ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Ouachita Baptist University’s Division of Music will host a brass and percussion concert Monday, Oct. 22, at 7:30 p.m. in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to the public and will feature horn, trombone, trumpet and percussion ensembles.
“As brass and percussion have a close and long-standing historical and musical relationship, it makes perfect sense to share a performance each fall semester,” said Dr. Ryan Lewis, OBU assistant professor of music and director of the percussion ensemble. “The format of the program alternates among trumpet, horn, trombone and percussion ensembles, which gives the concert a unique and constantly interesting appeal.”
The concert will begin with members of the trumpet ensemble performing the first two movements of “Three Fanfares” by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, followed by the trombone ensemble’s performance of “Largo” from George Frideric Handel’s opera Xerxes. The percussion ensemble will then perform Double Music by John Cage and Lou Harrison, with the horn ensemble following with the anonymous Heimkehr von der jagd.
The trombone ensemble will return to present the second and third movements of Flor Peeters’ “Suite for Trombones,” “Lied” and “Dans.” The percussion ensemble will then present Vous avez du feu? by Emmanuel Sejourne, followed by the trumpet ensemble with Hillbilly by Marck Nightingale. The trombone ensemble will perform the second andthird movements from Greg Danner’s The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, “You Escaped My Heart” and “Chase Scene from Episode 122: ‘The Escapist v. The Mind Bots’” before the percussion ensemble concludes the concert with Ford’s arrangement of City Soca by Arthur Lipner.
This final piece will serve as a public announcement that, starting this spring semester, the OBU Division of Music will introduce a Caribbean steel drum ensemble. This new ensemble will be open to all OBU students through an audition process and will serve as an opportunity to mentor middle school students in a new steel band through the Boys & Girls Club of Clark County.
“This will be a terrific and fun way to bring both world music and community involvement to our campus,” Lewis noted.
The horn ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Heather Thayer, assistant professor of music, and includes: Kelsey Bates, a senior instrumental music education major from Marion, Ark.; Teddy Cross, a senior music major from Benton, Ark.; Anna English, a senior English major from Coppell, Texas; Megan Graves, a juniormusic major from Hot Springs, Ark.; Grace Hevron, a sophomore choral music education major from Duncanville, Texas; and Elizabeth Lawson, a sophomore music major from Texarkana, Texas.
The trombone ensemble isunder the direction of Dr. Justin Isenhour, assistant professor of music, and includes: Jeremy Cooper, a sophomore psychology and Christian studies/ministry major from Mesquite, Texas; Andrew McCraw, a senior instrumental music education major from Fort Worth, Texas; Sean Nance, a senior church music major from Dallas, Texas; Evan Rogers, a junior church music major from Jacksonville, Ark.; Kaden Sosebee, a freshman worship arts major from Fort Smith, Ark.; and Bret Steed, a junior music performance major from Idabel, Okla.
The trumpet ensemble, also under the direction of Thayer, includes three instrumental music education majors: Deborah Caldwell, a senior from Siloam Springs, Ark.; Megan Massey, a junior from Weatherford, Texas; and Lindsay Palmer, a freshman from Idabel, Okla.
The percussion ensemble,under Lewis’ direction, includes: Drew Ervin, a sophomore music performance and computer science major from Springdale, Ark.; Carter Harlan, a freshman instrumental music education major from Fayetteville, Ark.; Chris Hogan, a sophomore instrumental music education major from Bartlesville, Okla.; Adam Jones, a freshman Christian studies/Biblical studies major from Fordyce, Ark.; Natalie Kral, a freshman kinesiology and leisure studies/recreation and sports ministry major from Hot Springs Village, Ark.; Alex Lomax, a senior biology major from Little Rock, Ark.; Justin Massey, a freshman instrumental music education major from Weatherford, Texas; Abbey Ogier, a freshman communication sciences and disorders major from San Antonio, Texas; Cody Osborn, a freshman music major from Alexander, Ark.; Elva Rosas, a freshman business administration/finance major from Arkadelphia, Ark.; and Cory Thackston, a freshman Christian studies/ministry major from Russellville, Ark.
For more information, contact OBU’s School of Fine Arts at (870) 245-5129.
