Eastern’s music ensembles will perform the music of Grammy winner and composer Libby Larsen tonight, while Larsen, herself, will be at Eastern to give a lecture and work with music composition students.

The concert is in part of “A Year of Celebration – The Reopening of the Doudna Fine Arts Center.”

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Doudna in the Dvorak Concert Hall.

Jonathon Kirk, an assistant professor of composition and theory in the department of music, said Eastern is lucky to have Larsen on campus.

“She is a wonderfully gifted musician with such a warm personality,” Kirk said.

Larsen’s music catalog spans 400 works, including more than a dozen operas.

Kirk will be coordinating Larsen’s events during her residency. She arrived Monday at Eastern and will be on campus until Wednesday.

While here, Larsen will work with music composition students in class.

“One of the best aspects of this residency is that Libby will have the opportunity to work with student composers,” Kirk said. “Students will share either works-in-progress, or completed works and discuss things like style and orchestration.”

Kirk said Larsen will give some advice as well.

“I am sure Libby will share some insights into her own experience as a freelance composer and how she began composing as a career,” Kirk said.

In 1994, Larsen received a Grammy Award for producing “The Art of Arlene Auger,” a widely-known recording that includes Larsen’s “Sonnets from the Portuguese.”

Larsen has earned herself a permanent place for her works in the concert repertory.

In 2003-2004, Larsen was the Harissios Papamarkou chair in education at the Library of Congress.

The legendary composition artist has held residencies with the California Institute of the Arts, the Arnold Schoenberg Institute, the Philadelphia School of the Arts, the Cincinnati Conservatory, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony and the Colorado Symphony.

Tickets to the concert are still available.

For reservations and information, contact the Doudna Fine Arts Patron Services at 581-3110, doudnatix@eiu.edu or www.eiu.edu/doudna or visit the Doudna Box Office.

Charles LeGrand can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENnewsdesk@gmail.com.