On Friday, November 1^st, Houghton University’s Wind Ensemble will present a free concert of musical selections for the public. The concern also features two faculty members as featured soloists.

Guest Faculty Performers

Dustin Woodard, assistant professor of percussion, will perform in “The Principle of Polarity” by Brett William Dietz. This new piece, commissioned by the Greatbatch School of Music, is designed to highlight the skill and dexterity of the solo vibraphonist.

Dr. Kimberly Prins Moeller, assistant professor of voice, will feature as a solo vocalist in “Um Mitternacht” by Gustav Mahler. Mahler, a respected and influential Jewish composer of the late Romantic period, wrote “Um Mitternacht” as part of his Rückert-Lieder, based on the poetry of Friedrich Rückert..

“We are thrilled to be featuring two of our Greatbatch School of Music faculty members in this concert,” says Dr. Timothy McGarvey, wind ensemble conductor and professor of conducting at Houghton. “It will prove to be a beautiful and exciting evening of music.”

Wind Ensemble Concert Selections

Two of Houghton’s graduate conducting students, Marissa Perez and Dakota Hirsch, will each conduct a piece during the concert. Perez will conduct “Scenes from the Louvre” by Norman Dello Joio, from Joio’s Emmy Award-winning score to the 1964 documentary The Louvre. Hirsch, meanwhile, will conduct “Movement II, After ‘The Thunderer’” by Ira Hearshen, taken from Hearshen’s Symphony on Themes of John Philip Sousa.

The wind ensemble program will also feature music from Eric Whitacre, David Gillingham, and Ron Nelson. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy pieces in a variety of styles, all anchored by the core wind ensemble instrumentation.

Houghton University’s wind ensemble is a premiere, audition-only ensemble featuring talented and dedicated student instrumentalists. The ensemble performs multiple times a semester, both on campus and across the Western New York region. They also tour regularly in the spring.

This weekend’s concert runs from 7:30 to 8:30 PM in Houghton University’s Wesley Chapel. The event is free and open to the public, with no advance ticket required.