Ashland to Host OPCICA Honors Festival

Ashland University Department of Music is honored to host the 2020 Ohio Private College Instrumental Conductors Association (OPCICA) Honors Festival culminating with a free, public concert on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 1:30 p.m. in Hugo Young Theatre. The 2020 OPCICA Festival is organized by the association's president, John Packard (Mount Vernon Nazarene University), along with the local hosts from Ashland University, Joseph Lewis and Dr. Scott Garlock.

OPCICA represents the instrumental music programs in Ohio's private colleges and universities, whose primary purpose is sponsoring an annual honors festival. This year's festival will involve 111 student musicians and 25 band directors representing 17 schools including Ashland University, Bluffton University, Case Western Reserve University, College of Wooster, Defiance College, Heidelberg University, Kenyon College, Malone University, Marietta College, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Muskingum University, Notre Dame College, Ohio Northern University, Otterbein University, University of Findlay, Wittenberg University and Walsh University.

Participating students have been nominated by their university band directors for their exceptional musicianship. All participating students and directors will arrive on the Ashland University campus on Saturday to rehearse with the OPCICA Honors Concert Band or Honors Jazz Band. The bands will then perform at Sunday afternoon's concert.

The OPCICA Honors Concert Band will perform the following pieces led by the corresponding conductors: Joyce’s 71st N.Y. Reg’t March (Joseph Lewis, Ashland University), Early Light (Roy Couch, Bluffton University), Cloudburst (Tom Roblee, Walsh University), Divertimento (Michael Kruger, Notre Dame College), and Danza Final from Estancia (Chris Schletter, Marietta College).

The OPCICA Honors Jazz Band's program will include performances of The Star-Spangled Banner, Thinking, Doin' the Things, Tones for Joan's Bones, Armando's Rhumba and Minor Bop II conducted by Jason Wyse, Malone University; Jordan Reed, Marietta College; and Jack Taylor, University of Findlay.

Ashland University students selected for the honors bands include Emma Graves on flute; Jacob Moses, Matt Roth, Hannah Smigel and Sydney Muller on clarinet; french horn players Jacob Bodnar and Bethany Leggett; and Eric Watts, bass trombone.

In addition to the OPCICA honors bands, the Ashland University Symphonic Band will perform as the host ensemble. Their selections include Sousa's Semper Fidelis, the World Premiere of Dr. Stefan Swanson's Women of World War II, Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium, as well as The Golden Age of the Xylophone featuring guest soloist Elizabeth Procopio.