Eminent Artist in Residence in Concert at UW Oct. 30 and Nov. 1

Michael Thurber and Friends are the University of Wyoming Department of Music's Eminent Artist-in-Residence from Tuesday-Friday, Oct. 29-Nov. 1, and will present a series of free public events.

Thurber, a composer, bassist and producer, is a singular artist whose career defies category. He has composed scores for The Royal Shakespeare Company; plays bass on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's" house band; has scored shorts for Vanity Fair and the BBC; and is the co-founder of the hit YouTube channel CDZA, which has 30 million views. He is an adjunct professor at New York University's Clive Davis Institute and studied music at Juilliard and Interlochen Arts Academy.

Thurber will give a free public keynote talk titled "Unlocking Creativity" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the Wyoming Union Ballroom.

He will be joined by Javier Diaz, percussion; Charles Overton, harp; and Charles Yang, violin, for a classical concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts recital hall. Thurber and Yang will present a pop concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, in the Wyoming Union's Pokes Pub. They will be joined by Denver-based pianist Jack Dunlevie; Andy Wheelock, UW's jazz studies and percussion ensemble director; and UW Department of Music students.

Yang, a Grammy Award-winning artist, is a violinist, electric violinist, vocalist, composer, arranger, songwriter and collaborator who "plays classical violin with the charisma of a rock star," according to The Boston Globe.

As a soloist with orchestras and in concert, he has performed at some of the world's most celebrated venues. As an improvisational crossover artist, he has been featured at prestigious music festivals, and his compositions have been featured in projects for Glamour and Pentagram. He also wrote the original score to Robin Wright's 2021 feature film "Land."

Diaz is a percussionist with the American Symphony Orchestra, several chamber music groups and Latin music groups in the New York area. He has performed with many orchestras and symphonies, and for numerous Broadway productions, HBO Films, and TV and radio commercials.

As an Afro-Cuban percussion specialist, Diaz has appeared with such notable musicians as Miami Sound Machine, David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Sean Kingston, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle and Lazaro Galarraga's Afro-Cuban All Stars. An active educator, Diaz teaches percussion at Rutgers University and Juilliard. He is widely sought to teach classical percussion and Afro-Cuban percussion seminars, classes and clinics.

Overton, a harpist, composer and arranger, is equally at home in an orchestra or in a jazz club. He performs frequently with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops and has previously performed with such orchestras as the Portland Symphony and New York Philharmonic.

He plays chamber music with ensembles such as the Walden Chamber Players and Collage New Music. His pursuits in jazz and improvised music have taken him abroad to perform in festivals around the world.

Dunlevie, a Denver-based pianist, mandolinist, vocalist and composer and a 2015 graduate of the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music, has received several awards in composition and recital performance.

Dunlevie performs full-time in Colorado and tours nationally, where he can be heard playing jazz, classical, salsa and bluegrass with a variety of bands -- both as a sideman and as a leader. His original works are a continuation of the line modern jazz piano pioneered by such greats as Brad Mehldau and Aaron Parks.

Wheelock is an active jazz drummer and percussionist who has performed with many jazz notables. He directs the Wyoming Jazz Ensemble, the UW Percussion Ensemble, the UW Samba Bateria and jazz combos. He also teaches percussion and jazz lessons. Wheelock received his doctorate and master's degree in jazz studies from the University of Illinois. He also holds a bachelor's degree in music education from Central Michigan University.

For more information, email Kathy Kirkaldie, UW Fine Arts coordinator, at [email protected].