Strike
up the bands
WSU
hosts national bandmasters convention in March
Wichita
State University Bands, in conjunction with its centennial celebration,
will host the American Bandmasters Association national convention
at the Wichita Hyatt Regency and the WSU campus.
Two
on-campus concerts will be at 8 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, March 6-7,
in Miller Concert Hall. A third concert will be at 8 p.m. Friday,
March 8, at Wichita’s Century II Concert Hall. The featured
band will be the U.S. Air Force Band, based in Bolling Air Force
Base, Washington, D.C., and conducted by Col. Lowell Graham.
All
concerts are free, however tickets are required.
The
feature band for the concert March 6 will be Arkansas Tech University
Symphonic Band, conducted by Hal Cooper. WSU's Symphonic Wind Ensemble
will perform under Victor Markovich, conductor and Larry Blocher,
associate conductor.
This
concert will be dedicated to the memory of James Kerr, director
of WSU Bands from 1946-70. Kerr and Markovich are the only WSU band
directors to be invited and elected to ABA membership. The concert
will include a solo performance by Judith Saxton, assistant professor
of trumpet, and a performance of new works by Dean Roush, professor
of music theory and composition.
The
March 7 concert will feature the University of Iowa Symphony Band,
conducted by Myron Welch. Also featured is the University of Kansas
Symphonic Band, conducted by Robert Foster.
"The
American Bandmasters Association is the most prestigious band organization
in the world," says Markovich, professor of music and director of
bands.
Members
are invited and elected to membership after a rigorous yearlong
examination. The ABA members represent the most important and influential
conductors and composers of the band world, says Markovich. There
are currently 250 ABA members, says Markovich, who is one of five
total ABA members from Kansas in its 72-year history.
For
free tickets to the WSU concert, call 978-3233. For the free tickets
to the March 8 concert, call The Wichita Eagle, 268-6482.
