Penn State trombone professor Mark Lusk will present his 54th faculty recital at 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, in Esber Recital Hall on the University Park campus. The performance features guest artist trumpeter Michael Davison, faculty member at the University of Richmond. A leading expert on Cuban influences in American jazz and contemporary music, Davison joins Lusk in a performance of music that will form the basis of their joint musical expedition to Cuba in May 2014.
In addition, the recital includes a performance of Vaughan Williams' The House of Life, based on a cycle of six sonnets by Christina Rosetti, and N.O. Rising, a musical tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina by Kim Scharnberg. Lusk and Davison are assisted by pianist Kathy Gattuso Cinatl. Admission is free.
This concert is available through live streaming video at CW Studios.
Mark Lancaster Lusk became a member of the Penn State faculty in 1986. Prior to his appointment, he enjoyed a varied career with such diverse groups as the Woody Herman Thundering Herd, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and the Chicago Contemporary Chamber Players. He has performed on Broadway, including the recent production of Little Women. The original cast album is currently available from Ghostlight Records. His successful experience on Broadway has allowed him to play such memorable shows as Les Miserables, Phantom Of The Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Victor/Victoria, Miss Saigon, and Beauty and the Beast.
Professor Lusk’s performing and teaching also has taken him to South America. He has toured Chile as an artist/clinician, teaching and performing throughout the country, including a performances with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Concepción and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile. Lusk was also invited to Argentina as an artist/clinician, where he was the first trombone soloist in the history of the Teatro Colon.
In the summer months, Lusk is a member of the faculty at the Cleveland Trombone Seminar, the Interlochen Trombone and Tuba Institute, and the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp as a Valade Fellow instructor. He is a native of Brandenburg, Kentucky. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from The Eastman School of Music and a performance certificate from Northwestern University. Lusk is a artist/clinician for S. E. Shires Trombones, and is published by Lyceum Press, including the Trombonist's Guide to the Unaccompanied Cello Suites of J. S. Bach.
Michael Davison is a legendary performer, respected professor, published composer, and ethnomusicologist. Davison’s love of music has shaped his life and career. He is in demand across the country as a classical and jazz performer and educator. As a performer, he has given jazz and classical recitals all over the United States as well as in parts of France, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, China and Cuba.
Davison has recorded four jazz CDs as both a leader and sideman. His classical CD, Fenster, received rave reviews from the International Trumpet Guild Journal. Widely considered an expert in Cuban music, he performs and teaches Cuban music worldwide. As a jazz musician, Davison has performed with the late tenor saxophonist and 11-time Grammy winner, Michael Brecker, popular jazz trombonist, Curtis Fuller and legendary Latin jazz saxophonist and composer, Justo Almario. He has also performed alongside some of Motown’s most iconic singers and groups, including Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, the Temptations and The Four Tops. As a classical musician, Davison has performed with the Wisconsin and Whitewater Brass Quintets, the Rochester Philharmonic, Wisconsin Symphony, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and the Richmond Symphony.Davison has published two transcription books on famed trumpeter Randy Brecker. Randy Brecker: Artist Transcriptions/Trumpet was published by Hal Leonard Publishing Company and The Music of Randy Brecker: Solo Transcriptions and Performing Artist Master Class CD was published by Warner Brothers. In addition to transcribing, Davison has also published jazz and Afro-Cuban compositions with Walrus Music.
In 1986, Davison accepted a job as head of the jazz and trumpet programs at the University of Richmond. A respected scholar on Cuban musical styles, he has taught many courses on jazz and Cuban music since arriving in Richmond and was recently awarded the prestigious Educator of the Year award. Davison also serves as trumpet instructor and head of the brass area at the world-renowned Interlochen International Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. He hosted the International Trumpet Guild Conference in 1999 and is an Edwards Instrument Performing Artist. Davison, along with producer Ed Tillett, completed Cuba: Rhythm in Motion, a documentary tracing the musical genealogy between Cuban rhythms and American jazz. The film premiered on the campus of the University of Richmond in 2007 and has been shown around the world, including Spain, Australia and Mexico. Dr. Davison is presently writing a book on Cuban folk music.