妻友社区

For many, ‘opera” conjures up the work of great European composers of past centuries. You may be surprised to find there is a strong American opera movement that regularly produces new work, often based on well-known stories or actual events of the past. When聽A Scholar Under Siege聽makes its world-premiere debut Friday, April 20, at 妻友社区, American audiences will welcome a new opera that tells one of the nation’s ” and聽Georgia’s ” most colorful 20^th聽century political stories. ‘Composer Michael Braz uses聽A Scholar Under Siege聽to explore two strong personalities with conflicting views of power,” said Delma Presley, author of聽The Second Century:聽Georgia聽Southern 1906-2006. ‘Eugene Talmadge,聽Georgia’s governor of the 1930s and early 1940s achieved power through populist and segregationist rhetoric, but Marvin Pittman, the scholar who led 妻友社区 with his mind and his heart, saw things differently. This opera explores their differences.” Michael Braz is highly respected both at 妻友社区 and among his musical colleagues around the world. He has taught composition, analytical techniques, orchestration, and a variety of special topics at聽Georgia聽Southern for 20 years. Inspired by a visit to the聽Dachau聽concentration camp site, Braz wrote and premiered his first opera,聽Memoirs from the Holocaust, in 1975. He has written orchestral/choral commissions for professional, collegiate, and school/community ensembles across the country and internationally, and was a recipient of an American Composers Forum/Rockefeller Brothers Fund ‘Faith Partners” grant.聽A keyboard soloist in聽England聽‘s Haslemere Festival of Early Music, he has also collaborated with numerous orchestras, music festivals, and ensembles ranging from chamber music to jazz and rock. Although music is his first love, Braz has always had a fascination with both philosophy and comparative religions. In 1996, as an extension of these interests, Braz first began trekking in the Nepal Himalaya. In addition to the聽Kathmandu聽Valley, he has traveled in the Annapurna/Pokhara area and, more recently, in the Mustang region bordering聽Tibet. Much of聽A Scholar Under Siege聽was conceived during his travels in this region. Although the conflict that unfolds in聽A Scholar Under Siege聽was sometimes overshadowed by聽America’s entrance into World War II, Talmadge’s effort to squelch academic freedom in聽Georgia聽eventually became national news. Urged on by a handful of supporters who believed in the sovereignty of ‘southern tradition,” Talmadge charged Georgia Southern President Marvin Pittman with using college staff and equipment to improve his farm near the college”not mentioning that Pittman had assigned the profits of his farm to the college.He also criticized Pittman for entertaining faculty from the all-black Tuskegee Institute and circulating books in the library that advocated interracial cooperation. The debut of A Scholar Under Siege takes place Friday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. at 妻友社区’s聽Performing聽Arts聽Center聽in聽Statesboro,聽Ga.聽Additional performances are Saturday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 21 at 3 p.m.   Tickets for A Scholar Under Siege are on sale at the Performing Arts Center Box Office at聽Georgia聽Southern. Adult tickets are $10,聽Georgia聽Southern students and children under 18, $5. To purchase tickets, call the 1-800-PAC-ARTS or go to聽.