March 2, 2004

CONTACT: Gordon Ovenshine (724) 738-4854; e-mail: gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD ACTOR CHUCK ABER TO JOIN SLIPPERY ROCK

PIANO TRIO FOR MARCH 28 BENEFIT CONCERT AT SRU; PUBLIC INVITED

           SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University graduate Chuck Aber  -- “Neighbor Aber” on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”-- will join three SRU faculty for a benefit concert of chamber music 4 p.m. Sunday [March 28] in Swope Music Hall. Proceeds will fund musical scholarships at SRU.

           The concert pays tribute to the late Dwight and Jeane Baker, who were long-time and beloved members in the music department until their retirements in 1983. Aber, a 1967 graduate, was one of their students and will deliver a verbal tribute. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students.

           Aber recently joined the Slippery Rock University Concert Choir and Symphony Orchestra to perform “In Memoriam: A Requiem for Fred Rogers.”

           The Slippery Rock Piano Trio, comprised of SRU faculty Warren Davidson, violin, Paula Tuttle, cello, and Nanette Kaplan Solomon, piano, is pleased to offer an afternoon of chamber music to enhance scholarship opportunities for deserving students, Solomon says. All proceeds will support the Dwight and Jeane Baker Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to a music major with a concentration in piano or strings.      

The program will include:

•          New World Dances by Gwyneth Walker

•          Trio in B Major, op. 8 by Johannes Brahms

•          Trio in E Minor, op. 67 by Dmitiri Shostakovich

            Davidson is the conductor of the Slippery Rock Symphony Orchestra, and teaches violin, viola and string classes at SRU. He earned his bachelor of arts in philosophy and psychology at Duquesne University, and after turning to full-time violin study, received a master of music violin at Duquesne, a master of music in theory and composition at the University of Pittsburgh and is completing a doctor of musical arts at West Virginia University. Davidson is active as an orchestral concertmaster, recitalist and teacher, and recently performed solos with the Altoona and Westmoreland symphony orchestras.

           A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Tuttle has performed with the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet Orchestra at the Benedum Center since 1987. She has toured the Far East with orchestras and has played solo and chamber music recitals in Europe and the United States.

           Solomon has been on the SRU faculty since 1977, teaching piano, music history, music skills and women in music. An active performer, she has appeared as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and chamber musician. Her research into and performance of contemporary women composers has garnered her recognition, and she has presented lecture-recitals at national international conferences throughout the United States and in Puerto Rica, Costa Rica, Japan, Ireland, Germany, France, and Austria. Dr. Solomon graduated magna cum laude from Yale College with a bachelor of arts in music, and holds a master of music from Yale and a doctor of musical arts from Boston University. Her three compact discs have received wide distribution and critical acclaim.

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