Wind Band Rocks! Wind Symphony Performs Annual Family Pops Concert
By Victoria Staub, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Wind Symphony performs annual Family Pops Concert called “Wind Band Rocks!” at the Majestic on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023 (Photo Victoria Staub/The Gettysburgian)
On Sunday afternoon in the Majestic Theater, the Sunderman Conservatory’s Wind Symphony performed its annual family pops concert titled “Wind Band Rocks!” This event was conducted by Director of Bands Dr. Russell McCutcheon and featured Director of the Sunderman Conservatory Dr. James Day on the electric guitar.
This concert opened with a rendition of Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4” performed almost exclusively by wind instruments, as was the rest of the show. The performance contained a mixture of popular rock songs and other music inspired by the classic rock era.
The additional popular numbers performed were a medley of The Beatles’ album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club,” “Led Zeppelin on Tour” (which included music from “Rock and Roll,” “Immigrant Song,” “Black Dog,” “Kashmir,” and “Stairway to Heaven”), and “Carry on Wayward Son” by Kansas as the final song.
The numbers that were not covers of popular classic rock songs were “Medium Funk Prelude” by Paul Richards, “Chaos Theory 3.0” by Jim Bonney, “Rock Encounter” by Jay Chattaway, “Tight Squeeze” by Alex Shapiro, and “More Cowbell! (from PopCopy),” with a name referencing the “Saturday Night Live” skit with Christopher Walken from the early 2000s, by Scott McAllister.
Dr. Day was a guest performer for the song “Chaos Theory 3.0” which is a concerto written for the electric guitar and wind symphony.
Day explained that he was invited by McCutcheon to perform, and after looking over the piece, he was excited to participate. The guitar Day used in the performance, he shared, was his from high school.
“[The concerto] was perfect because I grew up on a lot of the music that composer [Jim Bonney] was influenced by, like Rush and Metallica,” Day explained.
The solos within the concerto provided Day with a lot of creative freedom. He explained that almost nothing was written for the guitar solos other than “solo over this scale, or this key.” During the solos, Day shredded on the electric guitar, making for an incredibly entertaining experience for the audience.
Day shared that not even his students have heard him perform like that because he never had the chance to do so as a classical guitarist.
Michael Tropp ’25, a trombonist, considered Day’s performance to be a highlight. “It was nice to play with Dr. Day and his guitar. That was really fun.”
The student performers enjoyed playing different music than they are used to.
Ronnie Moyer ’23, a French horn player, explained he “had a great time, [and] it was fun playing unique music.”
Tropp echoed this sentiment. “It was cool to play, like, popular music instead of just, like, regular classical stuff,” he said.
Student audience members equally enjoyed the uniqueness of this performance.
Izzy Coupe ’26 explained, “I’ve never heard, like, covers of rock music done with other instruments.”
The Sunderman Conservatory has many events planned for the rest of the semester, but a rock concert like this is performed only once each year. For those who missed out on Sunday’s performance, be sure to stay tuned for next year’s family pops concert.
