EIU Department of Music will present 'The Four Seasons'

CHARLESTON – Eastern Illinois University's Department of Music will present Antonio Vivald's "The Four Seasons" at 4 p.m. Sunday in Wesley United Methodist Church, Charleston. The concert will feature the Eastern Symphony Chamber Orchestra, the Concert Choir and special guest artists Charlotte Mattax and Maureen Murchie.

Under the direction of Richard Robert Rossi, the Eastern Symphony Chamber Orchestra and Concert Choir will perform three of the 22 recently discovered Graduals and Offertories by Joseph Matthias Kracher. These compositions, thought to be missing, were found in the Wimmer Library Collection at St. Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania. As part of his doctoral work, Rossi transcribed the works ("O Magnum Mysterium," "Omnes de Saba Venient" and "Reges Tharsis") which will be heard during the concert.

Mattax is a world-renowned harpsichordist. Having performed at major music festivals around the world, Mattax gained critical attention when she took top honors at the 1980 and 1983 International Harpsichord Competitions of Bruges and Paris. Currently on the faculty of the University of Illinois where she is chair of the Organ/Harpsichord Division, Mattax holds degrees from Yale University, The Julliard School and Stanford University. A specialist in 17th-century French music, she is the author of the book "Accompaniment on Theorbo and Harpsichord: Denis De- lair's Traite of 1690," published by Indiana University Press.

Murchie serves on the EIU faculty teaching violin, viola and general music courses. She also serves as concertmaster of both the Eastern Symphony Orchestra and the Baroque Artists of Champaign (BACH). She graduated magna cum laude from Baylor University, and she is nearing completion of her doctorate degree from the UI.

Tickets for the concert are $12 general admission, $10 senior citizens and $8 for youths 17 and under. Parking is located near the entrance of Wesley United Methodist Church, and the facilities are accessible to the disabled. The concert is sponsored in part by the Charleston Area Charitable Foundation. For more information, call 581-3010.

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