Amid the chaos and struggles of our 2020 - 2021 academic year, one of the many los​ses is concert/recital performances. The music department here at Texas Wesleyan has certainly felt the impact of COVID-19 with few recitals and limited audiences. Though we've stayed devoted to the task of music education and performance instruction with our students, we still feel the void of live music performances. To quote a few notables: composer Leonard Bernstein, "Life without music is unthinkable;" author Pat Conroy, "Without music, life is a journey through a desert" and actress Fran Drescher, "Without music the world will still turn, but it won't rock!"

Through Friends of Wesleyan Music, our music faculty are joining forces to bring three incredible, in-person recitals to Martin Hall, and beyond, with live streaming and YouTube video recordings for each performance. The recitals are connected in a theme of EMOTIONS, EXCURSIONS and EXPRESSIONS and are scheduled on the evenings of March 8, April 8 and May 8.

Our goals and desires for these performances are to enrich our students' education, promote our beloved university and for these performances to serve as a recruitment tool, while showcasing the exemplary musicianship of our faculty, our fine acoustical Martin Recital Hall and our Hamburg Concert Grand Steinway. 

This recital is free and open to the public via livestream on the Stingray Collective's YouTube channel.

EMOTIONS: Monday, March 8, 4 p.m.
Reflections on loss, sacrifice & courage during COVID-19

• Ilka Araújo, piano
• Joni Baczewski, viola
• Greg Dewhirst, saxophone
• John Fisher, piano
• Meg Griffith, flute
• Jerry Bierschenk, trumpet
• Eric Hessel, horn
• Paul Sikes, trombone
• David Humphreys, tuba
• Blake Henson, composition with guest soprano Amanda O’Toole
• Keith Critcher, collaborative pianist

EXCURSIONS: Thursday, April 8, 7:30 p.m.
A journey of rhapsodic textures and melody

• Meg Griffith, flute
• Greg Dewhirst, saxophone
• Ryan Gamble, baritone
• Keith Critcher, piano

EXPRESSIONS: Saturday, May 8, 4 p.m.
A delightful complexity of virtuosic artistry

Keith Critcher, piano/artistic director collaborates with guests:

• Carelle Flores, soprano
• Juan Flores, violin
• Lizzy White, cello