The Howard Performing Arts Center is happy to announce their line-up for the 2005-2006 Howard Series.

The Canadian Brass will kick-off the 2005-2006 Series, with a concert on Saturday, October 22, at 8 pm. These five virtuosi have made the brass quintet an exciting vehicle for serious concert music. The quintet—now in its 34th season—has a special affinity for Baroque music, which requires the brilliance and musical structure that has become their trademark. They master the gamut from formal classical to music served up with lively dialogue and theatrical effects. Individual ticket prices are $37 adult, $25 student, $32 AU faculty/staff.

Christopher O’Riley, pianist, and host of the most popular classical music radio show on the air today, From the Top (nationally distributed on Public Radio International) will perform on Saturday, November 19, at 8 pm. In November 2004, O’Riley toured the U.S. with the world-famous Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra. Individual ticket prices for this concert are $25 adult, $15 student, $21 AU faculty/staff.

Emotional power, musical sensitivity, flawless technique, and a tone remarkable for its singular beauty are the qualities that have established Kyoko Takezawa as one of today’s foremost violinists. Her interpretive insight and virtuosity have made her a sought-after soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the London Symphony, the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Singapore and Nagoya Symphonies in Asia, and France’s Orchestre National de Lille. This third concert in the Howard Series will take place on Saturday, January 21, 2006, at 8 pm. Individual tickets are $25 adult, $15 student, $21 AU faculty/staff.

The seamless blend of the 12 male voices of Chanticleer will fill the Howard Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 4, at 8 pm. Chanticleer has developed a remarkable reputation for its vivid interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz and from gospel to adventurous new music. Ranging from countertenor to bass, the ensemble has earned international renown as an “orchestra of voices.” Individual tickets are $30 adult, $20 student, $25 AU faculty/staff.

The San Francisco Chronicle calls clarinetist David Shifrin’s playing “a revelation in just how beautifully the clarinet can be played.” He has performed with more than 20 orchestras nationally and abroad, and his recordings (on seven different labels) continue to garner praise as well as awards. Shifrin will close the Howard Series with a concert on Sunday, April 9, at 4 pm. Individual tickets are $25 adult, $15 student, $20 AU faculty/staff.

The Series price for all five concerts is $125. Series purchasers will also receive a free, bonus ticket to the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition Winner’s Tour for Thursday, October 20. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Howard Performing Arts Center Box Office at 269-471-3560 or 888-467-6442. You can also find more information online at http://howard.andrews.edu.