Robert Young McMahan will perform Astor Piazzolla’s “Le Grand Tango” with cellist Cecylia Barczyk at The College of New Jersey’s annual Music Faculty Gala Concert, at the Mildred and Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall, Music Building, The College of New Jersey,2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 8 PM.
The Department of Music at The College of New Jersey promotes music study in a program where performance, music education, technology, creativity and scholarship are closely integrated. Soloists and ensembles exemplify the high performance and creativity standards achieved by the Department. Once a year, members of the music faculty come together to perform in this Gala event. The event is open to the public. It is a ticketed event to benefit MENC.
Dr. McMahan will also perform at the Harold J. Kaplan Concert Hall, Center for the Arts, Towson University, Towson, MD (near Baltimore), on Oct. 28, 7:30 PM, as part of the annual International Cello Festival held there and produced by Barczyk, who is on the Towson U. music faculty.
Enjoy the exciting rhythms of Central and South America woven into cello compositions by Ginastera, Piazzola, and Cuban composer Jorge Lopez Marin. Towson faculty, cellist Cecylia Barczyk will premiere two works: Variaciones Rusticas for cello and string orchestra by Lopez, and Sonata for Two Cellos and Piano (with Frances Borowsky) composed by Baltimore’s own William Milner. All proceeds benefit the TU Foundation Cello Scholarship Fund.
“Le Grand Tango” was composed in 1982 for Mstislav Rostropovich and is originally for cello and piano. The piano part has been transcribed for bandoneon as well as chromatic accordion. Dr. McMahan transcribed the piano part to piano accordion for these concerts.
Cecylia Barczyk has achieved international recognition as a complete artist, successful teacher, and great humanitarian. She has given concerts, recitals, and master classes throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America and has appeared as a soloist with prominent orchestras including those of Amman, Baltimore, Beijing, Berlin, Boston, Berlin, Bucharest, Budapest, Jakarta, Leipzig, London, Moscow, New York, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Seoul, Shanghai, Sofia, St. Petersburg, Taiwan, Tel Aviv, Tianjin, Tokyo, and Warsaw. She has frequently performed on radio and television and has recorded much of the standard and new cello literature – as well as works composed especially for her – on the Muza, ICRecords, Melodya, and CRS labels.
Dr. McMahan is Professor of Music at The College of New Jersey where he is also Area Coordinator of Music Theory, Composition, Ear Training, and Classical Accordion. He is on the Executive Board of the American Accordionists’ Association. His degrees are: D.M.A., Music Composition, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University;M.A., Liberal Arts, Great Books Program, St. John’s College; M.M., Music Composition, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University;B.M., Music Theory, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.
Prior to his appointment at TCNJ, Dr. McMahan taught Music Theory and related subjects at Towson University, Morgan State University, College of Notre Dame, Essex Community College, and the Peabody Preparatory School (of the Peabody Institute) where he was Head of the Theory Department and developed its curriculum. He also taught Classical Accordion at the Peabody Preparatory School and at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Dr. McMahan studied composition with Robert Hall Lewis, Jean Eichelberger Ivey, and Stefan Grove at the Peabody Institute.
Dr. McMahan is a recognized authority on the American composer, Carl Ruggles, and has published articles in American Music, Sonneck Society Bulletin, New Grove Dictionary of Opera, and New Grove Dictionary of Music. He is presently working on a book on the life and works of Ruggles.
Dr. McMahan’s primary instrument is classical accordion, and he has tirelessly promoted the instrument in serious contemporary music throughout his career. He has been commissioned to write works for the accordion by various individuals and organizations, including the American Accordionists’ Association and the New York State Council on the Arts. He has recorded on the CRS and Orion labels and is published by Ernest Deffner Music. During his years in the Baltimore area, Dr. McMahan was accordionist for the Baltimore Symphony, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Washington Ballet and American Ballet Orchestras (at the Kennedy Center), and for other cultural and performing organizations. He has performed under such notable conductors as Julius Rudel, Rob Fisher, Sarah Caldwell, Sergiu Comissiona, Gunther Schuller, Frederik Prausnitz, Murry Sidlin, bandleader Les Elgart, Leon Botstein, Leon Fleisher, and Peter Schickele, and with Sting, Georgia Brown, Maureen McGovern, Alvin Epstein, Boyd Gaines, and Theodore Bikel.
For further information: mcmahan@tcnj.edu
