Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) Opera Theatre, within the Department of Music, and with support from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, is presenting The Ghosts of Gatsby by composer Evan Mack and librettist Joshua McGuire on Friday, April 25th and Saturday April 26th at 7:30pm, and on Sunday, April 27th at 3:00pm in the Mabry Concert Hall. This event is free and open to the public, and the department will livestream the event on its YouTube channel.
Directed by Dr. Penelope Shumate, director of APSU Opera Theatre and associate professor of voice, this performance features a narrative based loosely on the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his marriage to Zelda Fitzgerald. Musical accompaniment will be provided by the APSU Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dr. Jacob Aaron Schnitzer, instructor of orchestral activities, and Ariadna Benítez, graduate student conductor, while the APSU Opera Theatre students sing in the opera.
“The Ghosts of Gatsby was the perfect opera choice for this spring so that all the Opera Theatre students could perform,” Shumate said. “I was delighted to arrange for both the composer, Evan Mack, and the librettist, Joshua McGuire, to work with the students within the course of the rehearsal period as well. The students have put in a lot of hard work and the performances will be wonderful.”
For more on this production, contact Shumate at shumatep@apsu.edu. To learn about future CECA events, productions, and performances, visit https://www.apsu.edu/ceca/.
About the APSU Department of Music
The Austin Peay State University Department of Music hosts more than 100 performances each semester. Events take place in the 600-seat George & Sharon Mabry Concert Hall, Recital Hall in MMC 147, the Heydel Hall in the APSU Art + Design Building, and other venues across campus and in the local community.
Performances feature APSU student and faculty soloists, chamber, and large ensembles. Performances also feature guest artists sponsored by the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts.
About the APSU Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts
Since 1985, the Austin Peay State University Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts (CECA, or “seek-ah”) has been providing students, the Clarksville community, and the Middle Tennessee region with engaging experiences through the APSU Art + Design, Creative Writing, Music, and Theatre & Dance programs at APSU. CECA brings as many as 85 guest artists to Clarksville each year and presents up to 100 public arts and culture events annually, including concerts, exhibitions, artist lectures, master classes, artist residencies, and more.
In addition, CECA provides the arts faculty at APSU with research opportunities to enhance their professional growth as well as numerous student scholarships each year to support APSU’s own emerging artists. To learn more about CECA, contact Dr. Andrea Spofford at spofforda@apsu.edu.
