The People United Will Never Be Defeated
Composed by Frederick Rzewski
Kathryn Fouse plays Rzewski's monumental piano work with visual presentations by Larry Thompson of the original paintings created specifically for this piece.
Biographies
Dr. Kathryn Fouse recently accepted a position Dean of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Most recently, Fouse served as Professor of Music and Associate Dean for the Division of Music at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
In addition to her commitment to education, she continues to maintain an active career as a virtuoso pianist and a professional accompanist. She graduated cum laude from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance and received a Master of Music degree in piano from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance at the University of North Texas. Her major teachers include Eugenia O'Reilly, Dr. David Albee and Dr. Ruth Slenczynska. Before joining Samford, Fouse served on the faculties of the University of North Texas (Denton, Texas), Texas Wesleyan University (Fort Worth, Texas), Collin County Community College (Plano, Texas) and Lon Morris College (Jacksonville, Texas).
Having developed a strong interest in contemporary music, Dr. Fouse frequently presents lecture-recitals in an effort to bring greater understanding of this music to audiences. In 1992, Dr. Fouse was the national recipient of the Merle Montgomery Doctoral Grant awarded by Mu Phi Epsilon for her research into the Surrealist movement and its influence on American composers. Her special interest in the study and performance of American piano music of the 20th century has resulted in invitations to present her research in lecture-recitals at such prestigious institutions as the University of Illinois, Baylor University, the Dallas Art Museum, Gothenburg University (Sweden) and the Norwegian State Academy of Music (Oslo).
In addition to her solo performances, Dr. Fouse is in great demand as a professional accompanist. She has collaborated with such artists as Timofei Dokschidzer, Edward H. Tarr, David Bilger, Ronald Barron, James Thompson, Vincent diMartino, Leonard Candelaria, Andrei Ikov, Steven Mead and Dale Underwood. She has served as staff accompanist for many international competitions and festivals, including conferences of the International Trumpet Guild, the North American Saxophone Alliance, the European Trumpet Days, the Moscow International Trumpet Competition and Festival and the prestigious ARD International Trumpet Competition in Munich, Germany. In 1996, Fouse was awarded the Marian Bowker Davidson Accompanying Award by Mu Phi Epsilon to travel to Saratov, Russia, to participate in the first Vassily Brandt International Trumpet Solo Competition and Festival.
Larry Thompson serves as Associate Dean and Professor of Art and Design at Samford University, and has served as Chair of the Art Department since coming to Samford in 2007. A native of El Paso, Texas, Thompson has taught in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas prior to moving to Birmingham. In addition to teaching painting and drawing courses, and chairing the department, Thompson is an artist who has recently exhibited work in China, New York, Texas, California, Alabama, Illinois, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. He is an active member of the College Art Association (www.collegeart.org), and has served as Career Mentor for CAA numerous times and will be doing so again, in addition to presenting at the CAA Conference in Chicago in 2014. Thompson holds an MFA in Painting from The University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, and a BFA in Art and Design from The University of Texas at San Antonio, and is represented locally at Space One Eleven Art Space. Larry also serves on an advisory council creating the Salvador's Deli art event and fundraiser for art supplies for school children in partnership with UAB and The Birmingham Museum of Art.
Thompson's recent work includes Aural Vision and The Infanttree Project, a year-long project funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Space One Eleven in Birmingham, and the Alabama Humanities Foundation. The project which opened on September 11, 2015 in Birmingham, and culminated with select pieces being exhibited at the Pentagon in September of 2016 examines the impact of war in post-9/11 America. Thompson's works have been exhibited nationally and internationally. He is an active member of the College Art Association, routinely serving as Career Mentor for junior faculty at CAA's annual conference. Examples of Thompson's work can be found at www.artbylarrythompson.com.