Las Vegas, Nev. - The Music Department at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ will present basset hornists Forest Aten, Keith Bowen, and Dan Leeson, along with graduate and undergraduate students, in concert at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, February 23, in the Doc Rando Recital Hall of the Beam Music Center.
The artists will perform rarely heard music by Mozart that was composed specifically for the basset horn, a woodwind instrument which is similar to the clarinet. The concert is free and open to the public.
The performance will include six pieces for singers, clarinetists, and basset hornists, a number of instrumental pieces for clarinets, basset horns, and bassoon, and an aria from Mozart's last opera, "La Clemenza di Tito," for soprano and obbligato basset horn.
"We are extremely fortunate to have three basset horn players visit 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ; it is rare to find one basset hornist, which is why the music Mozart wrote for this combination is so seldom heard," said Isabelle Emerson, chair of the music department at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ. "The aria from Tito is in fact usually done by a clarinetist, since basset horn players are so rare."
The guest artists will also give a workshop and demonstration of their instruments for music students during the clarinet repertoire class that afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
