By Lori Dugan
Thatcher, Ariz.— Eastern Arizona College’s Fine Arts Department will showcase a series of live performances this November, highlighting the talents of its student musicians and actors. The public is invited to attend three events: the EAC Jazz Band Concert, Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, and the Symphony Orchestra’s Postcards from Italy.
The fall season begins with the EAC Jazz Band Concert on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. in the Lee Little Theater. Under the direction of Geoff DeSpain, EAC’s band director, the concert will feature a range of classic and modern jazz selections performed by the college’s talented student musicians. Admission is free.
Next, the EAC Theatre Department will present Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus from Nov. 12–15 at 7 p.m., with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m., in the Fine Arts Auditorium. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online or at the door.
Amadeus takes audiences to 1823 Vienna, where aging composer Antonio Salieri claims he murdered the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Through Salieri’s eyes, the play explores envy, genius, and the human struggle with faith and imperfection. Rated PG-13 for mature themes and violence, Shaffer’s fictionalized retelling of history offers a gripping look at the rivalry between two of music’s most brilliant minds.
“Every so often, a show comes along that changes the face of theater and inspires a new generation of theatergoers,” said Jeff Skiba, EAC’s director of theatre. “Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus is one of those plays. Shaffer creates an unfiltered, humanistic inspection of the world of composers in the late 18th century, focusing on Antonio Salieri and his nemesis Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Though based on real people and events, the story imagines how Salieri’s envy may have led him to destroy the man whose music he could not match.”
The lineup concludes with the EAC Symphony Orchestra’s performance, Postcards from Italy, on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m., in the Lee Little Theater. The concert, conducted by Franklin Alvarez, EAC’s orchestra director, will take listeners on a musical journey through Italy, featuring orchestral works inspired by the country’s culture and scenery. Admission is free.
For more information about EAC’s Fine Arts performances, visit www.eac.edu or call (928) 428-8359.
