Hale Library Concert Series celebrates Gail Kubik
Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015
MANHATTAN — Though he lived much of his professional life in Italy and France, famed composer Gail Kubik never lost touch with his Kansas roots. Born just over 100 years ago in 1914, he spent his youth in Coffeyville, Kansas, and went on to be one of the leading voices in mid-to-late 20th-century music, especially in the realm of radio, films and television.
The Hale Library Concert Series presents a very special performance of Kubik's works at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30, in Hale Library's Hemisphere Room at Kansas State University. A wine and dessert reception follows the performance.
Kubik won a Pulitzer Prize in 1952 for "Symphony Concertante," which was derived from a movie score he created for the film "C-Man." He also composed music for the Academy Award-winning cartoon "Gerald McBoing Boing," which revolutionized the musical approach to animated films.
In 1969 he came to Kansas State University as composer-in-residence. His composition "A Record of Our Time" was performed at the dedication of the Kansas State University Auditorium on Nov. 11, 1970, by the Minnesota Orchestra, the KSU Choral Union and Ray Milland.
Kubik died from a rare tropical blood disease, apparently contacted during a world tour for the U.S. Department of State, in 1984. He was 69.
Alfred Cochran, professor of music in the university's School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, and author of "The Functional Music of Gail Kubik: Catalyst for the Concert Hall," will introduce the concert. Performers include additional university music faculty, including Amanda Arrington, Paul Hunt, Tod Kerstetter, Nora Lewis, David Littrell, Susan Maxwell, Kristin Mortenson and Craig Parker.
The evening also will feature an exhibit of the Gail Kubik collection, which is housed in the Morse Department of Special Collections at Hale Library. The Friends Concert Committee is promising additional surprises that make this a must-see event.
Individual tickets are $30 each; student tickets are $10 each. To purchase tickets online, visit http://www.found.ksu.edu/rsvp/concertseries. For additional assistance, contact Darchelle Martin at martin05@k-state.edu or 785-532-7442.
