By Sarah Daniels, Staff Writer
On Sunday, April 14, the Sunderman Conservatory Symphony Band presented its spring program at the Majestic Theater at 3 p.m. Conductor for the Symphony Band Dr. Steven Marx gave a brief introduction before each song.
The first piece, “Rough Riders” by Karl L King and arranged by James Swearingen, started as soon as the conductor picked up the baton. The second piece, “Chasing Sunlight” by Cait Nishimura, is an ode to the setting sun and driving west, almost as if chasing the final rays at sunset. With beautiful melodies, the piece invoked a soft, nostalgic attitude.
“Children’s March,” composed by Percy A Grainger and arranged by R. Mark Rogers, was a quick, fast paced piece. Dr. Marx described it as a “staple in the symphony band repertoire.” The next piece, “The Cave You Fear” by Michael Markowski, had eerie melodies using percussion and saxophone. The piece explored ideas of human fear, anxiety, and apprehension throughout the composition.
“Fandango” by Frank Perkins and arranged by Floyd E. Werle is a piece with Spanish inspiration. The liveliness of the piece was characterized by quick, loud bursts of trumpets. Next was “Halcyon Hearts” composed by Katahj Copley. A soft tune, the piece was a beautiful combination of clarinet and flute.
Moving towards a more lively piece, the symphony band performed “Marcho Poco” by Donald J. Moore. With a childlike, almost circus-like tune, the piece was a fun look at childhood. The next piece, “Salvation is Created” by Pavel Tschesnokoff and arranged by Bruce Houseknecht, was dedicated to a former trumpet player in the symphony band who passed away in October. The piece featured beautiful, swelling moments of a soft melody to invoke a transcendent feeling.
“Irving Berlin – A Symphonic Portrait,” composed by Irving Berlin and arranged by Hawley Ades, was a melody of common American songs, from “White Christmas” to “God Bless America.” The piece switched seamlessly between the different well loved songs. The final piece, “Firebird Suite: Berceuse and Finale” by Igor Stravinsky and arranged by Robert Longfield, had a tune that switched from bursts of sound to quiet, background music.
Audience member Olivia Van Tuyl ’27 enjoyed the mid afternoon performance and remarked, “I thought it was really beautiful, and I got a lot of chills.”
Another audience member, Johnny Kopchinski ’27, enjoyed the program, especially the final piece.
“It was so moving. That last Stravinski piece had my heart pumping. It was a wonderful, wonderful show,” he said.
Aynsley Lane ’26, a baritone saxophone, discussed the performance from the perspective of a member: “It was really fun. I loved our pieces, especially ‘The Cave You Fear’ which used all our extended musical techniques. It was a very interesting and fun piece. The whole concert was very fun overall!”
