Famous artists played at BHS
BUTLER TWP — Music for Medicine, From Classical to Jazz, the concert benefiting the Community Health Clinic of Butler County on Oct. 3, features nationally recognized classical and jazz musicians.
They will perform at 7:30 p.m. at Butler County Community College's Succop Theater.
Three of the musicians who are native Pennsylvanians, William Purvis, French horn, Jim Pugh, trombone, and Jim Cunningham, trumpet, will open the concert with a special brass trio. The three haven't played together since they were in Butler High School.
Purvis, a faculty member at both the Juilliard School and the Yale School of Music, is a member of the New York Woodwind Quintet, and the Orchestra of St. Luke. He has performed with the Chamber Orchestra of Lincoln Center.
Pugh has worked with numerous artists and orchestras. He is the only recipient of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Virtuoso Award for tenor trombone.
Cunningham is a graduate of the Naval School of Music and was the lead trumpet with the 13th Naval District Big Band in Seattle. He has performed with the Duquesne University Symphony of Winds, the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Tommy Dorsey band, among others.
Purvis also is a member of the Triton Trio, which is performing the first half of the concert. Ani Kavafian, violin, and Mihae Lee, piano, are the other two members.
Kavafian has performed as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia, Cleveland and Los Angeles symphonies. She is an artist with the Lincoln Center Chamber Orchestra.
Lee is a member of the Boston Chamber Music Society and has performed with the Muir, Cassatt and Manhattan string quartets. She has performed at numerous international festivals as well as with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
For A Taste of Jazz, Pugh is joined by Cunningham and Shawn Purcell, guitar, who has taught jazz guitar and jazz improvisation at George Mason and Middle Tennessee State universities. He is pursuing a DMA in Jazz Studies at the University of Illinois, and he has performed with the Airmen of Note, the U.S. Air Force's premiere jazz band.
Joining these soloists is the Trinity Jazz Orchestra, Western Pennsylvania's only repertory jazz orchestra.
It supports the Visiting Artist in Residence Program in school districts in Western Pennsylvania.
The musicians come from all over Western Pennsylvania, many are music teachers and others are talented performers who also pursue other careers.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. VIP tickets, which include special seating and a reception after the concert, are $50.
Reservations can be made by calling the box office at 724-284-8505 or going online to www.bc3.edu/theater.
