Performance Music at The University of Scranton will pay homage to the great composer Vaclav Nelhybel with a concert celebrating the centennial year of his birth.

The Vaclav Nelhybel Centennial Concert will take place Saturday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m. inside the University’s Houlihan-McLean Center, Mulberry Street and Jefferson Avenue. The performance will feature The University of Scranton Symphonic Band and internationally acclaimed trumpeter Christian Jaudes. Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.

The composer’s influence is still very much alive at the University, as it is throughout the world. For the past 20 years Scranton has served as the home of The Nelhybel Collection, which includes Nelhybel’s published and unpublished compositions, personal papers, manuscript scores and other valuable materials, all impeccably curated by the composer’s widow.

Among other highlights, the concert will include a performance of Nelhybel’s epic work, “De Profundis,” featuring Jaudes, a faculty member at The Juilliard School and trumpeter on numerous Grammy Award-winning Broadway and studio recordings.

The concert will also feature a poem written in Nelhybel’s honor by Louisiana poet/playwright John Doucet, and reminiscences from University alumni who worked with Nelhybel. Members of the composer’s family will be in attendance.

“This is the official Nelhybel centennial concert,” Boga said. “The concert band is very excited to do a program comprised almost completely of music by our favorite composer, in honor of his memory.”

It’s no overstatement to say Nelhybel was among the most acclaimed, respected and prolific composers of the second half of the 20th century.

Born in 1919 in Polanka, Czechoslovakia, the Jesuit-educated Nelhybel studied composition and conducting at the Conservatory of Music in Prague, and musicology at Prague University and the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

Nelhybel first made his name in the years following World War II, when he served as composer and conductor of Swiss National Radio and as a lecturer at the University of Fribourg. In 1950, he became the first musical director of Radio Free Europe in Munich, Germany, a position he stayed in until moving to the United States in 1957. Nelhybel became an American citizen in 1962 and lived for many years in New York City and Newtown, Connecticut, before settling in Scranton during the last decade of his life.

A staggeringly prolific composer, Nelhybel left behind a rich body of concertos, operas, chamber music pieces and dozens of compositions for symphony orchestra, symphonic band, chorus and smaller ensembles. More than 400 of his works were published during his lifetime, while many of his over 200 unpublished compositions are in the process of being published.

While Nelhybel wrote most of his works for professional performers, he also enjoyed composing original, challenging pieces for student musicians, and took a special delight in collaborating with them.

The University of Scranton Symphonic Band is a 75-member ensemble comprised of members of the University community from majors and departments spanning the curriculum. While none of the student players are music majors, they are united by their mutual love of making music.

For more information on the concert and The Nelhybel Collection, call 570-941-7624, email music@scranton.edu or visit scranton.edu/music.

Misericordia University is hosting a series of Transfer Days on Jan. 8, Feb. 13, March 11 and May 13 to provide collegians an opportunity to learn more about the academic programs, campus and admissions transfer process.

The sessions provide information about undergraduate programs at Misericordia University, and details about transferring previously earned college credits to Luzerne County’s first four-year college. Guests will have an opportunity to tour campus and speak directly with transfer specialist Christine Marks, assistant director of transfer admissions, as well as representatives from financial aid and current students.

The Jan. 8 and March 11 programs begin with check in at 9:30 a.m., followed by presentations, credit evaluations and tours. The programs conclude with lunch from 12:15-12:45 p.m. The Feb. 13 and May 13 sessions begin with check in at 12:30 p.m., followed at 1 p.m. by lunch and presentations. These sessoins conclude with credit evaluations and tours from 2:15 -3:45 p.m. All sessions are in Sandy and Marlene Insalaco Hall.

“We recognize that each transfer student is coming from a unique background and experience. We work closely with them to understand their individual needs and personal goals in order to make the transition to Misericordia as seamless as possible,” said Marks. “We will provide expert guidance on program options and acceptance criteria, as well as an informal evaluation of transcripts. It is a one-stop shop for those who are considering making a transfer.”

Misericordia University has formal articulation agreements with Luzerne County Community College, Lackawanna College, Lehigh-Carbon Community College and Northampton Community College to maximize credit transferability. Misericordia also has specific programmatic agreements with Johnson College (medical imaging), Keystone College (medical imaging and nursing), Lackawanna College (communications and sport management), Lehigh-Carbon Community College (information technology and occupational therapy) and Luzerne County Community College (communications, occupational therapy, sport management, information technology and medical imaging).

Misericordia also offers a special financial award for any full-time student transferring from Keystone College, Lackawanna College and Luzerne County Community College.

Please contact Marks at 570-674-6462 or cmarks@misericordia.edu to register for a transfer session or ask for more information.

For more information about Misericordia University, please call 570-674-6400 or visit www.misericordia.edu. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924, Misericordia University is Luzerne County’s first four-year college and offers 56 academic programs on the graduate and undergraduate levels in full- and part-time formats. Misericordia University ranks in the “National Universities” category of U.S. News and World Report’s 2020 edition of Best Colleges. The Princeton Review recognizes Misericordia as a 2020 “Best Northeastern” college and Money Magazine includes Misericordia in its 2019-20 “Best Colleges” list. College Consensus and the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education rank Misericordia among the top colleges and universities nationally.