STEPHENVILLE — Tarleton State University Bands host the 10th annual Tarleton Invitational Band Festival Wednesday, Feb. 26, and Thursday, Feb. 27, in the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center Auditorium in Stephenville.
This two-day event features performances by 13 visiting high school and junior high bands and a showcase performance by the Tarleton Symphonic Band and the Tarleton Wind Ensemble. All participating bands will work with visiting guest composer Steven Bryant.
The festival highlight is a showcase concert — a joint performance by the Tarleton Symphonic Band, conducted by Dr. Gary Westbrook, and the Tarleton Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. David Robinson — at 7:30 p.m., Thursday.
Admission for the showcase concert is $5 or free for festival participants or Tarleton ID holders. The Tarleton Wind Ensemble will deliver a co-world premiere of Steven Bryant’s “The Automatic Earth” for wind ensemble and electronic sounds at this performance.
Bryant is a native of Arkansas and holds composition degrees from Ouachita Baptist University and the University of North Texas. His music has been performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, and nearly every major military and university band in the country.
He is recipient of the 2014 American Bandmasters Association/Sousa/Ostwald Award for his concerto for alto saxophone. He writes for both young and mature musicians and makes ample use of electronics and technology in his music.
The Wind Ensemble will also feature Dr. Carolyn Keyes as guest soloist on “Poem” by Charles Griffes. Keyes currently serves as instructor of flute at Tarleton. She coordinates the flute studio, directs the Tarleton Flute Choir, and teaches courses in music history and instrumental pedagogy. She holds degrees from Bowling Green State University, the University of North Texas and the University of Colorado.
For more information about the Tarleton Invitational Band Festival, contact Dr. David Robinson, director of bands, at 254-459-5326, or visit the Tarleton Bands online at www.tarleton.edu/band.
Be the first to comment