More than 80 years ago, Morgantown residents experienced the thrill of a lifetime when the John Philip Sousa,the March King,and his band performed downtown at the Strand Theater, across from where the Met Theatre is now located.

Today’s Morgantown residents will have the opportunity experience the same stirring music that the Sousa Band performed in 1921, when the West Virginia University Division of Music presentsA Sousa Spectacular!featuring the WVU Wind Symphony, conducted by Don Wilcox, at the Metropolitan Theatre in downtown Morgantown Monday and Tuesday, April 19 and 20.

The April 20 concert will serve as the annual Scholarship Fundraiser for the Division of Music and the proceeds from the concerts will also be used to help complete the renovations of the Met Theatre and to support the WVU Bands.

The program begins at 7:30 p.m. each evening and will also feature Associate Conductor John Hendricks; Dr. Charles Neel, WVU theatre professor emeritus, as master of ceremonies; and mezzo-soprano Catharine Thieme as vocal soloist and song leader. Other soloists will include WVU music students: Dereck Scott, trumpet; Pat Clark, euphonium; and Stephen Saunders, trombone.

According to Wilcox, the program will recreate the concert actually performed by the John Philips Sousa Band in Morgantown in 1921.

The Metropolitan Theatre wasn’t built until 1924, so the Sousa Band played at the Strand Theater, which was an old Vaudeville house across the street from where the Met Theatre is located today,Wilcox said.

We will perform the same tunes the Sousa Band played back in 1921, with the same kind of virtuoso soloist, the same size band, and the same instrumentation.

In addition to raising money for scholarships for our music students, we are pleased to be involved with helping raise the funds to finish the renovations to the Met.

The program includes our National Anthem,”The Star-Spangled Banner,arranged by John Philip Sousa;Washington Post,by Sousa;La Forza Del Destinoby Giuseppe Verdi; andCousins,by Herbert L. Clarke, featuring Dereck Scott on trumpet and Stephen Saunders on trombone.

There will also beThe Free Lance March,by Sousa;Poet and Peasant,by Franz von Suppe;Farandole,from L’Arlesienne by Georges Bizet; andI’ve Made My Plans for the Summer,by Sousa, andBendemeer’s Stream,by Alfred Gatty, featuring vocalist Catherine Thieme.

Audiences also will enjoyThe Crimson Petal,by Fred Jewell;Believe Me if all t hose Endearing Young Charms,by Simone Mantia, featuring Pat Clark on euphonium; an Armed Forces Medley arranged by Collette Hausey, andWho’s Who In Navy Blue,Easter Monday on the White House Lawn,From Maine to Oregon,andStars and Stripes Forever,all by Sousa.

In addition, Thieme will lead the audience in an Americana Sing-a-Long featuringHome on the Range,I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,Let Me Call You Sweetheart,You’re a Grand Old Flag,andBattle Hymn of the Republic.

The WVU Wind Symphony, conducted for more then 30 years by Don Wilcox, presents several concerts each year of the finest traditional and contemporary wind instrument literature. This exceptional student organization is made up primarily of the talented wind and percussion performers within the College of Creative Arts. The ensemble has premiered numerous new compositions, and often presentscutting edgenew music, but while maintaining a solid connection with traditional repertoire and the concert band’s historical literature.

The Wind Symphony has made several appearances at regional and national conferences of the Music Educators National Conference and the College Band Directors National Association. They have toured more than 20 states and performed in some of the nation’s finest concert halls, including the Kennedy Center in 1988 and in 2002. The group also performed at the first meeting of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles in Manchester, England, in 1981, and presented the opening concert at the first Atlanta International Band and Orchestra Conference in 1996.

Proceeds from the April 20 concert go the Music Student Scholarship Fund. This is the 39th annual music gala scholarship fundraiser event for the Division of Music.

Tickets are $12 for the general public, $10 for senior citizens and $5 for students. They are available at Fawley Music Company, or by calling (304) 292-3351, or at the WVU Band Office at (304) 293-4841 ext. 3154.Tickets will also be available at the door.

For information about the program, contact the College of Creative Arts at (304) 293-4841 ext. 3108. Also, see the College of Creative Arts Calendar of Events online athttp://www.wvu.edu/~ccarts.