SFA School of Music bands host ‘Kaleidoscope’ concert

NACOGDOCHES, Texas –– The bands in Stephen F. Austin State University’s School of Music will present their fifth annual “Kaleidoscope” concert at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21 in the Griffith Fine Arts Building’s Turner Auditorium. The program will feature all three concert bands along with student chamber ensembles in a “kaleidoscope event” with no breaks between performances.

The concert will open with the SFA Trombone Octet performing John Danziger’s “Orbicularis Oris” followed by the Symphonic Band under the direction of Dr. Chris Kaatz, assistant director of bands, performing two pieces, including “Seeds of Glass” by Benjamin Taylor. This work explores the intersection of nature and technology reflected by the duality by blending lush, open sonorities with a dubstep-influenced electronic music groove.

The SFA Tuba/Euphonium will continue with “Souvenir de Porto Rico” by Louis Gottschalk followed by the SFA Saxophone Quartet performing a movement from David Maslanka’s “Mountain Roads.”

The Wind Symphony will take the stage under the direction of Dr. Dan Haddad, associate director of bands. The students will perform Donald Grantham’s “Southern Harmony,” based on a choice selection of tunes, hymns, psalms, odes and anthems selected from some of the most eminent authors in the United States.

The SFA Percussion Ensemble will perform John Psathas’s “Kyoto.” Psathas composed a piece that maintains a constant pulse that drives the momentum, transitioning through varying time signatures and punctuated by moments of silence that give ruse to shifts in harmonic content. This will be followed by the SFA Horn Quartet performing a movement from Kazimierz Machala’s “Intuitions.”

The Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Tamey Anglley, director of bands, will perform Aaron Copland’s “El Salón México,” inspired by the composer’s invitation to visit and conduct in Mexico.

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 sfasu.edu/boxoffice.