Hazlerig Returns for TAMIU Concert Performance April 7

Former Laredoan Sylvia Hazlerig will present her own compositions in a concert performance at Texas A&M International University’s Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall on Tuesday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free of charge and open to the public.

Hazlerig will perform on the harpsichord and piano, showcasing two new works. She will be joined on flute by Dr. Susan Berdahl, TAMIU associate professor of flute, and violinist Everaldo Martínez of the Lubbock Symphony String Quartet.

The two new works, the Sonatina for Flute and Harpsichord and the Theme and Variations for Solo Violin, were written last year for the artists performing April 7. Both works premiered in August 2008 at Hazlerig House in Crestone, Colo.

Hazlerig began composing music at 13. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Composition and Theory from the University of North Texas in 1955 and a Master of Arts in Music Literature from Central Missouri State University in 1978. She served as music faculty at Laredo Community College from 1978 until her retirement in 1997. After retiring, Hazlerig moved to Colorado and remains active as a sponsor and promoter of Hazlerig House Concerts. She continues to compose and perform on the piano, harpsichord, and violin.

In a 2007 contest sponsored by Denver University, Hazlerig was chosen as one of the 11 outstanding composers in Colorado. This summer, a concert in honor of her 75th birthday will be performed by the Confluence String Quartet of Denver and will include the new string quartet Hazlerig was commissioned to write.

Formerly married to the late Dr. Jack O. Hazlerig, longtime TAMIU English professor, Hazlerig is a mother of four and grandmother of eight. In 2003, she donated the Zuckermann Harpsichord to TAMIU and has returned to perform on it each year since.

Dr. Berdahl has been a featured soloist and masterclass instructor on several continents at such diverse venues as Russia’s Moscow State Conservatory, the Dewan Suarah in Miri, Malaysia, the Teatro Nacional Manuel Bonilla in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and conventions of the U.S. National Flute Association. Berdahl recently performed as a soloist with the Leipzig Bach Camerata. She has been a contributing author to a number of journals and books, and recently traveled to the Republic of Honduras as a U.S. Fulbright professor of flute.

Martínez began his musical training at the Diaz Zelaya Music Conservatory in Tegucigalpa. He was a professional violinist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Honduras for 10 years before coming to the U.S. to pursue formal training. He is now a doctoral candidate in violin performance at Texas Tech University, and teaches violin and viola. Martínez is also a published composer and arranger.

For more information, please contact Bede Leyendecker, Department of the Fine and Performing Arts chair, at 326.2649, e-mail bleyendecker@tamiu.edu or visit offices in the TAMIU Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, room 217C.

Recorded information on upcoming events is available by calling 326-ARTS or clicking on tamiu.edu/coas/fpa/coe.shtml

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