UW-Green Bay Music presents joint concert with high school honors band
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Wind Ensemble and Jazz I Ensemble will be joined by a group of talented high school musicians for their concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 25 at the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, 2420 Nicolet Drive.
The concert includes the State Bound High School Honors Band, made up of outstanding student soloists from across the state who have qualified for the Wisconsin School Music Association state solo ensemble festival. It is the culminating event of a day of rehearsals and clinics conducted by UW-Green Bay Associate Prof. Kevin Collins, who will direct the honors band during the concert. Collins also directs the Wind Ensemble, while Associate Prof. John Salerno directs the Jazz I ensemble.
The joint concert, UW-Green Bay’s 32nd of the 2011-12 season, will begin with the Wind Ensemble under Collins’ direction. The group will perform Artie Shaw’s “Concerto for Clarinet,” featuring faculty soloist Eric Hansen, followed by Aaron Copeland’s “Quiet City,” featuring faculty soloists John Salerno and Adam Gaines. The Wind Ensemble will conclude with George Gershwin’s popular “Rhapsody in Blue,” featuring faculty soloist David Severtson on the piano.
The Jazz I Ensemble will take the stage next with a variety of pieces featuring UW-Green Bay student soloists. The ensemble will kick things off with “Alone Together,” arranged by student Sam Stranz and featuring Stranz and student Julio Reyes on alto and tenor saxophone, respectively. Stranz also will be featured in Bernard Hermann’s “Music From Taxi Driver” with fellow students Kayla Johnson and Bill Burroughs; and “Samurai Samba,” by the Yellow Jackets, with fellow students Ben Hogan and Adam LaGrave. Student guitarist Mike Fowler will be the soloist for two pieces, and Reyes and Burroughs also are featured on multiple songs.
Following a brief intermission, the State Bound High School Honors Band of approximately 125 students will take the Weidner Center stage. It will begin with “Cloudburst,” by Eric Whitacre, and conclude with two movements from “The Star Wars Trilogy” — “Yoda’s Theme” and “Imperial March.”
Tickets for the April 25 concert are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Call (920) 465-2400 or visit www.uwgb.edu/tickets. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu/music. The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music, is located at 2420 Nicolet Drive.
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