Department of Music presents the Wind Ensemble in benefit concert Feb. 25

Feb. 14, 2008 -- The Arkansas State University Wind Ensemble will present its fourth concert of the 2007-2008 season on Monday, Feb. 25,  in Riceland Hall, Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. This Wind Ensemble concert, "Reflections and Remembrances," is a concert for the people of Sharp County in the aftermath of the storms and tornadoes afflicting that county and region one week ago. Although admission to this concert is free, the Department of Music will be accepting monetary donations to benefit the people of Sharp County.

Greg Bruner, director of bands at Highland High School, will serve as guest conductor
for the program's final number, John Philip Sousa's "Semper Fidelis." Other Sharp County residents will be special guests at the concert. Two charter buses will pick up individuals from Sharp County at Highland High School, transport them to the concert at ASU, and return them to Highland High School. Members of the Highland High School Band will be in attendance, as will be the Bryant High School Wind Ensemble.

The Wind Ensemble is conducted by Dr. Timothy Oliver, director of bands and coordinator of wind and percussion studies within the Department of Music.
Dr. Oliver will lead the musicians of the ASU Wind Ensemble in “Reflections and Remembrances.” The reason for this concert title is that four of the five works to be performed were written by composers who intended to portray or reflect upon an influential event from their lives, which in turn gave them inspiration to write the pieces appearing on this program.

The concert will begin with “Lauds (Praise High Day)” composed by Ron Nelson. This is an exuberant, colorful work intended to express feelings of praise and glorification at sunrise.  Elements within the piece such as extended harmonic content, 7/8 meter, and bright scoring all suggest the glory and excitement of a new day. David Maslanka composed the second piece, a clarinet concerto titled “Desert Roads.” The composer writes that the title and musical content of this work “suggests an interior journey, a time of inner searching, of not knowing, of creative incubation.” This relatively new work, written in 2005, will also feature virtuoso musician and soloist Professor Ken Hatch.

Ken Hatch teaches clarinet and conducting at ASU. Prior to his appointment at ASU, Mr. Hatch held positions as band director and woodwinds specialist at public schools in Texas. He has performed as guest conductor with the ASU Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble. Mr. Hatch continues to be an active performer. He presently performs as clarinetist, bass clarinetist, and principal saxophonist with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in Little Rock.

Mr. Hatch has appeared as soloist with bands and orchestras throughout the south, including performances for the Arkansas State Bandmasters Association and the College Band Directors National Association. Mr. Hatch performed with the Baylor University Alumni Clarinet Quartet at ClarFest '97 in Lubbock, Texas. In 1972, he was a finalist in what was then the National Clarinet Competition in Denver, Colorado. Always interested in expanding the repertoire for single reeds, Mr. Hatch has premiered pieces by Jared Spears, Tom O'Connor, Gay Spears, and Craig Wadley.

Mr. Hatch has written The Clarinet Teacher’s CD Companion, a multimedia text. He also has written Tone, Flexibility, and Scale Studies for Clarinet.

Mr. Hatch holds the bachelor of music degree in clarinet Performance from the University of North Texas, and the master of music degree in Clarinet Performance from Baylor University. He has done post-graduate work at Florida State University and Michigan State University. He has studied with Dr. Lee Gibson, Dr. Richard Shanley, Mr. Fred Ormand, and Dr. Frank Kowalsky.

The second half of the concert will begin with one of the most significant wind works written by Czechoslovakian-born composer Vaclav Nelhybel. Unlike the other pieces of the program, this work was not written for a specific purpose; it is absolute music. However, the listener will immediately notice this work is unlike the other works on the program. “Symphonic Movement” has an extremely angular musical contour that suggests feelings of great turmoil or even anger and rage. In contrast, “Blessed Are They” is an arrangement of the first movement of Brahms’ requiem. Brahms’ treatment of this musical form is different than other composers, since the text Brahms chose for this choral and orchestral masterpiece is meant to give comfort to the living, who must deal with and accept death. The final work on the program is “Semper Fidelis,” composed by John Philip Sousa. Written in response to a challenge from President Chester A. Arthur, the march takes its title from the motto of the U.S. Marine Corps--“semper fidelis” or “always faithful”—and is dedicated to those who inspired it—the officers and members of the U.S. Marine Corps.

The ASU Wind Ensemble will continue its 2007-2008 concert season with an appearance at a new event, the Mid-South Honor Band Festival, on Saturday, April 5, and on Thursday, April 24. The group will present a concert program titled “Dances Du Jour” at the Fowler Center.

Wind Ensemble personnel includes: piccolo, Hannah Wakefield of Jonesboro; flutes, Brandi McAlister of Marion, Caitlin Sammons of Bald Knob, Ashley Slayton of Paragould, Hannah Sneed of Republic, Mo.; oboes, Lauren Crum of Oxford, Miss., Pamela Masterson of Homestead, Fla., Justin Stewart of Nashville, Tenn.; bassoons, Bryan Eckert of Jonesboro, Tiffany Schmidt of Lakewood, Colo.; Eb clarinet, Jamar Haggans of Wynne, clarinets, Shayeeda Beard of Cherokee Village, Amelia Middleton of Russellville, Jamie Scercy of Harrisburg, Amy Van Slyke of Hardy, Christopher Williams of Jonesboro, Kimberly Winchester of Jonesboro; bass clarinet, Sheena Gibson of Piggott; contrabass clarinet, Scott Dunkin of West Memphis; alto saxophones, Allen Adcock of Bono, Ben Hobson of Grapevine, Texas, Claire Richardson of Jonesboro; tenor saxophone, Daniel Rickman of Bono; baritone saxophone, Chris Moody of Bono; trumpets, Meagan Conley of Osceola, Ben Light of West Ridge, Jonathan Monroe of Jonesboro, Lana Spain of Wynne, Antonio Stark of Jonesboro, Jón Stevenson of North Little Rock; horns, Timothy Hendrix of Jonesboro, Jeremy Lloyd of Gosnell, Charnrit Rerngron-asa of Thailand, Laura Thompson of Jonesboro; trombones, Brandon Avant of West Memphis, J.D. Hogue of Jonesboro, Jonathon McAlister of Marion, Treavor Mitchell of Jonesboro; euphoniums, Zack Rikard of Hardy, Matthew Watson of Walnut Ridge; tubas, Jay Shepherd of Paragould, Daniel Van Aalsburg of Hardy; percussion, Trent Duff of Pocahontas, Alysa Fenner of Jonesboro, Seth Gaskill of Paragould, Cody Ivy of Pocahontas, Janet Rooney of Lake City, Cheyenne Sheppard of Jonesboro; and piano, Priscilla Noyes of Dexter, Mo.

For more details, please call the Department of Music at (870) 972-2094.

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