A guest recital at Hope College’s new Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts on Tuesday, Sept. 22, will provide a first opportunity for the public to experience a performance in the venue.
Saxophonist Henning Schroeder, who is a member of the music faculty at Ohio Northern University, will perform on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the 125-seat John and Dede Howard Recital Hall. The public is invited, and admission is free.
Schroeder is an associate professor of music at Ohio Northern University, where he teaches music theory, music history and saxophone.
He has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and classical as well as jazz ensembles of the German broadcast stations NDR, MDR and Radio Bremen. Engagements with the Kalamazoo-based new music group Opus 21 have led to several premieres and performances at venues such as New York City’s Symphony Space, Zankel Hall at Carnegie and the opening concert of the 2009 annual conference of Chamber Music America. Schroeder maintains an active performance schedule with his longtime duo partner, pianist Yu-Lien The, and as baritone saxophonist of the Obsidian Saxophone Quartet.
He has earned three degrees from the University of Arts Berlin, including the prestigious Konzertexamen. Additional degrees include a Master of Music from Western Michigan University and the Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois.
The 64,000-square foot Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts opened for the start of the school year in August. Home to the college’s Department of Music, the center also includes classrooms, practice rooms, faculty studios and office space for the department. In addition to the John and Dede Howard Recital Hall, performance space includes an 800-seat concert hall that is still under construction and will debut on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5-6, with the annual department-wide Showcase Concert previously held at DeVos Hall in Grand Rapids. The total project cost was $35 million, which includes construction and an endowment for maintenance.
The Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts has replaced Nykerk Hall of Music, which was constructed in 1956 when Hope’s enrollment was 1,100 students, about one third of today’s total. Nykerk Hall is being razed this fall and its site will be occupied by the college’s Jim and Martie Bultman Student Center, for which Hope broke ground on Monday, Aug. 31.
The building is named in honor of Jack H. Miller for his lifetime of generosity to the college. Miller, who resides in Grand Haven and Naples, Florida, and is a 1954 Hope graduate, led the Howard Miller Company for 48 years until retiring in 2002. It was among the major initiatives of the college’s “A Greater Hope” comprehensive campaign, and was inspired by an initial lead gift to the campaign from Richard and Helen DeVos.
The Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts is located at 221 Columbia Ave., between Ninth and 10th streets.