The Daily Campus

Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Jamie Dee Fish The University Symphonic Band strayed from the route of holiday performances, instead choosing to perform Americana in their concert Tuesday.

Although the audience last night at the von der Mehden Recital Hall was greeted by ushers with Santa hats, the University Symphonic Band had something else in mind. As a welcome change of pace from the holiday performances around campus, the Symphonic Band instead elected to treat the crowd to pieces by prominent 20th-century composers.

The Symphonic Band consists mainly of wind instruments such as flutes, clarinets, saxophones, trombones and trumpets and is balanced by a deep percussion section.

The concert began with a favorite by composer Aaron Copland entitled, "Variations on a Shaker Melody." It began with a light clarinet melody then, slowly, broadened to encompass the entire band. From there, the melody changed to a slower, more theatric sound and finished boldly, carried by the trumpets.

The Americana, nostalgic feel of the first piece set the mood for the rest of the first half of the concert which continued with two more pieces by American composers. The first was "George Washington Bridge" by William Schuman, which the band began on a strong note. Even though the melody was harder to recognize in this piece, the shifting of leads between the instrument sections captured the atmosphere attributed to mid-20th-century New York. The tune culminated in a Broadway-style build-up then ended with a fall and cymbal crashes. In contrast to this, the following piece, "Of Fire and Ice" by Anthony Iannaccone, was more subtle in musical texture, with a certain coldness and underlying tension brought on by the band's rising and falling sound.

The feature that made the Symphonic Band impressive was their professional performance of each piece, accompanied by patience, as they felt no embarrassment in rearranging themselves between pieces and conforming to whoever was the conductor. The lead conductor, David Mills, the Director of Bands, led the first piece but let assistant conductors Tyler Lawing and Jim Shuman lead the next two.

The second half of the concert consisted of a pair of pieces by famed composer Percy Grainger including his six-part "Lincolnshire Posy." Throughout the six parts, Grainger attempted to capture the broad range of human feelings such as happiness, war, tragedy, and love.

With an expert touch, the Symphonic Band successfully reached the right tempo and tone to conjure up these emotions whether it being a slower mournful or brisk and uplifting part. The finale for the concert ended on a lively note with a piece called "Shepherd's Hey" which featured a piano and whose wild flourish of a conclusion immediately brought the audience to its feet in ovation.

"I thought they were really great," said 1st-semester music major Joseph Axiak. "I liked the feel on the last tune and all the trumpet soloists."

The University Symphonic Band chose ambitious pieces, but through their hard work, met the challenge and produced a night of complete musical enjoyment.



Contact Eric Nigosanti at

Eric.Nigosanti@UConn.edu.

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