UPEI Wind Symphony to perform final recital of the year
The UPEI Wind Symphony will perform its final recital of the academic year on Thursday, March 28 at 7:30 pm at UPEI's Dr. Steel Recital Hall. This has been a particularly busy and musically rewarding year for the Wind Symphony with highly successful performances throughout the fall and winter.
This recital will feature contemporary works for the modern wind band by American, English, and Spanish composers. The acoustics of the Dr. Steel Recital Hall will be put to the test with Gustav Holst's 'Mars.' It's the first movement from Holst's orchestral suite 'The Planets.' Since its completion in 1916, it has been widely performed and frequently recorded. Each of the seven movements is named after a planet of the solar system. Subtitled 'the Bringer of War,' 'Mars,' captures the full horror of warfare. The music possesses strong thematic content and pounding rhythms, with blistering brass and percussion effects.
The UPEI Wind Symphony is known for its innovative programming which is evident with Andrew Staniland's 'Four Horsemen.' Staniland, a composition professor at MUN, borrowed the title from the 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,' which is described in the Book of Revelation from the Bible. Staniland drew inspiration from the four corners of the earth, four horsemen and four angels, interpreting them beyond their caricature roles, echoing an ancient knowledge about astronomy and celestial movement that set his creativity alight. The resulting piece is a fierce yet inquisitive modern work that is more about the joy and inspiration of scientific knowledge than about an apocalyptic vision of the end of the world. It is a work that uses a variety of contemporary techniques including electronics and a flute cadenza that is recorded and filtered in real time. The piece includes a variety of horse-like sounds, as well as those of motorcycles-what Staniland interpreted as the modern equivalent of horses.
This recital will be the final Wind Symphony performance for seven of its graduating students-Melissa MacRae, saxophone; Will Howard, trombone; Tim Sherren, guitar; Rory O'Donnell, trumpet; Sarah Milligan, euphonium; Mathieu Hughes, trombone; and John Paul Larkin, clarinet. All seven students have made significant contributions to UPEI, and the Wind Symphony in particular, throughout their undergraduate careers.
Comprised mostly of UPEI music majors, the Wind Symphony has been critically acclaimed for its performance standard. During the past 14 years, the Wind Symphony has produced a CD annually featuring selected repertoire from each year's performances. Its 2010 CD, 'Cathedrals,' was recipient of the Music PEI Award for best classical recording. Its two most recent CDs, 'Freebirds' (2011) and 'The Lord of the Rings' (2012) have received much praise. Each year the Wind Symphony tours selected areas of the region to provide its membership with additional performance experiences and share its musicking with a wider audience. Last semester's performances in Montague and Summerside, and Saint John, NB were favourably received.
Tickets for this performance may be acquired in advance at UPEI's music department or at the door prior to the recital. All are welcome to attend.
