BOLIVAR, MO – The Southwest Baptist University Wind Symphony, Brian K. Hopwood, conductor, will present a free concert on Thursday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m. in Pike Auditorium on the SBU campus. Guest ensemble will be the Logan-Rogersville High School Concert Band, Jim Shannon, conductor.
The Logan-Rogersville High School Concert Band will perform a variety of music including the march, Zacatecas by Mexican composer Genaro Codina, and A Childhood Hymn, an arrangement by David Holsinger of the well-known children’s hymn tune “Jesus Loves Me.” Their performance also includes Steven Reineke’s River of Life, described as a work “full of soaring melodies, unique harmonies, and exciting rhythms.”
The Wind Symphony performance opens with two related compositions that are distinctively Irish. Kirkpatrick Fanfare by Andrew Boysen is based on the first seven notes of the Irish folk song, “O Danny Boy” but in a setting that rhythmically “hides” this connection, revealing the folk song’s final melodic statement during the dramatic conclusion. The oft-performed Irish Tune from County Derry is one of four settings (mixed voices, piano, strings, and band) of “O Danny Boy” by composer Percy Grainger. The work features Grainger’s love of counterpoint and technique of burying the melody occasionally within the texture. This technique is reminiscent of the late Romantic style of Edvard Grieg to whom this work was “lovingly and reverently dedicated.”
A set of four Israeli Dances, entitled Rikudim by Belgium composer Jan Van der Roost will also be performed. Composed in 1986, these four idiomatic movements capture both the melancholy and optimistically festive characteristics of Jewish dance music. The ensemble’s final selection, Dwayne Milburn’s American Hymnsong Suite, is based on four well-known church hymns. Written for the Army Ground Forces Band, Fort McPherson, Georgia, which Milburn led and conducted, the work was premiered by Milburn’s band on September 11, 2003, on a joint concert with Columbus State University (Georgia) commemorating the two-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The four movements, titled “Prelude on Wondrous Love,” “Ballad on Balm in Gilead,” “Scherzo on Nettleton,” and “March on Wilson” are all American in origin.
Declaration Overture by Missouri composer, the late Claude T. Smith, will be performed jointly by both ensembles and will conclude the concert, which is free and open to the public.
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Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. Since 1878, the faculty and staff have created a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. The University has been named one of America’s Best Christian Colleges® for 13 consecutive years, one of America’s 100 Best College Buys® for 14 consecutive years, and it has been named among institutions with America’s Best College Scholarships ® for the past three years by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.
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