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Penn State College of Arts and Architecture
Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State

Event Slides Per Node 1415

The Knights
Music from the Great War Era

7:30 pm Thursday, October 1, 2015

An orchestral collective, flexible in size and repertory, The Knights strives to transform the concert experience by engaging listeners and defying boundaries. The ensemble’s programs showcase the players’ roots in classical tradition and their passion for discovery. The group has, as a New Yorker reviewer observes, “become one of Brooklyn’s sterling cultural products.” The Knights evolved from late-night chamber music reading parties with friends at the home of violinist Colin Jacobsen and cellist Eric Jacobsen. The brothers are also founding members of Brooklyn Rider, the inventive string quartet that made its Center for the Performing Arts premiere in April 2015. The Jacobsens serve as artistic directors of The Knights, with Eric as conductor. In 2012, the Jacobsens were selected from among America’s most talented visual, performing, media, and literary artists to receive a prestigious United States Artists Fellowship. In recent seasons, the collective has made its Tanglewood and Ojai music festival debuts and collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Dawn Upshaw, Jeremy Denk, the Mark Morris Dance Group, the Joshua Redman Quartet, santur player Siamak Aghaei, and pipa virtuoso Wu Man. The Knights’ roster features diverse talents, including composers, arrangers, singer-songwriters, and improvisers, who bring a range of cultural influences—from jazz and klezmer to pop and indie rock—to the ensemble. On stage, the group’s camaraderie retains the intimacy and spontaneity of chamber music. The Penn State concert, with an ensemble of eleven musicians (two violinists, violist, cellist, double bassist, clarinetist, bassoonist, trumpeter, trombonist, percussionist, and pianist), features a program of music composed mostly between 1914 and 1924. The program includes Sergei Prokofiev’s Overture on Hebrew Themes, Maurice Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor, Anton Webern’s Three Little Pieces for Cello and Piano, Ernest Bloch’s Prayer for cello and piano, Caroline Shaw’s arrangement of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Tierkreis: Leo, and Igor Stravinsky’s Suite from The Soldier’s Tale.

Adult $42
University Park Student $19
18 and Younger $32

Click on the Buy Tickets button above for advance purchases. Tickets will also be available at Esber Recital Hall, but only on the evening of the performance.

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sponsors
Bob and Ruth Murray

media sponsor
WPSU

Artist Websites: 

Secondary Events on Each Event

Russian Literature Class Visit

1:00 pm Tuesday, September 29, 2015

106 Sackett Building

Free

The public is invited to listen when members of The Knights engage with students in a Penn State Russian 405 class. The 75-minute conversation focuses on Igor Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale. Linda Ivanits, professor of Russian and comparative literature, leads the seminar.

coolBlue Concert and Conversation

3:00 pm Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Innovation Park at Penn State
Tech Center Lobby

Free and open to the public

The public is invited to hear a trio of musicians from The Knights perform selected works. The one-hour session also includes conversation with the musicians.

Clarinet Master Class

6:00 pm Tuesday, September 29, 2015

122 Music Building II
 

Free

The public is welcome to observe as The Knights’ Agnes Marchione coaches Penn State School of Music clarinet students. Anthony Costa, associate professor of clarinet, facilitates the 75-minute master class.

Advanced Tonal Analysis Class Visit

10:10 am Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Music Building I’s Esber Recital Hall

Free

The public is welcome to listen as members of The Knights have a discussion with students in a Penn State Music 431 class. Distinguished Professor of Music Maureen Carr facilitates the 50-minute discussion.

French Class Visit

11:15 am Wednesday, September 30, 2015

60 Willard Building

 

Free

The public is welcome to listen as members of The Knights engage in discussion with students in Paris: Anatomy of a City, a Penn State French 137 course. Jennifer Boittin—associate professor of French, Francophone studies, and history—facilitates the 50-minute discussion.

History Class Visit

12:20 pm Wednesday, September 30, 2015

111 Chambers Building

Free and open to the public

The public is invited to hear members of The Knights participate in a discussion about music and World War I with students in The Western Heritage II, a Penn State History 002 course. Sophie De Schaepdrijver, associate professor of history, facilitates the 50-minute conversation.

Percussion Master Class

3:30 pm Wednesday, September 30, 2015

122 Music Building II

Free and open to the public

The public is welcome to observe as The Knights’ Michael Caterisano works with Penn State School of Music percussion students. Dan C. Armstrong, director of percussion studies, facilitates the 75-minute master class.

Classical Coffeehouse
featuring The Knights

8:00 pm Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Hintz Family Alumni Center’s Robb Hall

Free and open to the public

Presented in partnership with the Blue & White Society and the Penn State Alumni Association

Support provided by Penn State Council of LionHearts

Members of the orchestral collective, based in Brooklyn, perform samples of their music and talk with audience members. The ensemble’s programs showcase the players’ roots in classical tradition and their passion for other genres such as jazz, pop, and indie rock. Enjoy complimentary refreshments and receive a Classical Coffeehouse mug, while supply lasts.

Each Penn State student in attendance receives—at the end of the coffeehouse—a voucher for a serving of Berkey Creamery ice cream.

Arts Marketing Class Visit

9:45 am Thursday, October 1, 2015

116 Borland Building
 

Free and open to the public

The public is invited to hear members of The Knights discuss consumption models for emerging entrepreneurs, marketing aesthetic products, and creating/communicating artistic value with students in Arts Marketing, a Penn State Arts and Architecture 322 course. Jonathan Gangi, assistant professor of arts entrepreneurship, moderates the 75-minute conversation.

Artistic Viewpoints

6:30 pm Thursday, October 1, 2015

Esber Recital Hall

Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring The Knights’ co-artistic director and cellist Eric Jacobsen, violinist Ariana Kim, and violist Max Mandel, is offered one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Speakers are subject to change.