UNA Wind Ensemble Presents “Something Old, New, Borrowed and Red, White & Blue!”
Mar. 18, 2013
By Elise Cofield, Student Writer
FLORENCE, Ala. - The University of North Alabama Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Lloyd Jones and assistant conductor Dr. Iain Moyer, will present “Something Old, New, Borrowed and Red, White & Blue!” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 21, at Norton Auditorium on UNA’s campus.
All military personnel will receive free admission to the show. Otherwise, tickets are $15 for general admission, $5 for students, and can be purchased either in advance online at www.una.edu/music-theatre or at the door.
Dr. Lloyd Jones, director of UNA Bands, promises a diverse and interesting repertoire.
“(Students) have worked diligently to provide the audience with a diverse musical program that is well-prepared and incredibly enjoyable,” he said. “We are fortunate to have such talented students participating in the UNA Bands.”
The UNA Wind Ensemble is the flagship instrumental ensemble within the UNA Bands, Jones said. This auditioned group of approximately 60 members performs the highest quality contemporary and traditional wind-band literature.
Something Old
The performance will open with a century-old circus march by Karl King. “The Melody Shop” is one of King’s earliest-written pieces, rumored to have been the result of a challenge from a stranger, and features a notoriously difficult baritone part. King directed the Barnum and Bailey Circus Band in 1918 and is known to have composed more than 290 works for band, 185 of which are marches.
Something New
“Angels in the Architecture,” by Frank Ticheli, was commissioned in 2008 by a band of musicians from Australia and the United States. In this work, divine and evil take musical form as opposing forces. The divine enters through the angelic voice of a singer, opposed by the ominous, fast-paced accompaniment, which symbolizes darkness, death and spiritual doubt. The Wind Ensemble will create unusual acoustics in this piece by playing tuned flexible pipes, called whirlies, and tuned wine glasses.
Something Borrowed
Next, the Ensemble will perform “Second Suite in F” by Gustav Holst, which was premiered in London in 1922. The four-movement piece incorporates English folk songs and dance tunes and dynamic progressions. The movements progress from lively, to slow and tragic, to rhythmically complex, and finally landing on a five-century-old English folk song and dance tune, “The Dargason.”
Something Red, White & Blue
The Ensemble has prepared a special segment in recognition of military bands from all branches, as well as active and veteran military personnel and their families. The band will kick off the patriotic segment with “The Minstrels March,” an arrangement written by army veteran Richard Bowles, followed by the playing of the Armed Forces Salute. During this time, all veterans and active military personnel may stand and be recognized during the playing of their military song.
The UNA Studio Jazz Band will entertain during the second half of the program. Many of the 32 student musicians in this ensemble are also performers in the UNA Wind Ensemble. The group consists of the standard big-band instrumentation, augmented with four flutes, five clarinets, four horns, one tuba and one mallet percussionist.
The Studio Jazz Band will open with W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues” and wind through other trademark jazz hits such as the 1960s billboard hit “Take Five,” by Paul Desmond, featuring lead alto saxophonist Jacob Keisler; “All of Me,” by Count Basie, featuring auxiliary percussionist Ross Hampton; and “All I Do is Dream of You” and “For Once in My Life,” featuring vocals by Kayla Flannagan. The concert will close with “Sing, Sang, Sung,” by Gordon Goodwin, featuring Bryant Sharpley on clarinet and Christian Clark on Krupa-style drums.
For more information, contact the UNA Department of Music and Theatre at 256-765-5122.