VSU Hosts Concert Band, Wind Ensemble Performances Feb. 19

VALDOSTA — At 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 19, Valdosta State University Music fans will have the opportunity to enjoy performances by both a full symphonic band and a few smaller chamber groups. The concert is open to the public and free of charge.

“The audience will hear two distinctly different ensembles in this concert,” said Joe H. Brashier, director of bands and professor music.

The 63-member Concert Band, which is open to all students and conducted by Eric E. Bradshaw, will kick off the evening and perform four pieces of music.

“Their musical selections,” Brashier noted, “will include two pieces by traditional American composers [Claude T. Smith and Frank Erickson], one by a Czech composer who moved to the United States in the late 1960s [Vaclav Nelhybel], and a contemporary symphony by a composer based in New Hampshire [Andrew Boysen Jr.].”

The second part of the concert will feature members of the Wind Ensemble and will take the audience on a listening tour of the world, from Austria (Franz Schubert) to the United States (Vincent Persichetti) to Japan (Kazuhiro Morita) to Spain (Carlos Surinach). Conducted by Brashier, this premier group stresses a one-player-per-part concept, performs literature of the highest level, and is open to all students through competitive auditions only. It currently has 21 members.

“Our students often perform in small chamber groups, such as wind quintets, string quartets, etc.,” Brashier shared. “The programming of conducted chamber works is new to the students, and they have enthusiastically embraced the opportunity. Performing one player per part places a high demand on each individual performer, and the students have accepted the challenge.”  

Tuesday’s concert will be held in VSU’s Whitehead Auditorium on the first floor of the Fine Arts Building, which is located at the intersection of Brookwood Drive and Oak Street.

Contact Joe H. Brashier at (229) 333-5809 or jhbrashi@valdosta.edu to learn more.