Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony Close Fall Season With Monday Night Concert

Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony Close Fall Season With Monday Night Concert
Photo Submitted

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony will close the fall concert season with performances at the Fayetteville High School Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25. ­­­­The concerts are presented by the department of music in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences as part of the Joy Pratt Markham Series. The public is invited and admission is free.

"In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of John F. Kennedy and the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the UA Wind Ensemble will present a program of all-American music," said Christopher Knighten, director of university bands.

Knighten, conducts the Wind Ensemble, with a selection conducted by Jamal Duncan, assistant director of bands. The program also features narration by guest artist Henry Runkles, instructor and piano director in the department of music.

W. Dale Warren, senior wind conductor and professor of music conducts the Wind Symphony, with selections conducted by Benjamin Chamberlain, associate director of bands and Joel Head, graduate conductor.

The Wind Symphony will perform Selections from the "Danserye" by Tielman Susato (ca. 1500–ca. 1561) and close their portion of the concert with "Sonoran Desert Holiday" by Ron Nelson.

"The 'Danserye' is a set of Renaissance instrumental dances based on popular tunes of the middle sixteenth century, composed or arranged by Susato, and published in 1551 as 'Het derde musyck boexken,'" said Warren. "'Sonoran Desert Holiday' is a quasi-progammmatic piece, the final in a series of eight overtures, which began in 1953 with 'Savannah River Holiday.'  Although no specific program is intended, there are gestures and allusions to night, to sunrise, to Native American and Hispanic influences, to wide open southwestern expanses, and to the remarkable variety of holiday experiences available in this diverse and beautiful part of our country."

The Wind Ensemble's performance of Scott McAllister's Gone will be the Arkansas premier.

"Scott McAllister is a dynamic, young composer on the faculty at Baylor University," said Knighten. "Gone is meant to musically symbolize the loss of innocence in response to unforeseen challenges."

"The program will conclude with one of the most iconic and recognizable works of American music:  Aaron Copland's, Lincoln Portrait," said Knighten. "The narration of this piece is taken directly from Lincoln's own speeches, including the Gettysburg Address, and will be performed by professor Henry Runkles."

The program is as follows:

Wind Symphony, Warren, conductor

  • Nitro by Frank Ticheli
  • Ballad for Band by Morton Gould, Head, conductor
  • Selections from the "Danserye" by Tielman Susato arr. by Patrick Dunnigan
  • Themes from "Green Bushes" by Percy A. Grainger, arr. Larry D. Daehn, Chamberlain conductor
  • Sonoran Desert Holiday by Ron Nelson

– Intermission –

Wind Ensemble, Knighten, conductor

  • Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland
  • Early Light by Carolyn Bremer
  • Elegy for a Young American by Ronald LoPresti, Duncan, conductor
  • Gone by Scott McAllister
  • Lincoln Portrait by Aaron Copland
Contacts

Robert Hopper, associate director of operations
University of Arkansas Bands
479-575-4100, rghoppe@uark.edu

Headlines

Native American Student Association to Host Annual Choctaw Stickball Tournament

Competition begins at 10 a.m. Saturday the the University Recreation fields on Razorback Road. Carly Keats, a star Razorback basketball player, will play for her home team from Choctaw, Mississippi.

Department of Music Professor to Teach at Italian Festival in June

Richard Rulli, associate professor of trumpet in the Department of Music, has been invited to teach at TrumpetFest June 16-23 in Orvieto, Italy.

Bumpers College Names Senior Scholars, Outstanding Departmental Students

Twenty-five students from 10 different majors and concentrations in Bumpers College were named Senior Scholars for 2023-24, and each department has named its outstanding students for the year.

Music Education Students Bring Fun to Child Development Center

Interactive music sessions known as "music zoos" bring creative learning of musical instruments to the children in the center, as well as providing the music education students the chance to practice their teaching skills. 

New Faculty Teaching Portfolio Authors Recognized

The faculty members successfully completed the Teaching Portfolio and will be recognized at the Fall Teaching Awards ceremony hosted by the Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center and the Teaching Academy.

News Daily