Symphonic Band, Wind Symphony presenting Feb. 27 concert

The Wind Symphony, conducted by Dr. Katy Strickland, is pictured during a concert last fall.

Northwest Missouri State University’s Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony will perform their first concert of the spring semester at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, in the Mary Linn Auditorium at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts.

The concert is free and open to the public.

The Symphonic Band, under the direction of Shelby Shelton, will present a series of Serbian folk songs, titled “Cyprian Suite” by Carol Barnett; Kimberly Archer’s tribute to childhood innocence, “Ballad for Aisha;” and “Nightmare Fuel,” which depicts a terrifying adventure accompanied by cinematic electronics, composed by Mat Campbell.

The Wind Symphony, conducted by Dr. Katy Strickland, Northwest’s Dennis C. Dau Professor of Instrumental Music, will perform “‘March’ from Symphonic Metamorphosis” by Paul Hindemith and transcribed by Keith Wilson; “Themes from ‘Green Bushes’” by Percy Grainger and arranged by Larry Daehn; “One Life Beautiful” by Julie Giroux; and “Fluffy Ruffles,” by George H. Green and arranged by William L. Cahn, featuring Shelton as a xylophone soloist.

By performing “One Life Beautiful,” the Wind Symphony will pay tribute to the lives of faculty in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts.

“The title is a double-entendre, intending to capture the beauty of every single life while also embracing the reality that having only one life is what makes it so precious and sometimes fleeting,” Strickland said, noting the recent passing of Kat Bilbo, an associate professor of theatre, as well as celebrations of births and an engagement within the families of department faculty. “So we hope this piece captures whatever each listener needs in their own path through life and among other lives lived.”

The Symphonic Band is active during the spring semester and performs a broad range of music literature, including modern wind compositions and light pop selections. The band is open to all Northwest students and presents two concerts during the spring semester.

The Northwest Wind Symphony is the University’s premier wind ensemble and performs the best standard selections from all styles and periods, in addition to recent repertoire for wind bands.

To learn more about musical ensembles at Northwest, visit 7e3x.photographywaltz.com/finearts/music/ensembles/.