Pair of Music Faculty to Perform Work of Professor Emeritus

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Soprano Dr. Rebecca Lister, Carmean Professor of Music, and pianist Dr. Eric Fung, associate professor of music, will perform Eggert’s work Sunday, Sept. 25 at 3 p.m. in Zimmerman Recital Hall.

ANNVILLE, PA (08/29/2016)(readMedia)-- Two Lebanon Valley College music faculty will take the stage for the premiere performance of "Peacock Pie," a cycle of 30 new songs by Dr. Scott Eggert, LVC professor emeritus of music. Soprano Dr. Rebecca Lister, Carmean Professor of Music, and pianist Dr. Eric Fung, associate professor of music, will perform Eggert's work Sunday, Sept. 25 at 3 p.m. in Zimmerman Recital Hall of the Suzanne H. Arnold Gallery. The event is free and open to the public.

The songs of "Peacock Pie" are based on English poet Walter de la Mare's 1913 book of rhymes for children, which have been a source of interest for the composer for more than four decades.

Eggert first encountered the poems in the early 1970s, and in 1982, while in graduate school, he began to develop the idea of a song-cycle based on a selection of them. He set eight of the poems that year, and managed to add one more in 1991. Several singers, Dr. Lister included, performed these nine songs over the years. However, it was not until Eggert retired from full-time teaching at LVC in 2013 that he was able to add the 21 additional songs to complete his long-ago vision for the work.

"In a way, it was a good thing that I waited," Eggert said. "Although many of the poems are whimsical and funny and earn their description as 'children's poems,' the cycle gets darker and more mystical as it progresses, and the final poems are also most certainly appropriate material for the old man I've become."

De la Mare's "Peacock Pie" has gone through many editions since its first publication and at least six of these editions have featured illustrations by a variety of artists. During Lister and Fung's performance, each song will be accompanied by a projected illustration from one of these six editions. The images chosen for the performance are sometimes amusing, always suggestive, and aid in communicating the sense and mood of each of the songs.

To tie in with the recital's theme, Lister will wear a peacock-design formal gown for the performance.

Lebanon Valley College's Music Department offers a variety of public performances by students, faculty, or guest visitors each semester. Please visit www.lvc.edu/music/events.aspx for additional information regarding concerts scheduled for this fall.

About Lebanon Valley College

Lebanon Valley College is a private, coeducational college founded in 1866 and dedicated to the liberal arts. The College offers 40 undergraduate majors plus self-designed majors and a range of minors, concentrations, and pre-professional options, as well as graduate degree programs in athletic training, business administration, music education, physical therapy, science education, and speech-language pathology.

The College has 1,608 full-time undergraduate students and 108 full-time faculty. Students can choose from more than 90 clubs and organizations, and 12 study abroad programs. LVC awards generous academic scholarships to those whose high school records demonstrate a commitment to challenge and achievement.