The Ohio Northern University Department of Music will present pianist Lucia Unrau of the Bluffton University music department, and clarinetist Sandra Jackson of the Eastern Michigan music department, in recital at the Snyder Recital Hall in the Presser Building on Monday, Jan. 11, at 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Jackson is an assistant professor of clarinet at Eastern Michigan University. She has previously been on the faculty of the University of Toledo; has served as adjunct clarinet faculty for the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University and Western Illinois University; and maintains a private studio for clarinet students. During the summer, she teaches at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.
Jackson has extensive orchestral and chamber music experience, is a highly regarded clinician for master classes, and has recorded and broadcast numerous performances. She is the former principal clarinet of the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico (Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico) in Toluca, Mexico. She has also performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Michigan Opera Theatre, Kalamazoo Symphony, Flint Symphony and the Ann Arbor Symphony. Jackson was a founding member of the Lakeview Chamber Ensemble (Chicago) and has performed with the Cut-Time Players Workshop, the Toledo Wind Quintet and the Camerata Woodwind Quintet. She was a prizewinner at the Kurpinski Clarinet Competition in Warsaw, Poland.
With recent performances at the Interlochen Arts Camp and with the Lima Symphony Orchestra, Unrau was also a soloist with the Detroit Chamber Orchestra. Her most recent CD recording, “Glint,” with world-renown saxophonist Timothy McAllister, was recently released to critical acclaim. She recently completed a recording of works by composer Zae Munn, which will be released on the Parma label. Additionally, Unrau has CD recordings released by HDC Productions and Cambria Master Recordings in the United States, Europe and Japan.
A nationally certified teacher of music, Unrau is a former president of the Ohio Music Teachers Association that is affiliated with the Music Teachers National Association. She has been on the piano faculty of the prestigious Interlochen Arts Camp since 1993 and, since 2005, has served as the camp keyboard coordinator, overseeing the keyboard curriculum. Unrau often serves as a review panelist for the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
She holds piano performance degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, Indiana University and Oberlin Conservatory. Her teachers include Adele Marcus of the Julliard School, Alan Feinberg, Robert Shannon, Karen Shaw, Shigeo Neriki and Nancy Garrett. Unrau is currently professor of music and music department chair at Bluffton University, where she also serves as the Communication and Fine Arts Division chair.
