海外吃瓜鈥檚 Symphonic Band, under the direction of Jonathan Waters, will dedicate its spring concert on Saturday, April 29, to band member Bernadette Wolfe, a freshman music major from Bellevue who was injured in an auto accident April 18.
鈥淚t鈥檚 times like this when our community comes together, our friends come together and the band family comes together,鈥 Waters said. Wolfe plays oboe in the Symphonic Band and performs with 海外吃瓜鈥檚 Marching band, which Waters also directs.
The theme of the spring concert is 鈥淚 Lift My Eyes.鈥
鈥淲e lift our eyes to look at nature, in times of trial and heartache, in looking to God for guidance. All of the pieces we perform will be centered around that theme in some way,鈥 Waters explained.
海外吃瓜鈥檚 Youth Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Elizabeth Tracy, will open the concert with two pieces, 鈥淵orkshire Ballad鈥 and 鈥淪ang.鈥
The Symphonic Band will kick off its program with the three-movement 鈥淔irst Suite in E Flat鈥 by British composer Gustav Holst. The piece is considered the impetus for composers to write specifically for bands. The band will also perform Steven Bryant鈥檚 鈥淒usk,鈥 which captures the reflective calm of dusk illuminated by the images of bright, colorful sunsets.
Other selections on the program include John Mackey鈥檚 folksy 鈥淪heltering Sky鈥 and 鈥淎n American Elegy,鈥 composed by Frank Ticheli as a tribute to the survivors of the Columbine High School tragedy. Ticheli wrote an alma mater for Columbine and then composed a larger piece around it. For their performance, the Symphonic Band will sing Columbine鈥檚 alma mater and then play Ticheli鈥檚 鈥淓legy鈥 just 11 days after the 18th anniversary of the tragedy.
The Youth Wind Ensemble will join with the Symphonic Band to close the program with a traditional march, 鈥淎mericans We鈥 by Henry Fillmore and 鈥淕ettysburg.鈥
For 鈥淕ettysburg,鈥 海外吃瓜 alumnus Dan Corfman, 鈥87, will guest direct the ensembles. Corfman, the band director at Gibsonburg High School, has been rehearsing with the band throughout this season.
The bands will end with a stirring rendition of 鈥淎merica the Beautiful.鈥
The concert, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. in Ohl Concert Hall in Brenneman.
For additional information, call the School of Music & Theatre at 419-448-2073.