Winter Band Concert Showcases a World Premiere & Xylophone Soloist

The Department of Music presents its annual Winter Festival Band Concert on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Hugo Young Theatre. Under the direction of Joseph Lewis, Jr., the concert will feature the Ashland University Symphonic Band and the Ashland Area Community Concert Band (AACCB). The concert will offer a program of classic compositions for concert band along with some holiday favorites. The concert is free and open to the public.

The Ashland University Symphonic Band is comprised of the outstanding wind and percussion players at the University. The ensemble's program will showcase guest percussionist Elizabeth Procopio on xylophone as she joins the Symphonic Band on Floyd Werle's The Golden Age of the Xylophone. The Band will also perform the World Premiere of Dr. Stefan Swanson's (Visiting Assistant Professor of Music) Women of World War II. This portion of the concert will also include performances of Sousa's Semper Fidelis March and Morton Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium.

After a brief intermission, the 65-member Ashland Area Community Concert Band takes the stage. Established in 1993, the ensemble is designed for both university students and members of the Ashland community to continue their musical study and creative activity.

The Community Band's program begins with a Spanish Pasodoble Amparito Roca and an arrangement of Holst's In the Bleak Midwinter. The program will also feature pieces with guest conductors Dave Wolbert, retired Ashland City Schools music teacher, and Sean DeLong, Band Director at Ontario Local Schools. The program will conclude with a sing along of many Christmas favorites.