University Wind Ensemble to perform at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
by Kathleen McCoy |
The University Wind Ensemble, conducted by Mark Wolbers, presents To You, America! on Saturday, April 21 at 7:30 PM in the Sydney Laurence Theatre in the Alaska Center
for the Performing Arts. The theme of this concert is based on original band compositions
of the past 75 years that pay tribute to America in some fashion. The title composition,
"To You, America!," was composed by America's first African-American symphonic composer,
William Grant Still. This work was commissioned for the 150th anniversary of West
Point and was a winner of a Freedom Foundation Award in 1952.
Among other works, the concert will also feature "Huntingtower Ballad for Band" by
Ottorino Respighi. Respighi was a famous composer of great orchestral works such
as the "Pines of Rome." He was commissioned in 1932 by the Edwin Franko Goldman
Band and the American Bandmasters Association to write "Huntingtower" in memory of
John Philip Sousa, who had recently died.
Rounding out the program will be "Emblems" by Aaron Copland. This work was commissioned
by the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) in 1963, and is Copland's
only original composition for the band medium. Local music critics will feel vindicated
when they learn that Copland embedded the tune "Amazing Grace" into the structure
of this noble work. The general audience however, will have their spirits raised
by the dramatic harmonies and playful melodies written by one of America's most beloved
composers.
Tickets for "To You, America!" are available from CenterTix.net or the ACPA Box Office
at 263-ARTS or 1-877ARTS-TIX toll free, outside Anchorage. Tickets are $15 for adults
and $12 for students & seniors.
For more information, contact Mark Wolbers at 786-1508, or afmew@uaa.alaska.edu