Nightnotes concert features all-Oakland University guitar trio

The Guitar Summit features the music of Terry Herald, James Lentini and Bret Hoag.

Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings is presenting a “Guitar Summit” concert 8 p.m. on Feb. 20 as part of its “Nightnotes” series.

This event features the sweet sound of classical and contemporary guitar works by three Oakland University faculty members who are also professional musicians. This performance marks the first time guitar will be featured in the popular Nightnotes Concert Series in its 16-year history.

Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost James P. Lentini will be joined on stage by special lecturer Bret Hoag, who oversees the Oakland University classical and jazz guitar program and by OU Music, Theatre and Dance faculty member Terry Herald. 

Original compositions written by James Lentini and Terry Herald will be performed. In addition, the group will play music by J.S. Bach and Dusan Bogdanovich in arrangements for trios, duos and solos.

The Guitar Summit concert will be held at Hagopian World of Rugs, 850 South Old Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. Tickets at $22 adults/$10 students are available in advance by visiting: http://detroitchamberwinds.org/guitarsummit/. 

“It’s an honor for all three of us to perform at this Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings event,” said Dr. Lentini. “The DCWS is one of the major classical music organizations in Detroit and if you like guitar music, we hope you will come out, listen in and enjoy the show.”

EVENT INFO: The Guitar Summit concert will be held at Hagopian World of Rugs, 850 South Old Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. Tickets at $22 adults/$10 students are available in advance online.

A composer and guitarist, James P. Lentini has numerous compositions to his credit. His music appears on the Naxos label's American Classics series, and his awards include a Career Achievement in the Field of Music from Wayne State University, first prize in the Choral Composition Contest at Bluffton College, the Andres Segovia International Composition Award, a Visiting Artist Residency in Composition at the American Academy in Rome and the ASCAP Standard Panel Award 1991-2013.

Gramophone Magazine has called Lentini a "... typical classical music success story," while describing his composition "Scenes from Sedona" as "… perhaps the best piece for viola and cello since Beethoven's 'Eyeglasses' duet."

Bret Hoag

Bret Hoag is a special lecturer of classical and jazz guitar at Oakland University. A regular solo performer, Hoag specializes in performance of new music; he has premiered works by many composers, including P.Q. Phan, Anthony Lanman, Rafael Hernandez, Mitsuhito Ogino, Terry Herald, Brian Hulse and John Hall.

Aside from solo engagements, Hoag frequently performs in chamber settings. Most recently, collaborators have included Jeffery Zook, flutist; Lori Newman, flutist; George Stoffan, clarinetist; Drake Dantzler, tenor; Kelly Holst, soprano; and Davis Brooks, violinist.

At Oakland, Hoag directs the Oakland University Guitar Ensemble, teaches all levels of guitar classes for non-majors, and recruits and maintains an active studio of guitar majors.

Terry Herald

Terry Herald’s professional career has been spent exploring a breadth of musical idioms, from Renaissance to Contemporary, composing for a wide range of genres including chamber, choral, and orchestral music, as well as incorporating jazz and world music influences in some of his works. His career as a composer began in film scoring and has evolved over the years into the orchestral/concert areas in which he now concentrates.

Herald is currently on staff at Oakland University where he engineers all sound recordings in Varner Hall as well as teaches courses in the history of film music, sound recording and instructs private composition students. He also maintains a recording schedule at his studio in Oakland Township where he engineers recordings for many other professional artists.

Herald’s accomplishments include commissioned arrangements for the Detroit Symphony’s Civic Orchestra, the Lexington Bach Festival, the Warren Symphony and the Metropolitan Youth Symphony’s 350-piece combined orchestra. His movie scores include “Air Force, The Planes and the Presidents” and “Journey to Justice.” His television productions include CBS Sports, ABC’s NFL “Monday Night Football,” the Olympics’ “Up Close and Personal” series, NBC’s “Dateline,” the award-winning PBS series, “Bob’s Jobs,” and Nickelodeon’s “Mr. Wizard.”

ABOUT DETROIT CHAMBER WINDS & STRINGS:

Since its founding in 1982, Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings has set the standard for chamber music in Detroit. By bringing together the top musicians from the metro area, most of whom are members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Michigan Opera Theatre, DCWS immerses audiences in a chamber music experience that is innovative, entertaining, and unsurpassed anywhere in the region. To find out more, visit http://detroitchamberwinds.org/ 

ABOUT OAKLAND UNIVERSITY:

Oakland University is a doctoral, research university located on 1,443 acres of scenic land in the cities of Rochester Hills and Auburn Hills in Oakland County, Michigan. The University has 135 bachelor's degree programs and 135 graduate degree and certificate programs. Oakland is a nationally recognized public university with more than 20,500 students.