KINGSBURY ENSEMBLE WILL KICK OFF HAYDN FESTIVAL

Mozart and Beethoven get most of the "Performance Today" attention these days, but during the last half of the 18th century the most popular composer in Europe was Joseph Haydn.

"He was the Andrew Lloyd Webber of the day," says Dr. Sara Edgerton, conductor of the Southeast Symphony Orchestra.

Haydn composed more than 100 symphonies, many string quartets, operas and filled the rafters with beautiful church music. The incorporation of folk music in his compositions made him popular with the middle classes, and he is credited with raising the status of all musicians.

Before Haydn's success, they were treated almost as servants to the nobility, Edgerton said.

"As he became successful, he raised the status of musicians ... to the point where they would be honored guests of kings."

The composer's work will be celebrated during April and May in a series of concerts, lectures and demonstrations to be presented by the College of Liberal Arts at Southeast Missouri State University.

The Haydn Festival will begin Sunday with a chamber recital by the Kingsbury Ensemble at Old St. Vincent's Church and will conclude May 6 with the Choral Union performance of Haydn's most popular work, "The Creation."

Edgerton is a member of the Kingsbury Ensemble, which will perform a selection of Haydn's chamber music at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Old St. Vincent's Church.

Other members are Jacob Berg, principal flutist with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Lorraine Glass-Harris, a violinist with the Saint Louis Symphony. Also performing will be husband and wife Seth and Maryse Carlin, known for their fortepiano performances.

The fortepiano is a replica of the late 18th century piano.

Seth Carlin will give a fortepiano demonstration and masterclass Monday at Southeast.

Also upcoming this week is a lecture titled "Art and Music at the Time of `The Creation.'" Samuel E. Bishop, an art department faculty member, will present slides of the masterpieces of art created during Haydn's lifetime. Selections also will be performed by music students and faculty.

The lecture will be presented at noon Wednesday in Kent Little Theatre.

Also coming up is a program called "1798: The Year in Review," which will be presented in the form of a newscast in 1798, the year "The Creation" was first performed. KFVS-12 TV's Susanna Baylon will anchor.

The program will be at noon April 30 in Dempster Hall.

On May 2, Dr. Joseph Werne of the department of history will discuss the political scene in Europe during the 1790s. The program will begin at 10 a.m. in Crisp Hall Auditorium.

Finally, Edgerton will give a pre-concert talk about "The Creation" May 6. The talk will begin at 7 p.m. in Room 265 of Academic Hall.

Overtones of both Mozart and Beethoven can be heard in "The Creation," she says. "It's very rhythmic and has lots of surprises."

Dr. John Egbert will conduct the Choral Union, University Choir and University Orchestra in "The Creation" beginning at 8 p.m. May 6 in Academic Auditorium.

All events except the Kingsbury Ensemble performance and "The Creation" concert are free.

HAYDN FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

April 20-May 6

Sunday -- Kingsbury Ensemble: Chamber Music of Haydn, 7:30 p.m. Old St. Vincent's Church.

Monday -- Seth Carlin: Fortepiano Demonstration and Masterclass, 2-3:30 p.m., Brandt Music Building.

Wednesday -- Art and Music at the Time of the Creation, noon-1:15 p.m., Kent Little Theatre.

Wednesday, April 30 -- 1798: The Year in Review, noon-12:50 p.m., Dempster Hall's Glenn Auditorium.

Friday, May 2 -- Europe in the 1790s: The Political Scene, 10-10:50 a.m., Crisp Hall Auditorium.

Tuesday, May 6 -- The Creation: Pre-concert Talk, 7-7:30 p.m., Academic Hall, Room 265.

Tuesday, May 6 -- The Creation: Performance, 8 p.m., Academic Auditorium.