome Amend, principal trumpet of the Louisville Orchestra, and associate director, Anita Cocker Hunt, the concert will feature guest artist Donna Parkes, principal trombonist of the Louisville Orchestra as soloist in Annie Laurie (Aire Varié) by Arthur Pryor and Cousins by Herbert L. Clarke.

Australian trombonist Donna Parkes is currently in her second season as Principal trombone of the Louisville Orchestra. Prior to this she played the 2007-2008 season with the San Francisco Symphony. Miss Parkes was a member of the Virginia Symphony from 2001-2007 and was a member of the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas for two seasons. She has performed with many orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, London Symphony, National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Sydney Symphony and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. During the summer season Miss Parkes is Principal trombone of the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra. Solo competition successes include winning the Australian National Trombone Competition, the Brisbane International Brass Competition and finalist in the 2002 Jeju Brass Competition in Korea. She has appeared as a soloist and clinician at the International Women’s Brass Conference and the Melbourne International Festival of Brass. Miss Parkes received her Masters Degree studying under Charles Vernon at DePaul University and other primary teachers include Michael Mulcahy and Ron Prussing.

The concert will also feature guest soloist Christopher Bettler, tubist, performing Cappriccio for Tuba by Rodney Newton.

The Commonwealth Brass Band, a British-style brass band, was formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1989, and performs concerts for area cultural events and community festivals, playing throughout the year in Kentuckiana parks, churches and colleges and at private events. The band is currently an ensemble-in-residence at Indiana University Southeast.

British-style brass bands were started in the 1800's by mine a factory owners in Great Britain as a way to boost worker morale. Eventually, a large system of brass band organizations, traditions and competitions developed. From those roots, the British-style brass band spread to North America, thriving here until the 1890's when military-style wind ensembles gained popularity.

For more information about this program, future concerts, or IU Southeast Music Department degree programs and scholarship opportunities, please call (812) 941-2655 or visit www.ius.edu/music.

Event Details:

Sunday, March 21, 2010, 3:00 p.m.

Richard K. Stem Concert Hall

Paul W. Ogle Cultural and Community Center

Indiana University Southeast

4201 Grant Line Road

New Albany, IN 47150

$8 Adults / $5 Students, Seniors, IU Southeast Faculty & Staff

Tickets are available at the Ogle Center ticket office, at all Ticketmaster locations, by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, or online at ticketmaster.com

Parking: Free parking is available only in the Dogwood Lot directly in front of the Ogle Center from one hour before the performance until one hour after the conclusion of the performance. Vehicles parked in lots other than the Dogwood Lot without a permit will be ticketed.