Stephen F. Austin State University

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present Duo Karudan, a duet featuring Christopher Ayer on clarinet and Kae Hosoda-Ayer on piano, at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, October 22, in Cole Concert Hall.

Ayer is an associate professor of music at SFA, and Hosoda-Ayer is a lecturer of collaborative piano at Baylor University. The husband/wife team will perform works from the Baroque to the 20th century, in a variety of styles.

One of the highlights of the program will be "Three Romances" by Robert Schumann.

"Schumann is a well-known Romantic composer, and the three movements in this piece exemplify the intimate, emotional style of that period,"
said Ayer.

The duo will close the program with "Time Pieces" by American composer Robert Muczynski.

"Within the four movements, Muczynski utilizes many different meters, providing interesting rhythmic sections which are always fascinating for audiences," Ayer said.

Ayer, a native of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, coordinates undergraduate and graduate clarinet study at SFA, performs with the Stone Fort Wind Quintet and Orchestra of the Pines and is an active recitalist. He has presented clarinet clinics and been an adjudicator throughout the United States and Canada. In July 2005, he presented a lecture recital at the International Clarinet Conference in Tokyo, Japan.

Ayer earned his doctoral degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and his master's in clarinet performance from the New England Conservatory. Prior to his appointment at SFA, he taught at Eastern New Mexico University where he also served as the orchestra conductor.

Hosoda-Ayer received her master's from the New England Conservatory of Music after completing her bachelor's at Toho Gakuen School in Tokyo.
While earning her doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin with an emphasis in chamber music and collaborative arts, she won first prize in the Sidney Wright Endowed Presidential Scholarship Competition in Piano Accompanying.

Hososda-Ayer has concertized throughout the United States, Japan and Korea as a soloist and collaborative artist and has been heard on public radio with Ronald de Kant, professor emeritus of clarinet at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. Among her recent appearances are the 2005 International Double Reed Conference and the
2005 and 2006 International Clarinet Association World Conference.