SFA Trombone Choir to present "All in the Family" concert

The SFA Trombone Choir will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, in Cole Concert Hall as a preview to its upcoming performance at the Texas Music Educators Conference. Pictured, kneeling, from left, are Jon Happel, Chris Eaton, Director Deb Scott, Thomas Mensch III and Zachary Thornton. Standing, from left, are Patrick Conn, Danny Williams, Kelly Barker, Shawn McBreyer, Adam Fredericks, Justin Allen, Quentin Polk, David Carlsen, Nathaniel Gardner, Ryan McInturff, Sam Alford, Seth Williams, Todd Rogers, Andrew Klingsick, Dr. A.C. "Buddy Himes" and Cory Barnes.

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - The SFA Trombone Choir will present a concert, "All in the Family," at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, in Cole Concert Hall. The program is the same one the choir will present at the Texas Music Educators Conference in San Antonio Thursday, Feb. 12.

"We are honored to have been invited to perform at TMEA, the largest gathering of music educators in the world," said Deb Scott, SFA assistant professor of trombone and the choir's director. "And we are pleased to be presenting the program here on campus."

The 22-member ensemble, composed of SFA undergraduate and graduate music majors and Dr. A.C. "Buddy" Himes, dean of the College of Fine Arts, will perform works that utilize the alto, bass, contrabass and standard tenor trombones.

"Including the entire family of trombones in the choir adds variety and interest to the ensemble and continues a 500-year-old tradition of one of the earliest known ensembles," Scott explained.

Included on the program are works that feature several students. Thomas Mensch III, Tyler graduate student, will guest conduct Giovanni Gabrieli's "Canzona XIII" and be featured as a soloist on T.R. George's "Aria and Dance."

Chris Eaton, Mesquite graduate student, will guest conduct two movements of Jan Koetsier's "Concerto Grosso," and Jonathan Stoby, a December graduate of SFA, will be the featured soloist on Giocomo Puccini's "Nessun Dorma."

The program also includes "Excruciare" by Nathaniel Gardner, an SFA trombone-playing composition student from Ben Wheeler.

The concert, which is a joint presentation of the SFA College of Fine Arts and School of Music, is free and open to the public. Cole Concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Dr. For more information, please call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.