By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
Arts at Noon brings nationally and internationally-known musicians to Grand Valley State University for 14 performances each academic year. All Arts at Noon concerts will take place in the Cook-DeWitt Center, located on the Allendale Campus. They will begin at noon and last approximately one hour.
Every concert is free and open to the public. For more information about Arts at Noon, visit gvsu.edu/artsatnoon or contact Henry Duitman, series coordinator, at duitmanh@gvsu.edu.
November 1–Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra
Members of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra will return to Grand Valley State University’s Allendale Campus for their annual Arts at Noon performance.
“As the premiere arts organization in West Michigan, the Grand Rapids Symphony provides amazing cultural and educational benefits to the region,” said Henry Duitman, Arts at Noon coordinator and GVSU Symphony Orchestra director. “Every year, the performance by the Grand Rapids Symphony during the Arts at Noon series brings the warmth of exquisitely played string and woodwind instruments to the audience in the Cook-DeWitt Center. This is always the most eagerly-anticipated performance of the semester.”
November 15–Akropolis Reed Quintet
The Akropolis Reed Quintet takes listeners on musical adventures by performing an innovative repertoire with acclaimed precision. The quintet was founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan and became the first reed quintet to win the Fischoff Gold Medal in 2014. Championing the next generation of musicians, Akropolis delivers impactful outreach programs at schools ranging from kindergarten to conservatory.
The ensemble has released two studio albums to critical acclaim and commissioned more than 25 reed quintet works to date. Their dynamic concerts feature accessible contemporary works framed by invigorating arrangements of classical music spanning four centuries.
November 29–Cellist Nick Photinos
Cellist Nicholas Photinos is a former and founding member of the four-time Grammy Award-winning new music ensemble, eighth blackbird. During his Arts at Noon performance at Grand Valley State University, Photinos will perform works from Petits Artéfacts, his debut recording on New Amsterdam Records. Formed in 1996, eighth blackbird performs throughout the world, with approximately 50 concerts annually, and has been featured on the 2013 Grammy Awards, CBS Sunday Morning and in The New York Times.
The group’s mission extends beyond performance to curation and education. The ensemble served as Music Director of the Ojai Music Festival (2009), enjoyed a three-year residency at the Curtis Institute of Music, and holds ongoing Ensemble-in-Residence positions at the University of Richmond and the University of Chicago. Photinos teaches at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival every July. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
