The West Virginia University Wind Symphony will present a concert Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre. John Hendricks, the new conductor of the group, will conduct the program, along with graduate students Jonathan Neiderhiser and Nicole Gross.
Contemporary works on the program include Hysteria in Salem Village, by Felicia Sandler, who is a professor at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Hysteria is a very powerful work that describes the turmoil in Salem, Mass., during the late 17th century witch trials.
The Blatherskites Comeuppance, by Carl Schimmel, a doctoral student at Duke University, is a tongue-in-cheek piece comprised of three short episodes. The blatherskite is someone who talks at great length without making any sense. The piece tells the fate of the blatherskite with the use of a squeaky dog door, a bicycle horn, and a popping balloon. This work will also be performed at the upcoming Student Composers Conference to be hosted by WVU during Nov. 11-13.
The last of the contemporary pieces, composed in the mid-20th century, belongs to Vaclav Nelhybel and Vincent Percsichetti. Symphonic Movement, by Nelhybel, will be conducted by Nicole Gross, assistant to the band directors at WVU . Psalm for Band, by Percsichetti, will be conducted by Jonathan Neiderhiser, a graduate student conductor. The high rhythmic energy and modern melodic treatment give these two pieces their contemporary twist.
The concert also includes a selection of five more traditional band works. These pieces, including Flying the Breeze, by Philip Sparke, are more melodic in composition and contain more conventional patterns and flow. Fanfare for the Common Man, by Aaron Copland; the last movement of Old Wine in New Bottles by Gordon Jacob; and Russian Christmas Music by Alfred Reed will also be performed.
The final work will be The Big Cage, by Karl King, who wrote many marches and gallops depicting the hectic events surrounding a circus performance. This piece is dedicated to Clyde Beatty, a lion tamer.
Tickets for the WVU Wind Symphony concert are $7 for the general public and $6 for WVU staff/faculty and senior citizens, and $5 for WVU students. Tickets are available at the Mountainlair Box Office or by calling 304-293-SHOW.