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By Julie Rausch

The annual WSU tradition of presenting music by American composers will continue at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 and 4 in Wiedemann Hall.

American Music Week has been celebrated with a festival for 23 years.

The School of Music is nationally recognized for its support and performances of American music, having received many awards from the American Society of Composers, including a 1998 award for the promotion of American music from the National Federation of Music Clubs. The honor was awarded because during the 1997-98 academic year WSU students and faculty members performed 257 compositions by 186 American composers.

"The fact that we support local and other American composers is partly an interest in new music," said James Jones, professor of clarinet and producer of the annual event. "American Music Week still stresses a wide variety of styles from MacDowell to Steve Reich and John Adams."

The faculty recital 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 will highlight a new piece for trombone and choir performed by composer Harold Popp, professor of music. The WSU Chamber Singers will accompany him.

The program also features the Lieurance Woodwind Quintet, the Wichita Brass Quintet, trombonist Russ Widener, hornist Amy Jo Rhine and baritone Matt Bean. They will perform music by Jan Bach, Eric Ewazen, Stephen Sondheim and others.

The guest recital 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4 will feature Derison Duarte, Hiroko Kunitake and Peter Miyamoto, who are on an American Pianists Association Fellows tour. The musicians will perform everything from transcriptions of songs by George Gershwin and the famous Horowitz arrangement of Sousa’s "The Starts and Stripes Forever" to provocative and cutting-edge music by composers such as George Crumb and George Perle.

Two free student recitals at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 2 and 4 will feature music by Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, WSU alumnus Wayne Sanders and student composers.