Fall forums start today

Matanuska Susitna College begins its fall series of community forums tonight, and all community members are invited to attend the discussions.

All community members are cordially invited to participate in these discussions.

The first forum starts at 7 p.m. tonight in the Fred and Sara Machetanz Building, in room 205.

The first forum in the series features Philip Munger, an internationally recognized Alaskan composer and adjunct professor at Mat-Su College and University of Alaska Anchorage.

His performance and talk, "The Long-Term Impact of Alaska on a Musical Personality," will explore the influence of Alaska as a place on his composing, and compare the growth of the musical arts in Southcentral Alaska during the past three decades with musical developments in other parts of the United States.

Munger has been a resident of the Mat-Su Valley since 1983.

Since his move to the Valley, he began composing a number of works which explore and share his love of Alaska, nature and the sea.

He has also researched the history and growth of musical arts in Alaska as compared with the rest of the United States.

Munger studied composition at Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Washington.

Munger has been the recipient of numerous awards. He was the 1997 recipient of the Pacific Norwest Composers Symposium First Prize award, two N.E.A. Meet the Composer grants, the 1993 Alaska State Council on the Arts Composer fellowship and other composition honors.

His works have been performed at the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Juilliard Institute, Cornish Institute, Warsaw Conservatory, The National Gallery, the National Cathedral and other notable venues.

Munger's works have been featured in recent performances of the Anchorage Symphony and in the Sitka Chamber Music Series.

Other upcoming events in the series include -- Nov. 5, 7 p.m., Saunders McNeill, "Portraits of Elders from Savoonga and Kachotke" and Dec. 3, 7 p.m. Staff members from the Co-occurring Disorders Institute of Life Quest, "Anger Manifestations in contemporary Society."

For more information about the series, interested people may contact Bette Belanger of Mat-Su College at 745-9726 or e-mail pnbab@matsu.alaska.edu.