Henry Lebedinsky tuning his harpsichord before making a recording at WDAV-FM. (photo courtesy of Jennifer Foster)
Davidson musician and St. Alban’s Episcopal Church music chief Henry Lebedinsky will get a a few minutes in the national spotlight tonight as the guest music quiz contestant on the public radio classical music program “Performance Today.” Also in the news, Davidson professor Alan Michael Parker reading aloud, and Davidson basketball standout Stephen Curry.
QUIZZING HENRY
Henry Lebedinsky, the organist and choirmaster at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, will be the guest contestant on “Performance Today’s” weekly musical quiz, “The Piano Puzzler.”
The show can be heard weeknights at 7 p.m. on WDAV-FM, 89.9.
WDAV host Jennifer Foster gave us the details: The quiz challenges contestants to test their ears as pianist Bruce Adolphe transforms a popular tune it into something that sounds like something written by one of the great composers. Contestants must guess the composer and the song.
Ms. Foster reports that Henry acquits himself admirably, but we won’t give anything more away. Tune in tonight to listen to the quiz.
Mr. Lebedinsky is one of a handful of people who make things happen musically in Davidson. Besides serving as St. Alban’s organist and choirmaster, he also is an accomplished composer, teacher and harpsichordist and performs music ranging from Baroque to Celtic.
He is the son of political dissidents in the former Soviet Union who emigrated to the U.S. as a child. He grew up in New England and studied music at Bowdoin College in Maine and at the Longy School of Music in Boston. Henry and his wife Emily live on a farm in Davidson.
ALAN MICHAEL PARKER’S BASEBALL
Poet and Davidson College English professor Alan Michael Parker made an appearance in the (web) pages of the online magazine Slate this month, with a poem titled “I Have Been Given a Baseball …”
The Slate feature includes a bonus: You can hear Mr. Parker read the poem. (see http://www.slate.com/id/2164500/)
Mr. Parker has published five collections of poems, including the forthcoming “Elephants and Butterflies.” He wrote the 2005 novel “Cry Uncle.” Besides his Davidson College position, he also teaches in the M.F.A. program at Queens University in Charlotte.
CURRY HELPS TEAM USA
Davidson College basketball standout Stephen Curry has been attracting headlines lately for his play with the USA Men’s U-19 team at the World Championships.
On July 13, he scored 13 points and was the top rebounder for his team (8) in the USA’s 103-77 victory over China in the opening round of the tournament.
A day later he scored 19 points, hitting 3 of 4 three-pointers, as the USA defeated Serbia to advance to the second round.
Then in the semifinals, he scored a key basket near the end of the game against France, helping the USA to a 78-75 victory.
In Sunday’s final, the U.S. nearly came back from a 19-point deficit, but lost to Serbia, 74-69.
Mr. Curry will be back at Davidson as a sophomore this fall.
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