String Orchestra to Perform with John-Morgan Bush

On Saturday, Oct. 30, Performance Music at The University of Scranton will present a concert featuring the University’s String Orchestra and guest artist John-Morgan Bush. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue.

The concert is open to invited guests and all members of the University community. Admission is free, and seating arrangements will include provisions for socially distancing between groups attending together. All audience members must wear masks throughout the performance. University campus access and other health and safety information will be updated throughout the semester and can be seen on the Royals Back Together webpage. Please check Performance Music’s website, scranton.edu/music, within 24 hours of the recital for the most current information on audience COVID-19 mitigation measures (e.g., masking, vaccination, distancing, etc.).

At the concert, Bush will perform as soloist on works by composers Astor Piazzola, Ennio Morricone and Alan Hovhaness, according to Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga.

Bush has visited Scranton on many occasions, both as an artist/teacher with The Scranton Brass Orchestra, and as a performer in joint concerts here by the University Singers and the Manhattan School of Music Brass Orchestra.

An award-winning horn player, Bush is the director of lifelong learning at The Juilliard School, where he leads the Evening Division, the school’s continuing education wing. Prior to that, he served as director of learning and leadership programs at the League of American Orchestras, where he worked to provide innovative programming and resources for the orchestral field at the national level. There, he coordinated initiatives including the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, the Ford Musician Awards for Excellence in Community Service, the Essentials of Orchestra Management seminar and the National Conference, the largest annual convening of orchestra professionals in the world.

As a concert artist, Bush has maintained a vigorous schedule since winning second prize at the 2008 International Horn Society Solo Competition in Denver. The recipient of the John Clarke Award for Excellence in Brass Performance, he regularly performs with orchestras in the greater New York area and presents innovative solo and chamber music recitals across the region. He has two bachelor's degrees in music performance and music education from the University of Kentucky and a master's degree in classical horn performance from the Manhattan School of Music.

Currently, Bush serves as an adjunct faculty member at the New School University, Mannes School of Music. He was formerly on the music faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he taught courses in applied horn, music education and arts administration, conducted the school’s string ensemble, and was selected as a Difference Maker faculty entrepreneurship fellow.

The University of Scranton String Orchestra is a 25-member string ensemble made up of students from majors spanning the curriculum. There is no music major at the University, and all enrolled Scranton students (undergraduate and graduate) are eligible for membership in the University bands, choirs and string ensembles, with neither an audition nor enrollment fee required for membership. Other programs within the department, including small ensemble and chamber ensemble music-making opportunities, guest artist concerts, World Premiere Composition Series, the Nelhybel Collection and Scranton Brass Orchestra, closely coordinate programming with the student ensembles and offer unique opportunities for student musicians in the ensembles to hear, observe, interact and perform with numerous world-class musicians and artist-teachers.

High school juniors and seniors who are considering applying to Scranton are encouraged to contact Performance Music to arrange to sit in on a rehearsal, meet the staff, attend a concert, or tour the building.

For further information on the concert, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music. For more info on Bush, visit https://www.johnmorganbush.com.