April 21, 2000
BIRMIMGHAM, AL — For one performer, the Epilepsy Foundation Benefit Concert on May 7 has special meaning. Trumpeter John McBurney has a unique connection to epilepsy as he is more often known by another title; Dr. John McBurney, an assistant professor of neurology at UAB’s Epilepsy Center.
The concert, presented as part of the ArtBurst series, is a special musical performance organized by the Epilepsy Foundation of North and Central Alabama. Besides McBurney, the concert features violinist Gwen Knowlton and pianist Kirk Bachman, performing “Trio in E-Flat for Trumpet, Violin and Piano” by Eric Ewazen, composer in residence for the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble and faculty at the Julliard School.
The performance is 7:00 p.m. Sunday, May 7 at the Unitarian Church of Birmingham, 2565 Cahaba Road. Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for students and proceeds benefit the Epilepsy Foundation.
“This concert will help to support the programs and services of the foundation,” said Stann Garris, vice president of the Epilepsy Foundation Board of Directors. “There are over 40,000 Alabamians affected by this neurologic disorder.”
Dr. McBurney, a native of Opelika, Alabama, began playing the trumpet in the seventh grade and continued through his college years at Auburn University. He laid the instrument aside for 20 years as he pursued his medical career, much of it in the United States Army Medical Corps. In 1995, at the suggestion of a trumpet-playing general, McBurney resumed his musical efforts. Since then, he has been able to study with the San Antonio Symphony and the Seattle Symphony. He joined the UAB faculty in 1998.
“This benefit concert allows me to unite the caring, medical part of my life with the creative, musical part,” said McBurney. “Through the application of work and discipline, we not only create music, but in doing so pay back our community for the support they show us.”
Gwen Knowlton, the concert violinist, is also a medical professional, working as a nurse at UAB’s Kirklin Clinic. She performs regularly with the Red Mountain Chamber Orchestra and frequently serves as concertmaster as well as performing in small chamber groups around the city.
Pianist Kirk Bachman, Ph.D., is a physics professor at Birmingham Southern College and has been playing piano since he was six years old. He studied at the Manhattan School of Music in New York.
The concert is sponsored by Cyberonics, Novartis, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical and Shire Richwood, Inc. It is supported by Abbott Laboratories, Cephalon, Elan Pharmaceuticals, Glaxo Wellcome and Dr. John Whitaker, chair of UAB’s Department of Neurology.