Sweet Briar College music faculty members Nick and Jana Ross will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 24, in Memorial Chapel at Sweet Briar College. Admission is free. The Rosses — he on piano and she on violin — will perform various works by W.A. Mozart.

The program also will feature solo piano music by Claude Debussy and the U.S. premiere of “Milongalgusto,” by Virginia Tech composer Kent Holliday. The piece was written especially for Nick Ross.

Pianist Nick Ross and his wife, Jana, will perform Jan. 24 at Sweet Briar.
“After Nick Ross performed my ‘Four Evocations’ at Virginia Tech, I was so taken with his playing that I decided to write a piece specifically for him,” Holliday said. “Since his musical interests have such a wide range, I sought to write a piece that combines popular as well as classical elements.”

The inspiration for “Milongalgusto” came from tango and Debussy’s “Reflets dans l’eau” or “Reflections on the Water,” Nick Ross said. “Kent knew that I once played in a tango band, and he also wanted to write something for my exceptionally large hands. It’s a very fine work that I premiered in England last June. It was very well received by the audience.”

Jana Ross During the concert Jana Ross also will perform a duo with Sweet Briar music instructor Joe Nigro on viola.

Nick Ross has an upcoming CD, “John Powell: Early Piano Works” which will be released March 1 by Centaur Records, Inc.

The Rosses also will perform at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 8 in Memorial Chapel with the James Quartet.

For more information on either concert, contact Nick Ross at nross@sbc.edu.

— By Suzanne Ramsey, SBC staff writer