Random Act of Culture: Hispanic Heritage Month 2017

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Members of the quintet are Ronda Mains, flute; Theresa Delaplain, oboe; Nophachai Cholthitchanta, clarinet; Tim Thompson, horn; and Lia Uribe, bassoon.

The Lyrique Quintette, the Department of Music's faculty woodwind quintet in residence, will give a performance at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29, at the University of Arkansas Union Connections Lounge. The quintet will be playing Aires Tropicales, by Cuban-American composer Paquito de Rivera.

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures, and contributions of Hispanic-Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society. With this performance, the Lyrique Quintette joins the celebration and continues welcoming interaction between musicians from different backgrounds and nationalities united by the power of music.

This program is also part of the quintet’s national tour performing music from their latest CD Arrivals and Departures: Music of the Americas. Members of the quintet are Ronda Mains, flute; Theresa Delaplain, oboe; Nophachai Cholthitchanta, clarinet; Tim Thompson, horn; and Lia Uribe, bassoon.

The performance is sponsored by the University of Arkansas Hispanic Heritage Month Committee, University of Arkansas Latino Alumni Society, and the International Bolivian association. The mission of the University of Arkansas Hispanic Heritage Month Committee is to provide students with the opportunity to experience an immersion of the Hispanic culture through various outlets that will increase their educational attainment, social awareness, and global citizen preparedness.

About the Lyrique Quintette: The Lyrique Quintette is the faculty woodwind chamber ensemble in residence at the University of Arkansas. All five are members of the music faculty at the University of Arkansas. A versatile troupe, the ensemble has been invited to perform throughout the U.S. and abroad. The members perform chamber music as chamber music should be heard–in an intimate, personal, and comfortable setting–bringing the performers and audience together as partners in the creation of an art form. The quintet’s wide range of repertoire and dazzling performances make it a favorite of audiences of all ages. Repertoire spans many musical eras from the richness of the 16th-century Renaissance, to the boldness of 19th-century Romanticism, to works from some of today’s most exciting international composers. The ensemble is equally at home with its numerous “pop” arrangements by composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Duke Ellington.

The quintet has been on the touring roster of the Arkansas Arts Council since 1992, is on the Heartland Arts Fund Roster, and tours regularly, appearing at performing arts centers, universities, schools, and other venues across the region. Performing arts organizations which have enjoyed the music of the Lyrique Quintette include the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock, the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanites Council, the Bella Vista Village Performing Arts Series, the John Brown University Lyceum Series, the Garland County Library, the Cleburne County Arts Council, Batesville Community Concerts, the Hot Springs Village Symphony Guild, the Hannibal Concert Association, the State Theatre Arts Council (Missouri), the Goddard Center (Oklahoma), the Oklahoma City University Guest Artist Series, the Southern Arkansas University Guest Artist Series, and more. The quintet has performed at several national and international conferences, including International Double Reed Society conferences in Frankfurt, Banff, and Austin; the National Flute Association convention; and the Montana-Idaho Clarinet Festival in Missoula. In fall 2017 the quintet will perform in San Antonio at the College Music Society national convention.

The Lyrique Quintette has been touring and performing since the ensemble was formed in 1990. In 2006, they released their first CD, Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue. Currently, the quintet is in the production process of their second CD Arrivals and Departures: Music from the Americas for release in late 2017, which will include two new works commissioned by the quintet by composers Robert Mueller and Miguel del Aguila.