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Walter “Skip” Wilkins, assistant professor of music, recently returned from a 17–day tour throughout the Czech Republic and Berlin. His group, the International Quartet, toured May 16 – June 2.
Wilkins will discuss this tour and his upcoming European tour in August, as well as his latest CD, The Paint-Peeler, in a brownbag presentation on Monday, Sept. 29 at noon in the Williams Center for the Arts, Rm. 123. Following this, the Skip Wilkins Quintet will perform in concert in the Williams Center on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m.
The International Quartet, featuring, from the United States, Wilkins on piano and Gary Rissmiller on drums, and, from the Czech Republic, Rostislav Fras on tenor saxophone and Josef Feco on bass, performed in many of the top jazz clubs throughout the Czech Republic and led two clinics in conservatories in Prague and Ostrava. Wilkins also held a gig in a prestigious jazz club in Berlin where he made preliminary arrangements with club owners and managers for future tours. Wilkins calls the response from every audience “outstanding.”
“I have performed in Europe previously, and I have numerous plans for return trips,” says Wilkins. “Typically, European audiences are very interested in art of all types-literary arts, visual arts, the performing arts.”
The quartet gave 11 performances altogether, including two that were recorded for Czech radio and one that was recorded for Czech television. During each gig, the quartet consistently performed several of Wilkins’ original compositions, including his latest, “Waiting for Prague,” which he finished a few days before its debut on the first night of the tour.
The varying dynamics of performing for audiences at home and abroad and the endurance required for long tours has added new elements to his writing and performance style, Wilkins says. Every tour brings new inspiration and new musical problems to tackle in forthcoming compositions. Wilkins’ students in his classes and who assist him with his research have regularly benefited from his growing musical insights and he intends to maintain this relationship.
“I have been very fortunate to work with many advanced and highly engaged music students at Lafayette,” Wilkins says. “Select students have been particularly interested in studying my compositions and recordings periodically, which is, of course, quite flattering. No sycophants, these students are composers and performers themselves, and they are well on their way to developing their own musical languages. Plus, with so many Lafayette students and faculty traveling and studying internationally, there will be lots of relevant discussions.”
The International Quartet will reunite for their next tour in August, for which Wilkins plans to write several new compositions this summer. They have already made plans for a following European tour in November and are making arrangements to record in Prague next summer.