C.W. Post music professor and 2003 Grammy Award nominee David Holzman, whose performances, recordings and writings on Wolpe have received international acclaim, is organizing the conference. Holzman's CD titled Wolpe: Compositions for Piano (1920-1952) has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without Orchestra).

Many master works of Wolpe and his contemporaries will be performed, discussed, and illuminated by artwork from the C.W. Post Art Department presented in conjunction with the music. Holzman will participate as a performer and speaker. Holzman's C.W. Post colleagues, including guitarist Harris Becker, percussionist Frank Cassara and the Long Island University Chorus, under the direction of Alexander Dashnaw, will join him in performing. Guest performers will include flutist Patricia Spencer, oboist Susan Barrett, and pianist Anne Chamberlain. Dr. Marion Kant, a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Surrey in England, will speak on "decadent art" in '20s and '30s Germany. Former C.W. Post Professors Howard Rovics and Raoul Pleskow will have their music performed at the festival as well.

The morning session will feature an introductory talk. There will also be a program presented in conjunction with the C.W. Post Art Department titled, "Towards a Coherent View of Chaos," which will deal with the revolutions of Europe in the '20s and New York in the '60s. Art, dance and history will merge in a panel discussion and a chamber concert will be performed. The evening part of the conference will be varied, featuring piano, chamber music, dance, painting and the Long Island University Chorus in an all-Wolpe program.

The year 2002 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Wolpe. His background, which will be the subject of many of the discussions, contributed to his musical style, ability and influences. A former Chairman and founder of the Department of Music at C.W. Post in the early 1960s, Wolpe grew up in the political, social and artistic chaos of the Weimar Republic. Forced to flee from Nazi Germany in the 1930s, Wolpe found refuge in Palestine. Ethnic roots and political activism vied with his avant-garde pursuits to create colorful masterpieces and establish the essence of his complex musical personality. His arrival in the United States at the outbreak of World War II led to his gradual rise to recognition as one of the seminal creative figures of 1950's and 1960's New York.

In addition, a panel discussion and concert will take place honoring the contribution of the oboist Josef Marx, a friend and colleague, who was also on the C.W. Post faculty. "These two were extremely influential in New York," says Holzman, "and we will be exploring that as well."

"Wolpe was a human being functioning and surviving in a complicated world, just like everyone else today," says Holzman. "We will look at how the music, art, architecture, religion, all aspects of the times, helped him to do that."

All events take place at Hillwood Commons Recital Hall on the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville. Festival ticket: $45, includes all three events. Individual concerts: $20 each, half price for students and seniors. Tickets are available online at tillescenter.org, by calling TillesCharge at 516-299-3100 or by visiting the Tilles Center Box Office on the C.W. Post Campus. For more information, contact the C.W. Post Department of Music at 516-299-2476 or lisa.meyer@cwpost.liu.edu

Visit the web site of event organizer and Grammy Award nominee David Holzman www.battlemuse.com