ASU Hosts "British Duet: Clarinet and Piano" Concert

Angelo State University will host a concert, “British Duet: Clarinet and Piano,” featuring clarinetist Dr. Tim Bonenfant of the ASU music faculty and San Angelo native Dr. Michael Schneider on piano at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24, in the Carr Education-Fine Arts (EFA) Building, 2602 Dena Drive, said a press release Monday.

The concert will be in the EFA Building’s Eldon Black Recital Hall and is free and open to the public. The program of music by British composers includes Sonatina for clarinet and piano by Roger Fiske, Sonata for clarinet and piano, Op. 109, by York Bowen, Sonatina for clarinet and piano (1951) by Malcolm Arnold, Sonata for clarinet and piano, Op. 129, by Charles Villiers Stanford, and “Gate” for clarinet and piano by Graham Fitkin.

Bonenfant and Schneider collaborated on the CD “Multiple Personae: The Family of Clarinets,” recorded in 2014 for the TNC Classical Label.

Bonenfant, a native of Annapolis, Maryland, is an associate professor of clarinet and saxophone and directs the ASU Jazz Ensemble. He was the first student to earn a Doctorate in Musical Arts in clarinet performance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where he taught for 13 years as an adjunct professor. In 2004, he won the UNLV Concerto Competition for his performance of Debussy’s “Premiere Rhapsody.” He has performed with the Las Vegas Symphony Orchestra, UNLV Jazz Ensemble, Nevada Symphony Orchestra, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Abilene Philharmonic, San Angelo Symphony Orchestra, Boise Symphony Orchestra and Nevada Opera Theater. He joined the ASU music faculty in 2005.

According to the press release, Schneider holds a doctorate in piano performance from the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin. He was the creator and artistic director of the 2004-12 San Angelo Piano Festivals and is co-creator of the Austin Piano Festival, established in 2013. He is known for his portrayal of Franz Liszt in his mono drama “Liszt and the Last Years,” which has been featured at the annual conventions of the Music Teachers Association of California and the Texas Music Teachers Association, as well as performed at the University of Texas at Austin numerous times. A resident of Richland Hills, Schneider is a regular performer with Mélange Musical, a chamber series in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

For more information, contact ASU’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts at 325-942-2085.