Jacobs begins summer music slate

While most parts of the IU campus slow to a crawl during the summertime, the Jacobs School of Music kicked off a packed summer schedule this week.

“We only know one way to go and that’s full speed. Bloomington has such an enthusiastic arts community of people who come to our shows,” said Tom Wieligman, the executive administrator of instrumental ensembles.

The Jacobs’ summer music schedule began on June 20 and will last until August 12. It includes more than 30 different concerts featuring a variety of performances, from the intimate sounds of chamber music to larger, powerful percussion ensembles.

“I try to bring people together from our faculty and people who have been associated with IU,” said Mimi Zweig, the director of the string ensemble and coordinator of the chamber music series.

The biggest star of the summer schedule is Joshua Bell, a Jacobs School alumnus and Grammy Award-winning violinist considered one of the best in the world. Bell was also born and raised in Bloomington.

“I don’t like to name drop, but it certainly starts with Joshua Bell,” Wieligman said. “There aren’t many places that can even get him, and there’s only one place that he can call home. That sets the bar very high.”

Aside from Bell, most of the performers are part of the staff at Jacobs, but that doesn’t mean viewers won’t be getting a world class performance.

“These are names that are at the top of anyone’s list for these types of summer festivals, and we have them right here,” Wieligman said.

There are also workshops running concurrently with the concert schedule. Edward Auer, a music professor in the piano department, is the director of this year’s piano workshop.

He will be performing works of Beethoven with his wife in one of the concert
performances.

“While the program is performance-oriented, its number one focus is education,” Auer said.

The level of education the Jacobs School can provide is well-known; a similar level of quality is found in the caliber of the summer performances.

“It’s quite magnificent, especially when you include all the other disciplines included in the festival,” Zweig said. “People spend parts of their summer here because of it.”
Wieligman echoed her sentiments.

“It’s such a great place to live or visit,” he said. “To hear these kinds of performances in this small of a place doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world.”


Event listing:

Mehnahem Pressler & friends
8 p.m. Thursday
Auer Hall
$10 general, $5 students

Festival Orchestra feat. Joshua Bell, violin
8 p.m. July 1
IU Auditorium
$8 student, $15 general

Edward Auer & Junghwa Moon Auer
8 p.m. August 2
Auer Hall
Free