Leah Forsyth on English Horn performs, in a faculty recital, In The City At Night, by Jenni Brandon, at Northwestern State University (NSU) in the Magale Recital Hall,  Creative and Performing Arts Annex, 143 Central Ave, Natchitoches, LA 71457 on Friday, October 22, 2021 at 6:00pm CDT. She will be accompanied by Dr. Chialing Hsieh on piano and Dr. Greg Handel on organ. The program is:

Rhapsody                                           Gordon Jacob (1895 – 1984)

Concertino in G Major                     Gaetano Doniaetti (1797 – 1848

Pause

Pieta                                                    Ulysses Kay (1917 – 1995

In the City at Night                           Jenni Brandon (b. 1977)

Nosferatu of the Night!                     Michael Isaacson (b. 1946)

Einsame Blumen                               Robert Schumann (1910 – 1856)

Leah Forsyth is an assistant professor of oboe at Northwestern State University, School of Music. Prior to joining the NSU faculty in 2011, she served as oboist with the United States Army Field Band in Washington D.C. from 2007-2011, where she also performed regularly throughout the United States with the Woodwind Ambassadors Quintet. She previously held the position of solo English Horn with the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra from 2005-2007. Forsyth holds the positions of principal oboe of the Rapides Symphony Orchestra and second oboe with the Texarkana Symphony. She performs regularly with the Shreveport Symphony as well as other orchestras throughout Louisiana and Texas. She is a founding member of the Three Reeds Duo with husband and saxophonist Paul Forsyth. Three Reeds performs throughout the world, building a repertoire ranging from baroque and classical transcriptions to contemporary and newly commissioned works.

In The City At Night was written at the request of Ryan Zwahlen, oboe and English horn player with the Definiens Project. He was searching for new literature for the English horn and wanted to increase the repertoire by requesting composers to write new pieces for him to perform and record. Jenni wanted to write him a piece that uses the lovely, lyrical range of the English horn while at the same time composing something that was also rhythmically fun to play. In The City At Night focuses on just that; it is at times playful and fast like many lights blinking on just after dusk in the city. At other times it is quiet and serene like the city streets that are empty at the early hours before dawn. In creating this world, Jenni wanted the listener to be left with thoughts and impressions of a city after dark, and the lone voice of the English horn telling the story of a night adventure on the city streets.

In The City At Night is available, on Jenni’s website, at the following link In the City at Night – solo English horn sheet music (jennibrandon.com)