Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The bands of Stephen F. Austin State University will present their fourth annual “Kaleidoscope’ concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus. The program will feature all three concert bands along with student chamber ensembles in a “kaleidoscope event” with no breaks between performances, according to Dr. Tamey Anglley, director of bands at SFA.
The concert will open with Symphonic Band, conducted by Dr. Chris Kaatz, assistant director of bands, performing selected movements from Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” The work is inspired by a 13th century anthology of songs and texts written by the goliards, a group of young clergy known for their satirical Latin poetry. John Krance’s wind ensemble arrangement of this work spans a wide gamut of characters: bombastic declamations, a spritely asymmetrical dance and even an “ominous” tavern song.
SFA Saxophone Quartet, including Caleb Allen of Beaver, West Viriniga; Riona Kumazaki of Toyohashi Aichi, Japan; Carter Vernon of North Manchester, Indiana; and Peyton Joffre of Carrollton, will perform a movement from Guillermo Lago’s “Ciudades.” Written in 2011, “Ciudades” (Cities) is a series of musical sketches of cities that have special meaning to Lago. The saxophone quartet will perform the movement ‘Addis Ababa,’ which is the capital of Ethiopia. The work was inspired by Lago’s collaboration with the Ethiopian singer Minyeshu.
Wind Symphony will take the stage under the direction of Dr. Dan Haddad, associate director of bands. The students will perform Donald Grantham’s “Starry Crown,” based on gospel music of the 1920s and ’30s from the Deep South featuring a style sometimes referred to as ‘gutbucket’ gospel because of its raw, earthy and primitive character. Three authentic tunes are used in this work: “Some of These Days,” “Oh Rocks, Don’t Fall on Me!” and “When I Went Down in the Valley.”
The SFA Percussion Ensemble will perform Zachary Cairn’s “Rhythmic Ceremonial Ritual” for seven tambourines. Cairns wanted to compose a piece for a tambourine ensemble in which each player could work on different techniques in a fun, entertaining setting.
The Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Anglley, will perform the first three movements from Philip Sparke’s “Dance Movements,” all dance-inspired from different cultures, with the second and third movements featuring woodwinds and brass, respectively.
Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. To purchase tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit finearts.sfasu.edu. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.