SMU Concert Band rehearsals begin Aug. 29; area musicians invited to join
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University Concert Band, founded in 1990 as a college-community partnership ensemble, will hold its first rehearsal of the 2007-08 season from 6:45 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29, in Room 158 of Saint Yon’s Hall.
All interested musicians are welcome to attend the first sight-reading informational rehearsal of the season. Advanced-level high school students and adult community musicians are welcome to join the SMU collegiate musicians to perform a wide variety of wind band music. Dr. Janet Heukeshoven, associate professor of music, directs both the Concert Band and the select Wind Ensemble. Auditions will be held shortly after the first rehearsal; audition music will be provided to all players on Aug. 29. If you are interested in the ensemble but are not able to attend the first info-rehearsal, please contact the director to make other arrangements. The Concert Band rehearses 6:35 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays and 6:45 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays. The Wind Ensemble rehearses 8 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays.
The band’s first performance this year will be a concert shared with the SMU choirs during the university’s Family Weekend on Saturday, Sept. 29. The band will be performing the popular “Lord of the Dance” musical selections, as well as works by Whitacre, and Paul Richards, a finalist from last year’s Kaplan Composition Commission contest.
The second concert will be held on Sunday, Nov. 18, featuring a new work by Roger Cichy, “Geometric Dances,” “Canticle” by Jack Stamp, and other selections by David Gordon and Percy Grainger. The Wind Ensemble will perform compositions by von Weber and Dvorak.
The spring concert on March 30 will continue the “song and dance” theme, featuring music of a variety of styles and genres that fall into the categories of songs or dances, but with an ethnic flair to the concert program.
Detailed information regarding band membership auditions (held Sept. 1-5) will be available at the first rehearsal. There are openings in many sections; contact Dr. Heukeshoven at (507) 457-1675 or jheukesh@smumn.edu for additional information. Please call or e-mail if you plan to attend the Aug. 29 rehearsal, so music folders and audition music will be available for everyone.
