German Poets and Musicians Come to UT March 26

A little bit of Germany will come to The University of Tampa on Monday, March 26, during “German Poets and Musicians on the Road.” The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in Plant Hall’s Fletcher Lounge and will feature pianist Evelyn Ulex and actor Hartmut Becker. The performance is free and open to the public, though seating is limited.

Presented by the German Consul General to the State of Florida Eva Alexandra Countess Kendeffy, the program will alternate musical works performed by Ulex with poetry and prose read by Becker. Musical selections include those by Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Alban Berg, Kurt Weill, Boris Blacher, Samuel Barber and Rodion K. Schtschedrin. Literary works include those by Heinrich Heine, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Anna Seghers, Lion Feuchtwanger, Berthold Brecht, Wolfgang Borchert and Klaus Pohl.

Born in Berlin, Ulex won the National “Festival of Young Talent” in Dresden, Germany at age 10. She studied at the Special School for Music in Berlin, continued her studies at the Hanns Eisler University, graduated from the Berlin University of the Arts and pursued further studies at the Folkwang Hochschule. She has performed on three continents as a soloist, as well as with orchestras and chamber music ensembles. Ulex is a founding member of the TransAtlantic Ensemble with Grammy-nominated clarinetist Mariam Adam.

Becker is a popular German stage and film actor. He has worked in theater since 1962, starring in dozens of plays from Shakespeare to Tennessee Williams. He made his film debut in 1970 in the film o.k., a West German anti-war film directed by Michael Verhoeven. His first English-speaking role was as a German prisoner of war in the BBC miniseries Forgive our Foolish Ways in 1980. He played Sergeant Gustav Wagner in the Emmy-nominated television miniseries Escape from Sobibor (1987). Becker has produced performances mingling literature and music since 1998.

Please RSVP to the German Consulate General at pr-100@miam.diplo.de or (305) 373-9578 by Friday, March 23. For more information, contact Norma Brenne Henning at nbh@swbnaples.com.