(Press release)

Belton, Texas – The Department of Music at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor completes its season of the Hillman Visiting Artist Series with international violinist and touring artist, Charles Wetherbee, in Hughes Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, 2009. Wetherbee will perform works by Grieg, Gershwin, Rosza and Karol Szymanowski. Dr. Michelle Schumann, award winning pianist and Associate Professor of Music at UMHB, will perform alongside Mr. Wetherbee.

Violinist CHARLES WETHERBEE has performed throughout the world as a soloist and chamber musician, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In the US, he has appeared at the Aspen Music Festival, the Garth Newell Center, the Hidden Valley Festival, the Roycroft Chamber Festival, the Nouvelle Academie International d’Été (Nice, France), and at Strings in the Mountains in Steamboat, CO. Charles has been the Concertmaster of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra following his appointment in 1994. He has appeared numerous times as soloist with the orchestra, earning high praise both from audiences and critics. After a recent performance with the Columbus Symphony, The Columbus Dispatch wrote “...Wetherbee has turned into a first rate showman...his doublestops, harmonics, and beautiful sound kept the audience spellbound”.

A native of Buffalo, New York, Charles gave his first performances at age six. He made his debut with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under Symon Bychkov, and since then has performed with the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovitch, as well as the Alexandria Symphony, the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, the Minnesota Synphonia, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Orchestra Nacional de Mexico, and the Symphony Orchestra of the Curtis Institute. In 1988 he toured the Far East with the National Repertory Orchestra as concertmaster and soloist, including performances in Seoul, Korea as part of the Olympic Arts Festival. In 1990 he traveled to the Middle East to perform for the men and women of the armed services. The Washington Post called Wetherbee “a consumate artist...with flawless technique”. The Virginia Pilot said that he “...gave a performance of great conviction and emotion”. Recently, Mr. Wetherbee was awarded the 2005-2006 Ashworth Artist award.

He made his New York debut in 1988 at Carnegie Hall to critical acclaim as a participant in the American Music Competition. He is also the artistic director of the Snake River Chamber Players, which performs every August in Keystone, CO.

This concert is made possible through the generous support of the Helen Frances Hillman Fund for Scholarly Exchange. The Hillman Visiting Artist Recital Series is underwritten by The Helen Frances Hillman Fund for Scholarly Exchange. The fund was established in 1999 by Dr. Jimmye S. Hillman in honor of his wife, Helen Frances Smith Hillman, Mary Hardin-Baylor Class of 1946. The fund was designed to foster scholarly exchange at UMHB, particularly in the area of fine arts, music and languages.

All performances in the Hillman Visiting Artist Series are free and open to the public. For more information please call the College of Visual and Performing Arts at 254- 295-4678.