By Mike Greife,
March 3, 2017
WARRENSBURG, MO – The Performing Arts Series at the University of Central Missouri
presents Warrensburg native Eric Halen as he returns to his alma mater in a violin
concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6, in UCM’s Hart Recital Hall.
Halen, who currently serves as co-concertmaster of the Houston Symphony, will perform
works by Aaron Copland, Maurice Ravel, George Gershwin and J.S. Bach, accompanied
by Mia Hynes, UCM professor of piano.
A member of one of Warrensburg most successful music families, Halen grew up in Warrensburg,
where his father, Walter Halen, served on the UCM violin faculty for 22 years, and
his mother, Thalia Halen, was a member of the Kansas City Symphony. Halen was name
the recipient of the Department of Music Distiguished Music Alumnus Award in 1991.
Halen earned a bachelor's degree from UCM, where he studied with his father, and received
a master's degree at age 20 from the University of Illinois, studying with Sergiu
Luca. At age 23, he became artist-teacher of violin at Texas Christian University
and later joined the faculty of Rice University. Halen joined the Houston Symphony
in 1987. His younger brother, David, also studied at UCM and serves as concertmaster
of the St. Louis Symphony.
Eric Halen has performed in major concert halls and music festivals throughout the
United States and abroad, including Carnegie Hall with soprano Barbara Bonney and
conductor Hans Graf, the Aspen Music Festival, the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo,
Japan, and Cascade Head Festival in Oregon. His discography includes recordings for
Koch International, for whom he has recorded Messiaen's “Quartet for the End of Time”
and Alban Berg's “Adagio for Violin, Clarinet and Piano” from the Chamber Concerto.
During his visit to UCM, Halen also will conduct a master class for UCM students.
Tickets and further information are currently available online at ucmpas.com. Tickets
may be purchased in person beginning March 27 at the Central Tickets box office in
Administration 100B between 9 a.m. and noon weekdays, by calling 660-543-8888, or
one hour prior to the concert at the venue.
Halen’s performance is made possible by grants from the Missouri Arts Council, the
Warrensburg Friends of Music, and the UCM Department of Music.
