Program entitled effervescent widgets at Park Royal United
The UPEI Wind Symphony will perform March 24 at 7:30 pm at Park Royal United Church in Charlottetown.
This recital will feature contemporary works for the modern wind band, with several emerging masterworks of the genre. The program will open with Pansori’s Rhapsody, a virtuosic work by Korean composer Chang Su Koh. This work is imbued with Korean culture and, through Su Koh’s orchestration, creates innovative colours and effects. effervescent widgets, this recital’s title work, is among the most rhythmically complex scores that the Wind Symphony has ever performed, says director Karem Simon. Here, American Richard Drehoff Jr., creates, in musical terms, a narrative of a widget’s journey through the modern manufacturing mechanism. To accomplish this, Drehoff Jr. uses repetitive ostinato passages which layer upon themselves to the point of collapse.
Percy Grainger, an Australian by birth but an American by choice, wrote his Children’s March: Over The Hills and Far Away around 1919. Based on an original Grainger melody, it is a light, carefree work the utilizes the full symphonic resources and colour of the modern wind band. Grainger was among the first to use piano and mallet percussion as part of his works for wind band. Another featured work by an American composer is Julie Giroux’s One Life Beautiful. It is an introspective work with some of the most lyrical lines. Additional works by Dimitri Shostakovich and Warren Benson will be performed.
This recital will be the final Wind Symphony performance for thirteen of its graduating students. All have made significant contributions to UPEI, and the Wind Symphony in particular, throughout their undergraduate careers.
The Symphony received the 2014 Music PEI award for Achievement in Classical Music. Under the direction of Dr. Karem J Simon, it has had a progressive approach to its programming, and in reaching a wider audience, and is among PEI’s most respected large ensembles. Commissioning new compositions, featuring outstanding student and professional soloists, and showcasing masterworks of the wind band genre are hallmarks of this ensemble.
Tickets are available in advance at UPEI’s music department or at the door. The public is cordially invited to attend.
