On Thursday, Nov. 7, Southern Utah University’s Auditorium was filled with the sound of the SUU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band. The performances were the first installment of the 2024-2025 Music Masterworks Series, titled “Let’s Dance!”
The performance was a chance for the two different bands to show off their skills. While similar, the Symphonic Band has less variety in instruments, focusing more on traditional concert band arrangement. Both were meant to exemplify dance in music.
“We play a lot of music that has a lot of energy, and a lot of times the music has a tradition in dance we don’t often identify,” said Adam Lambert, professor of music and director of bands. “This particular set of music just sort of came together by accident in some ways.”
SUU’s Symphonic Band is conducted by David D. Torres, and was the first to perform. They played five different pieces, with the whole performance taking about 45 minutes. The pieces had a range of themes, but the majority were from around the early 1900s. In preparation for Veterans Day, the last two songs were “America the Beautiful,” and “Americans We.”
After the Symphonic Band was the Wind Symphony, directed by Lambert. The pieces played by the Wind Symphony were more diverse and contained a lot of interesting pieces, making use of their greater range of instrumentation. These contained music that has to do with cultural dance, such as “Armenian Dances” and “Danza Final from Estancia.”
During the performance, Dr. Xun Sun, director of orchestral activities, made an appearance as a guest conductor for the song “Spanish Dance from Godfly.”
“In general, I love making music with other people,” said Ike Petersen, a bassist from the Wind Symphony. “There’s moments where we really lock in, and it’s super cool to see from up there.”
The performances were an encompassing showcase of the bands of SUU, helping students, community members and prospective music majors listen to what the program has to offer.
To learn more about SUU’s Department of Music and their events, check out their webpage.
Author: Tallon Taylor
Photographer: Tallon Taylor
Editor: Tessa Cheshire
Copy Editor: Kayd Johanson
arts@suunews.net
