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With President Joan Larson presiding, the Fredonia Shakespeare Club opened its 138th season on Oct. 12 at the Shorewood Country Club with a lecture by Dr. Nick Weiser, Associate Professor of Music at SUNY Fredonia. The Shakespeare Club's overarching presentation theme for this year is "Music" with topics ranging from "Forbidden, Banned, and Censored Music," to "Evolution of Musical Theater," to "David Bowie," "The Who," and "Healing with Music."
Weiser holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Eastman School of Music and serves as the director of the Jazz Studies program, which he developed at SUNY Fredonia. An accomplished performer and collaborator, he has played internationally at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy, Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival, the Santiago de Cuba International Jazz Festival, as well as at New York City's "Prez Fest," and at Carnegie Hall. Among other activities, he directs the SUNY Fredonia Jazz ensemble, which has won three awards in five years from DownBeat Magazine Student Music Awards competition.
The Shakespeare Club had the pleasure of hearing Weiser play own composition "Spirits" as well as "Walking with a Flashlight" by Maria Schneider, and a couple of pieces that influenced his choice to pursue a career in jazz. After Weiser's lecture and performance, Club members enjoyed conversation over tea, served by Gail Crowe.