The UW-Stout Symphonic Band will present a Spring Concert at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 24, in the Memorial Student Center Great Hall.
Directed by Aaron M. Durst, the concert will feature lighter music, including selections from the stage and screen; marches; a work narrated by interim Associate Dean Kevin Drzakowski, of the College of Arts, Communication, Humanities and Social Science; and a performance by the Tower Saxophone Quartet.
Tickets are $5 and are available online and at the Service Center in the Memorial Student Center, 715-232-1122, and at the door.
The concert will open with the theme from “Star Wars” spinoff series “The Mandalorian,” followed by “Symphonic Dances” from the 1964 musical “Fiddler on the Roof.”
Also included will be a symphonic suite from the 1991 movie “Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.” A work by Brian Balmages, titled “Homage to Bharat (Reflections of India)” adds a contrasting style, as it is inspired by Bollywood music from India, Durst said.
Other pieces will include:
- “El Zorro Rojo,” a Spanish style march, by Randall Standridge
- “National Emblem,” an American march, by Edwin Eugene Bagley
- “Sòlas Ané,” a composition that conveys the spirit of a Gaelic folk song, by Samuel Hazo
- “Into the Joy of Spring,” by James Swearingen
- “Band of Heroes,” by Menomonie composer Erika Svanoe
“‘Band of Heroes’ was inspired by choose-your-own-adventure stories I read when I was a kid,” Svanoe stated. “I would save my place at every choice I made and try to find all of the outcomes. I thought if a book could do this, why not a musical story?”
The piece will feature the voice talents of Drzakowski serving as narrator, as he guides the audience through the story.
The Tower Saxophone Quartet will perform “Amusement Park Suite,” taking the audience on a musical interpretation of an amusement park.
The concert is also the final opportunity for several graduating students to perform with the band.
“This concert is special because it is the last concert I will ever play as a student. The pieces we have chosen are some of my favorite concert band pieces that I've ever played. I enjoy the music we will be playing, and I hope you will to,” said French horn player Katherine Vogel, an interior design major from Apple Valley, Minn.
Flutist Annie Hinks, a graphic design and interactive media major from New Brighton, Minn., also described her time with the band. “The Stout band is a great way to make friends in other majors. It offers a great sense of community, escape and pride,” she said.
The UW-Stout theatre, bands and choirs welcome students to explore the performing arts and provide a creative outlet to develop skills as performers and to further refine their artistic talents. The university also offers a performing arts minor.
