University Band celebrates Old Gold with concert

Saturday, October 6, 2012
DePauw University Band

The DePauw University Band, conducted by Dr. Craig Paré, will present its first fall concert on Old Gold Weekend, Sunday, Oct. 7 at 3 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium.

The repertoire to be performed includes "Windsprints" by Richard Saucedo; "American Overture for Band" by Joseph Wilcox Jenkins; "October" by Eric Whitacre; "Starsplitter" by Philip Rothman; a chamber work for winds titled "Dectet" by Alex Murray; and "The Screamer" by Indiana composer Fred Jewell.

The program will conclude with a rousing transcription of a well-known orchestral work, the finale from "Symphony No. 4" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

"The Tchaikovsky is definitely a showpiece for this year's University Band," Paré said. "The ensemble's technique is put to the test in a piece like this, which features fast-moving, fluid scalar passages that are a trademark of Tchaikovsky's music."

A new component is also being added to the University Band program this year: the introduction of a Wind Ensemble, a smaller chamber group comprised of members of the University Band.

"Through an audition process, members of the University Band are selected for a finite number of openings in the Wind Ensemble, which will be a separate ensemble beginning next year," Paré said. "The new ensemble's repertoire will feature works with instrumentation for 6-40 musicians. The chamber piece on Sunday's program, for example, is written for a combination of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, and soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. Other pieces to be performed later this year will include other variations of instrumentation and a larger number of Wind Ensemble members."

General admission tickets for DePauw University Band performances in the Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts are $3; tickets for all students and seniors older than 65 are free.

In lieu of an admission fee, the band is also accepting donations of non-perishable food items for the benefit of the Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry. Requested items include chicken noodle or vegetable soup, pork and beans, canned fruit, peas, carrots, and corn. Monetary donations to the Food Bank will also be accepted.

For more information, contact Dr. Paré (cpare@depauw.edu), visit the School of Music's Events Calendar (http://www.depauw.edu/music/calendar/), or stop by the GCPA Box Office located on the ground floor of the Green Center at 605 South College Avenue (658-4817 or www.depauw.edu/music/tickets).

For those who cannot attend the live performance, DePauw University radio WGRE 91.5 will broadcast the concert live on the radio and on its web site at http://www.depauw.edu/univ/wgre/listen.asp.

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