Hillsdale’s Professional Artist Series begins with a bang this month in the music department, with three professional concerts over the next four weeks.
Gospel quartet Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem will play this Saturday, Sept. 6, at 8 p.m. in Markel Auditorium. On Sunday, Sept. 21, renowned pianist Andreas Klein will perform in Markel at 3 p.m., and guitarist David Youngman, a Hillsdale native, will play on Friday, Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in McNamara Rehearsal Hall.
Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem play a unique brand of historically American music, labeled by Vancouver’s Rogue Folk Review as “an intoxicating blend of roots music styles, with deep traditional roots.”
Music department chair James Holleman describes the group as “a bona-fide revival meeting, but without the preaching.”
Andreas Klein, a German-born pianist, will both play a concert and teach a piano master class.
“As a pianist, I’m excited for Andreas to come,” junior music major Taylor Flowers said. “He’s an excellent and very well-known concert pianist.”
The New York Times has described Klein as “a fascinating artist with all the indispensable qualities: temperament, taste, touch, tone, the four Ts of pianism.”
David Youngman is an instrumental fingerstyle guitarist who plays a wide variety of musical styles, drawing on jazz, classical, folk, and New Age influences. He is also known for his hymn arrangements. In addition to performing, he teaches guitar at Spring Arbor University.
Senior Chris Pandolfo, who plays guitar with student band Coffey and the Sugar Packets, was enthusiastic about a virtuoso guitarist coming to Hillsdale.
“I don’t know much about Youngman, but I am very excited to see him,” Pandolfo said. “It will be a good motivation to practice.”
This year’s Professional Artist Series is heavily weighted towards the beginning of the year. After the three concerts in September, the next concert —the prestigious men’s vocal ensemble Cantus— is not until January. Holleman said that this is by design.
“We like to offer the students a chance to get to these concerts before they get crazy busy as the semester goes on,” Holleman said. “It’s also nice to get these shared experiences as an audience under our belt early. It’s a good way to jump-start the music program for the year.”
Although all Professional Artist Series concerts are free, it is recommended to reserve tickets ahead of time.
“We try to seat everyone who shows up, but these shows often sell out, and reserving tickets will guarantee you a spot,” Holleman said.
Tickets can be reserved by calling the Sage Box Office at 517-607-2848 or by email at sageboxoffice@hillsdale.edu.
