Music meets visual art in a multimedia presentation at the next ArtHop at Fresno Pacific University.
Quiltings brings together the music of Walter Biddle Saul II, D.M.A., nationally award-winning composer and FPU faculty emeritus, and the fabric art of Ann Harwell, one of the American South’s 100 most-renowned artists.
The piano recital with video will be from 6:15-7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 7, in the Warkentine Culture and Arts Center, 4838 E. Butler Ave., on the main FPU campus. Admission is free, and this is a drop-in event.
In a 75-minute program, Saul will present 46 original short piano pieces that “interpret” 114 of Harwell’s painting-like quilts, images of which will be shown on a large screen. Harwell, who is also Saul’s sister-in-law, divides her catalogue into four galleries: Earth, Kaleidoscope, Sun Quilts and Astronomy. Audience members will progress through these galleries while listening to Saul’s music.
In 2019, Quiltings was selected as a finalist for The American Prize for Instrumental Chamber Music—Professional Division.
Saul joined FPU in 2003 from Warner Pacific University, retiring from full-time teaching in 2020. During his time at Fresno Pacific, he started the Summer Music Camp and the Pacific Artist Series. Saul has produced seven CDs and one DVD of original compositions, including the Grammy-nominated Naxos “American Classics” CD, Kiev 2014. His work was performed at Carnegie Hall and by the Fresno Philharmonic among many orchestras and ensembles.
More about Saul at waltersaul.com, more about Harwell at Ann Harwell, Fabric Artist