The wind ensemble will present its annual fall concert in the Conn Center on Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 7:30.
Eight works representing five composers will be on the program. Two of the works are by Percy Grainger, one of the premiere American composers of the mid-twentieth century, and two are by John Philip Sousa, each a departure from his normal march fare. Grainger will be recognized with “Blithe Bells,” a melodious setting of J. S. Bach’s sentimental favorite, and “Sheep May Safely Graze,” followed by “Molly on the Shore,” a favorite of bands everywhere.
Sousa will be represented by “Manhattan Beach,” a composition usually labeled as a march in the Sousa Library, but in actuality, is a dance known as the “two-step,” popular at the turn of the 20th century. Sousa also wrote a number of suites for band, and the wind ensemble will present the first movement of his “Looking Upward Suite” entitled “By the Light of the Polar Star.”
The concert will also include “Overture in Five Flat” by Julie Giroux, “Elegy” by conductor David Holsinger, and “Trittico,” a three movement work by Vaclav Nelhybel written in the early 1960s and credited by many as one of those compositions that changed the course of band composition in that decade.
Dr. and Mrs. Holsinger will be joined in concert by the two conductors in the Lee School of Music Instrumental Conductor Masters Program on Tuesday, Dec. 4.
Heather Hall, who comes to the program from a successful stint at Signal Mountain High School, will be conducting Aaron Copland’s “Down a Country Lane.” Originally written for piano in 1962, it has been transcribed for both orchestra and band in the 1990s. Hall will also conduct Norman Dello Joio’s “Satiric Dances,” three movements written for a stage production of a comedy by Aristophanes in the mid-1970s.
Mrs. Sarah Pearson comes from Girls Preparatory School. Mrs. Pearson recently guest conducted with the Lee University Orchestra during its fall concert. Pearson will conduct “Courtly Airs and Dances,” a collection of modern settings of Renaissance dances by American composer Ron Nelson. The six movements span characteristic dances from five countries during the 1500s. Pearson will also conduct Jacob DeHann’s “Ammerland,” a tribute to the beautiful lake region in Germany for which it is named.
To fill out the concert, the Holsingers will select and conduct three favorites from the preceding two fall concerts.
For more information about these concerts or other music events, please call Lee’s School of Music at 614-8240.