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NEWS RELEASE
Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu
)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
2/7/2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES -Composer Martin Ellerby, who has received international acclaim for his work in a variety of media, will be the Composer in Residence at Northwestern State University. Ellerby will be at NSU Feb. 16-23, culminating with performances by NSU faculty and the NSU Chamber Choir, the NSU Wind Symphony and a lecture by Ellerby.
Ellerby's visit is sponsored by the NSU Department of Student Activities and Orgnizations and the Mrs. H.D. Dear and Alice E. Dear School of Creative and Performing Arts.
Ellerby works have been performed, broadcast and recorded to critical acclaim across Europe, Asia and the U.S. His catalogue comprises compositions spanning a diverse range of media, including orchestral, choral, concert band, brass band, ballet, instrumental and chamber, together with a substantial number of commercial orchestrations and arrangements. Ellerby's works are published extensively and recorded on over 75 commercial CDs to date. Key performances include the BBC Promenade Concerts, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Barbican Centre, Royal Albert Hall, South Bank Centre and many major international festivals, including Edinburgh, Harrogate, Zurich and Kuhmo Chamber Music in Finland.
He combines a busy schedule as a professional composer with work in education, where he is currently visiting professor with responsibility for curriculum design at the Royal Air Force: Headquarters Music Services. He is also artistic director for Studio Music Company and senior producer for Polyphonic Recordings.
Ellerby was head of Composition and Contemporary Music at the London College of Music and Media and was responsible for the coordination and development of a high profile department of over 50 composition students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He instigated and designed four specialist composition programs at master's level. Ellerby contributed to the artistic focus of the school by being overseeing the inclusion of a substantial number of student works in concert programs, hosting a range of Composers' Festivals and organizing frequent workshops and specialist composers' concerts.
A recital, "The Music of Martin Ellerby," featuring NSU faculty and the NSU Chamber Choir will be on Monday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. Ellerby will present a lecture on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. That evening at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall, Linda Merrick will perform a solo clarinet recital. The NSU Wind Symphony will perform on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall.