Logan Series wins award for its adventurous programming
Music at Noon: The Logan Series, a free noontime performance series at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, has been honored with a Chamber Music America/American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ (CMA/ASCAP) 2005 Award for Adventurous Programming.
The 16-year-old series won first prize in the category of presenting organizations that host nine or fewer chamber music concerts per season. Dr. Daniel Barnard, lecturer in music at Penn State Behrend and Music at Noon director, will accept the award later this month at Chamber Music America’s national conference in New York City.
Music at Noon was begun in 1989 with the support of Kay Logan of Warren. An arts advocate and philanthropist, Logan had been principal flutist of the Columbus Symphony for 20 years, and envisioned the series as a way to present chamber music in a setting so intimate and informal that audiences were encouraged to enjoy a bagged lunch during the concert. All Music at Noon performers also are expected to present a kid-friendly educational program at Diehl Elementary, Penn State Behrend’s Adopt-A-School partner.
“Besides its informality, what makes Music at Noon unique is that it is programmed from a curatorial perspective. Each performer is chosen based on how it fits into the season as a whole,” Barnard says. “We are thrilled to receive this award from Chamber Music America and ASCAP not only because of the national exposure it brings, but also because it is a validation of this approach to programming.”
Chamber Music America is the national service organization for the ensemble music profession. ASCAP is a membership organization of over 210,000 composers, songwriters, and publishers in every music genre.
Music at Noon continues to be supported by Kay Logan through the Kay Logan Trust as well as by the Arts Council of Erie, Penn State Behrend’s student activity fee, and Pennsylvania Partners on the Arts. Three performances remain in the 16th season: Chamber ensembles Trio Johannes on Tuesday, Jan. 31, and St. Petersburg Quartet on Tuesday, Feb. 28, and jazz singer and lyricist Lenora Zenzalai Helm on Wednesday, April 5. All performances will be held in the Reed Union Building’s McGarvey Commons and are free and open to the public.
In addition, Trio Johannes and Lenora Zenzalai Helm will perform in the new Music at Night series of ticketed evening events. Trio Johannes will be joined by guest clarinetist Fabio DiCasola for Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1. Helm will perform Thursday, April 6, also at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the Reed Union Building main desk or online at pennstatebehrend.psu.edu/musicatnoon.