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Life & Arts

AURA features Moores' finest

by KAREN KLUCZNIK
The Daily Cougar

With the Winter Olympics done and Monday Night Football a thing of the past, don't just sit there flipping channels. Head on over to the Moores School of Music for an enchanting evening of contemporary chamber music as the AURA: Contemporary Music Ensemble presents "Houston and Beyond."

The ensemble's show begins at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Moores Opera House.

"Our concerts also feature great lighting, which is designed by the Opera House director Thom Guthrie. It is a great way to spend an hour and a half," Robert Smith, AURA director, said.

Many of the pieces to be performed were composed by faculty from the Moores School of Music and include Introit by Marcus Maroney, Sonata for Cello and Piano by Michael Horvit and L'isola di S. Michele by Moores School of Music director David Ashley White.

"I think it is important to feature our faculty from time to time, as they all have significant national and international careers and are very much a part of the contemporary music field," Smith said. "It is particularly good for our student composers to witness firsthand some of the work that their teachers are involved in."

Core members of AURA include violinists Shelli Matthews and Julie Richards, violist Jacob Sustaita, cellist Nelly Rocha, pianists Chien-Jung Chen and Jasmine Hatem, flutist Danielle Walkenhorst and Bryan Conger on clarinet.

"They are some of our very best students, as the repertoire that AURA presents is extremely challenging. It is a great honor and privilege to be a part of the ensemble," Smith said.

Focusing on chamber music that embodies the latest trends and styles of the past 20 years, the AURA program was founded by UH faculty and has premiered a number of compositions.

"In my time as director, we have given many significant performances of some of the latest contemporary classical music," Smith said. "AURA has presented to the school and community some of the very best new works in addition to providing an excellent training ground for young musicians."

Tickets for tonight's performance are $10 for the public, $7 faculty and staff and $5 for students. For additional information, visit www.music.uh.edu.

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