U of T Percussion Ensemble presents Russell Hartenberger at 80

University of Toronto Percussion Ensemble celebrates the 80th birthday of Russell Hartenberger, former Faculty of Music Dean and percussion.
This concert features works by Russell Hartenberger, including Kingfisher, Black Coyote, and Requiem.
Aiyun Huang, director

PROGRAM

Kingfisher
Russell Hartenberger
Jonathan Huard, Madison Keats, Arthur Lo, Yi-Hsuan Lo

Black Coyote
Hartenberger
Randall Chaves Camacho

Requiem
Hartenberger
I. Prelude
II. Birth of Time
III. Muffled Drums
IV. Eternity
V. Bird of Paradise
VI. Mist Covered Mountains
VII. Alleluia
VIII. Day is Gone
Amial Ang, Elyssa Arde, Randall Chaves Camacho, Thomas Carli, Jonathan Huard, Madison Keats, Arthur Lo, Yi-Hsuan Lo, Bevis Ng, Chi-En Wong, Jerry Yuan, Yue Yin Zhang, Jeffrey Zhu, percussion; Matthew Medina, Bevis Ng, piano; Lindsay McIntyre, Anaïs Kelsey-Verdicchia, Julia Barber, Nathan Gritter, Graham Robinson, voice; Aiyun Huang, conductor

WALTER HALL
Peter Olsen, sound technologist

BIOGRAPHY

Russell Hartenberger is Professor Emeritus and former Dean of the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. He has been a member of both the percussion group Nexus and Steve Reich & Musicians since 1971. He began his percussion studies in Oklahoma City with Alan Abel. In 1966 he received his B. Mus degree from Curtis Institute where he studied with Fred D. Hinger. Upon graduation from Curtis, he joined the U. S. Air Force Band and toured throughout the U.S., Europe, and South America as timpanist and xylophone soloist. While in the Air Force Band, Russell received his M. Mus. degree from Catholic University where he again studied with Alan Abel. He holds a Ph.D. in World Music from Wesleyan University, specializing in the music of West Africa, North and South India, and Indonesia.

With Steve Reich and Musicians he recorded for ECM, DGG and Nonesuch Records, and performed on the Grammy Award winning recording of Music for 18 Musicians. With the Reich Ensemble, Russell toured throughout the world and performed with the New York Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Cologne Radio Orchestra, London Symphony and Brooklyn Philharmonic.

As a member of Nexus, Russell has performed with leading orchestras in North America, Europe and Asia. Along with members of Nexus, he created the sound track for the Academy Award-winning Full-Length Documentary, The Man Who Skied Down Everest. His awards include the Toronto Arts Award in 1989, Banff Centre for the Arts National Award in 1997, a Juno nomination in 2005, and was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 1999. He was presented with the Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts by the World Cultural Council at Leiden University, the Netherlands in November of 2017.

The Nexus CD, Persian Songs, includes his arrangements of music by Moondog and of Persian classical music with Iranian vocalist, Sepideh Raissadat. His composition, The Invisible Proverb is on the Juno-nominated CD, Drumtalker. His other compositions include Telisi Odyssey, Cadence, Raghavan, and Birth of Time.

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

As part of the Faculty’s commitment to improving Indigenous inclusion, we call upon all members of our community to start/continue their personal journeys towards understanding and acknowledging Indigenous peoples’ histories, truths and cultures. Visit indigenous.utoronto.ca to learn more.

This performance is made possible in part by a generous gift from Ann H. Atkinson.