An award-winning pianist and a celebrated accordion player are among the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alums who will perform in SIUE’s first Alumni Concert on Feb. 28.
Approximately 20 alumni will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Dunham Hall Theater as part of a production by the SIUE Department of Music. The concert is under the direction of music instructor Daniel Smithiger.
Dr. Mark Laverty is an award-wining artist who has performed on the piano in the U.S. and Europe. Laverty, a recipient of the Robert M. Spire Piano Competition, received his master’s in piano and chamber music from SIUE in 1993.
Accomplished accordion player Amy Jo Sawyer is another musical celebrity on the Alumni Concert program. A symphony conductor once called Sawyer “a musical genius who happens to play the accordion.” She graduated from SIUE in 1989 with a master’s in jazz performance.
Other SIUE alumni performers include:
Percussion: Evan Hinds
Violin: Rachel Brown, Judy Ann Dublar Moss
Trumpet: Colin Galvin
Guitar/Jazz: Rick Haydon
Piano: Kris Pineda, Sheila Shahpari
Clarinet: Jamie Keys
Mezzo Soprano: Ruth Mueller
Voice: Emily Ottwein
Saxophone: Larry Smith
Ticket costs are $12 for general admission and $9 for seniors and those under the age of 18. SIUE students with identification are free.
For more information about the Department of Music Calendar of Events, click here.