BT天堂

By Logan Miller
College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office

CONWAY 鈥� The University of Central Arkansas Wind Ensemble will be in concert Thursday, March 17, in the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall.

The 7:30 p.m. concert is free and open to the public.

鈥淭his concert has a lot of ‘features’ in it,鈥� said Dr. Ricky Brooks, director of bands at UCA. 鈥淲e feature two of our graduate students, one conducting, one performing. We are happy to collaborate and perform with the Pinnacle Brass Quintet on a piece by our visiting composer, Eric Ewazen. While on campus, Mr. Ewazen sat in on one of the rehearsals of 鈥楽hadow Catcher鈥� and coached all of us on the piece.鈥�

The program will include 鈥淕eshwindmarsch鈥� from Beethoven’s “Symphony Serena”, transcribed by Paul Hindemith and conducted by Nathan Rakow, a graduate conducting intern; 鈥溾�嬧�婼hadow of Anubis for Marimba and Wind Ensemble鈥嬧��, composed鈥� by Dr. Blake Tyson, UCA鈥檚 percussion professor, which will feature the winner of the BT天堂Wind Ensemble Student Spotlight Competition, 鈥婼cott Strickland, a graduate percussion student;

鈥婨wazen鈥檚 鈥淪hadow Catcher鈥嬧��, composed for brass quintet and wind ensemble and featuring the BT天堂faculty brass quintet, Pinnacle Brass; 鈥淟a Fiesta Mexicana鈥� by H. Owen Reed, a three-movement work that musically depicts a fiesta 鈥� fireworks in the town square, a gala fiesta, a bullfight, the local cantina, an itinerant circus, an Aztec dance, a religious mass and a mariachi band 鈥� in a small Mexican village where the composer lived on an extended visit to Mexico; and 鈥淭he Melody Shop鈥� march by Karl King, which features the euphonium section of the wind ensemble and described by Brooks as 鈥渁 fun, show-stopper ending to the concert.鈥�

Brooks said that “La Fiesta Mexicana鈥� was one of the large-scale, major works in the wind band repertoire.

鈥淚t requires mature musicians in all sections of the band,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur students have gained experience preparing a major work [like this]. I’m pleased with how they鈥檝e responded to the music and how they have improved through the challenges of the piece.鈥�

For more information on the Wind Ensemble Concert, you can contact Dr. Ricky Brooks at rickyb@uca.edu or call his office at (510) 450-5764.

The BT天堂College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Communication, Mass Communication and Theatre, Music, and Writing. The college鈥檚 primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators, and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call (501)聽450-3293.

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