Ambler Campus, Temple University

Boyer School of Music and Dance kicks off "Tuesdays at Noon" Concert Series at Temple University Ambler

WHERE: Temple University Ambler, 580 Meetinghouse Road, Learning Center Auditorium

WHEN: Tuesday, October 2, Noon (Refreshments will be available in the Learning Center Lobby at 11:30 a.m.)

For 13 years, the music played on.

In 1968, the Temple University Music
Festival and Institute was born at the Ambler campus with two important goals — to serve as a school for young professional musicians and to provide several summers of world-class music.

In its heyday, the Music Festival stage was graced by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington. The amphitheater placed the spotlight on rising stars such as Dionne Warwick, Johnny Mathis, and Temple’s own Bill Cosby.

Area residents, and many well beyond, fondly remember the “42 Evenings of
Musical Excellence” that summers at Ambler would bring. Though the location of the well-remembered Music Festival now plays host
to Temple’s Owls baseball and softball teams, on Tuesday, October 2, the music
will be returning to campus.

On October 2, at Noon, the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University will begin its 2007-08 Tuesdays at Noon Concert Series at the Ambler campus. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in Ambler’s new Learning Center Auditorium. The program has been made possible through the generous support of the University General Activities Fund (GAF).

“All of us at Boyer are delighted to present this premiere concert at Temple Ambler,” said Robert T. Stroker, Dean of the Boyer College of Music and Dance. “We hope to continue to offer performances at Ambler that highlight our outstanding faculty and students.”

The inaugural October 2 concert will showcase a wide array of faculty and student talent from the Boyer College.

Faculty members Charles Abramovic (piano) and Lawrence Indik (baritone) will perform Professor Maurice Wright’s Song Cycle. Mr. Abramovic will also perform selections from the solo piano repertoire. Members of the acclaimed dance ensemble, Kariamu & Co. will also perform, as will the Semes Sisters, who are string students at Temple’s Music Preparatory Division.

Rebecca Bogers, a student of Boyer faculty member and Philadelphia Orchestra principal harpist Elizabeth Hainen, will perform Saint-Saëns’ Fantasie. Two violin students of Professor Eduard Schmeider will perform solo works by Ysaÿe and Paganini. Jazz offerings will include a student trio from Boyer’s Jazz Department.

“For many years Temple Ambler was home to the University Music Festival. We may no longer have the amphitheater, but we do boast a new 300-seat auditorium/theater that provides an excellent venue for musical performances. The auditorium provides new opportunities to offer cultural, educational, and entertaining events for our students and the surrounding community,” said Temple University Ambler Dean Dr. James W, Hilty. “We are very excited that Temple Ambler’s connection to refined musical tastes will continue this year thanks to the renowned Boyer College of Music and Dance. This premiere concert certainly highlights some of the best that Boyer has to offer.”

As Temple University Ambler begins a new Cultural Affairs series during the fall semester, “the Tuesdays at Noon program provided by Boyer and GAF will be a wonderful addition to the performances and lectures that will be on display,” said Dr. Hilty.

“The Temple University Ambler Cultural Affairs Series is intended to enrich the range and depth of the cultural experiences of Temple students and, at the same time, open our doors to our neighbors in the surrounding communities,” he said. “Our goal is to connect Temple Ambler more directly to the community by sharing our cultural and educational resources. In this way we hope to contribute to the intellectual and cultural dialogue, to foster a larger sense of mutual interest, and to enliven and enrich our daily lives.”

Free shuttle buses will be available to and from Temple’s Main Campus to the Ambler Campus for the Tuesdays at Noon Concert. View a shuttle schedule here. For those traveling by car, parking will be available in the Visitor’s Parking Lot – directions and a map of the Ambler campus are available here.

Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance offers a diverse curriculum, wide array of degree programs and exemplary faculty, preparing students for careers as educators, performers, composers and scholars. Degree programs are offered in instrumental studies, jazz studies, theory, therapy, choral conducting, education, composition, history, voice and opera. Annual orchestra performances are held at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Distinguished faculty includes members of the Philadelphia Orchestra as well as many other noted recording and performing artists.

For more information, visit www.temple.edu/boyer or contact Linda Fiore at linda.fiore@temple.edu or 215-204-8307.