The Marshall University School of Music will present Dr. Michael Stroeher, trombone, and Dr. Johan Botes, piano, in a faculty recital at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, in Smith Recital Hall, located at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Hal Greer Boulevard, Huntington.
The recital’s all-American program will include works by Huntington’s own Dr. Paul Whear, a distinguished composer and professor emeritus at Marshall University, as well as Paul Creston, Eric Ewazen and Douglas Townsend.
Stroeher said American composers have been at the forefront of recognizing the trombone as a solo instrument.
“The works that Johan and I will be playing all contain elements that are immediately recognized as American, including jazz, hymns and even a country hoedown,” Stroeher said. “I’m particularly excited to perform Paul Whear’s sonata because I performed one of his pieces in high school orchestra, and it was one of the first modern works I actually understood. The Marshall University Trombone Ensemble also performed one of his works, and it’s obvious he knows the trombone and its capabilities.”
Stroeher is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of North Texas and has performed with the St. Louis Symphony, the South Carolina Philharmonic, the Augusta Symphony in Georgia and the Greenville Symphony in North Carolina. He is principal trombonist with the Huntington Symphony Orchestra. Botes is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, as well as the University of Texas, and has appeared as a soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa; the Pro Musica Orchestra of Johannesburg, South Africa; and the Texas Chamber Orchestra. He also teaches at the Interlochen Academy during the summer.
The recital is free and open to the public. For more information, call the School of Music at 304-696-3117.