Wind Symphony in concert Thursday


Contact: Tonya Lowentritt
Date: April 19, 2012

 

     HAMMOND -- The Southeastern Louisiana University Wind Symphony will return in concert to the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts on Thursday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. with "Galactic Empires."

     Led by Southeastern Director of Bands Glen Hemberger, the Wind Symphony is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed wind bands in the southern United States.

     "Galactic Empires is a spectacular and dazzling work depicting a 'musical journey through three of an infinite number of galaxies' in three movements titled 'Battlestar of the Andromeda Nebula,' 'Eveningstar of the Magelanic Cloud,' and 'Earthstar of the Milky Way,'" said Hemberger. "Written by award-winning composer David Gillingham, the work is a powerful and astonishingly beautiful composition which has been performed by wind bands the world over."

     Hemberger said the concert will include a variety of extraordinary works for wind band, including Spring Overture for Wind Orchestra, an enchanting overture recounting the magical re-awakening of spring's arrival in Sweden, by Johan de Meij, who is slated to be the composer in residence with the Wind Symphony in October; Suite Francaise by Darius Milhaud, a standard of the wind band repertoire composed in 1944 and based on the music of five provinces in France liberated by the American and Allied armies during World War II; and Lone Star Twister by Donald Grantham, a lively new work for wind band depicting a tornado's characteristics as viewed from a distance in Texas.

     Three Southeastern students will also be featured in the concert, one for musical composition and two as winners of the annual Wind Symphony/Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity Concerto Competition.

     Senior music education major and tuba player Desmin Vinnet of Lafayette has composed Imperial Court, a short, bright fanfare for the concert. Zakkary Garner of Tickfaw, a junior music education major will be featured in Fantasia for Alto Saxophone and Wind Symphony by Claude T. Smith, and graduate music performance major William Pratt of Midland, Ga., will be featured in Concerto for Trumpet by Franz Joseph Haydn.

     Hemberger said the Wind Symphony is also preparing for a spring 2013 performance tour to Chicago, where it will participate in the Percy Grainger Wind Band Festival, including a concert appearance in Chicago's Orchestra Hall.

     Admission for the Wind Symphony Concert is $10 general seating, $5 for faculty, staff and seniors, and free for all students with ID. Doors to the Columbia Theatre will open at 6:30 p.m., and tickets are available in advance at the Columbia box office or at the door. For more information about tickets, contact the Columbia Theatre box office at 985-543-4371.

 

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