The West Texas A&M University Electronic Ensemble, which includes students from Amarillo and Bushland as well as other cities including Lubbock, will pay tribute to a Canyon landmark at its first concert of the academic year.
The ensemble will give a free performance in the north parking lot at the site of its inspiration, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, at 6 p.m. Sept. 15.
“This performance will utilize the unique sonic space created by PPHM as it frames the open grassy area between the museum, the Geneva Schaffer Education Building, Old Main and Old Sub,” said director Dr. Ryan Ingebritsen, assistant professor of music.
Other PPHM related events so far this year have included outreach programs during the summer, events and movies on the lawn, and the new exhibit “Proximity: Paintings from PPHM,” on view in WT’s Dord Fitz Gallery at Mary Moody Northen Hall now through Oct. 24. The exhibit features rarely seen paintings from the museum that explore ideas of proximity, including artwork by Isabel Robinson, Maruice Bernson, Olin Travis, Fred Darge and Harold Bugbee.
The museum first opened its doors in the 1930s and has been expanded several times since. While the PPHM remains closed, outdoor events, exhibits and now even live music are honoring the trove of treasures from around the Texas Panhandle, keeping it in the spotlight.
“This place has been the setting for memories of WT alumni for generations,” Ingebritsen said. “To honor this space, the WT Electronic Ensemble will use this place of sonic memory to create a new piece of music that will be recorded as a sonic document of the current time and place.”
The ensemble, part of the School of Music in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities, composes several of its own works, creating pieces by using nontraditional electronic instruments and production tools.
WT Electronic Ensemble members include Xander Aleman, a senior music education major from Hereford; Christopher Karr, a senior music technology major from Perryton; Kasen Moon, a freshman music technology major from Weatherford; Keoni Murphy, a junior music technology major from Bushland; Marissa Portillo, a senior music technology major from Lubbock; Jack Sprague, a senior music technology major from Amarillo; and Kortni Van Damme, a senior music technology major from Amarillo.
For more information about the upcoming concert, call 806-651-2840.
