Harp and Trumpet Duo Perform March 3
Harpist Marg Davis and trumpeter Jon Shadle will perform Saturday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center. The recital will feature unpublished, Hungarian compositions for trumpet and harp, plus transcriptions of classic European chamber pieces for piano and voice. In addition, Davis will perform solo harp pieces written by 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century French, British and Dutch composers. Admission is free.Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present a recital by harpist Marg Davis and trumpeter Jon Shadle on Saturday, March 3.
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue, downtown Scranton. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.
Davis is returning to the University just months after performing at Performance Music’s 50th Annual Noel Night concert in early December. There, Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga was deeply impressed with the young harpist’s down-to-earth professionalism.
“She’s a great artist, but also a great workman. She walks in and she’s just no fuss, no muss. Low maintenance, very high quality,” Boga said of Davis, whose brother, Michael Davis, recently brought his vintage jazz ensemble, the New Wonders, to the University.
When Boga told the harpist that she’d enjoy collaborating again, Davis mentioned that she and Shadle were about to undertake a spring tour. At the recital, the duo, who also are a couple, will feature unpublished, Hungarian compositions for trumpet and harp, plus transcriptions of classic European chamber pieces for piano and voice.
In addition, the recital will include Davis performing solo harp pieces written by 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century French, British and Dutch composers.
While harp and trumpet tend to be an underutilized combo, Boga promised audiences will be enchanted by the depth of skill and musicality that Davis and Shadle bring to the combination of the instruments.
“The different colors of the interplay of those instruments, particularly in this concert hall, which has really neat acoustics to it, is just gorgeous,” Boga said. “Harp in this hall has a magic, as does trumpet. Putting them together is pretty awesome, so we’re excited to have them here.”
Davis and Shadle first met while studying at The Juilliard School, then eventually formed a chamber music duo. Besides their undergraduate degrees from Juilliard and their graduate work at the Yale School of Music, they’ve studied and performed at many high-profile summer music festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival and Chautauqua Music Festival.
Besides regularly performing recitals and concerts along the East Coast as a duo, they each have performed throughout the United States and abroad as soloists and ensemble musicians. In addition, both Davis and Shadle teach masterclasses, workshops and private lessons.
Committed to spotlighting little-known works for trumpet and harp and transcriptions of other chamber pieces, the duo also composes original music for their contemporary band, Astoria Window, which will soon release its debut EP.
For further information on the recital, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music. For more information on Davis and Shadle, visit music.yale.edu and juilliard.edu.
