Pianist to Pay Tribute to Late Professor with Performance at EIU's Doudna
Feb-09-2009
Pianist James Litzelman, an Eastern Illinois University graduate, will perform at his alma mater to raise funds for a scholarship honoring the memory of a much-respected music professor.
The concert, which will benefit the Alan R. Aulabaugh Music Scholarship, is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, in the Doudna Fine Arts Center's Dvorak Concert Hall. General-admission tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students.
"It is a special honor to have Jim Litzelman perform at EIU in memory of Alan Aulabaugh," said Marilyn Coles, an EIU faculty member who is coordinating the concert. "As a student of Alan's while at EIU, Jim became a very special family friend, and it means a great deal to the family that he is willing to perform this benefit concert.
"He is a wonderful performer and very active in his field, so it is an honor for Eastern that we benefit in this way from his return to campus."
Litzelman, who studied with Aulabaugh while earning a bachelor's degree in music (piano performance) from EIU in 1984, is the director of the graduate program in piano pedagogy at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he has been on the faculty since 1993.
He has performed and lectured in the United States, China, Russia, Mexico and throughout Europe.
Litzelman is the son of Donald and Christine Litzelman of Ste. Marie, a village in Jasper County. As a student at Newton High School, Litzelman was very active in the band and chorus, and he studied piano with Sandra Clark, also one of Aulabaugh's former students.
The Alan R. Aulabaugh Music Scholarship was established to honor Aulabaugh, who taught at EIU from 1957 until his retirement in 1986. He died in July 2007 at the age of 81.
During his tenure at EIU, Aulabaugh was an active member of the university community and was awarded both the Outstanding Faculty Member Award and the Distinguished Service Award. He was also a piano soloist, chamber musician and accompanist across the Midwest.
For Doudna tickets and information, or to arrange accommodations for persons with special needs, contact Doudna Fine Arts Patron Services (217-581-3110 or doudnatix@eiu.edu) or visit the Doudna Fine Arts Center Box Office.
The Doudna is located one block west of Ninth Street at Garfield Avenue on the EIU campus. Free parking is available in the any of the university lots found at the corner of Ninth and Garfield and immediately south of the center.
The Doudna Fine Arts Center is a division of the EIU College of Arts and Humanities. For more information, please see http://www.eiu.edu/doudna.
