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The Delta State University Music Department will present the Delta State Wind Ensemble and the “Fighting Okra” Marching Band in concert on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Bologna Performing Arts Center.
The Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. John Wojcik, director of bands at Delta State, will take the stage first and open with “Festivo” by Edward Gregson.
The second piece on the program will be “Toccata Marziale” by the famed English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. This piece has been a staple of band literature since it premier in 1924.
The ensemble will then performthe beautifully flowing “Sleep” by Eric Whitacre, a contemporary composer who has taken both the choral and instrumental worlds by storm with his superb compositions.
Fourth on the program will be “Sea Songs” another Vaughan Williams’s favorite followed by a rousing rendition of “Nitro” by the contemporary and famed composer, Frank Ticheli.
The ever popular “Washington Grays March”by Claudio S. Grafulla will then bring the ensemble’s portion of the concert to an exciting close. Originally written in the 1880’s, this current edition was arranged in 1905 by G. H. Reeves and edited in 1982 by the famed Fredrick Fennell.
Following a short intermission, the 2009 “Pride of the Delta” Marching Band led by junior drum major J.J. HatfieldofBooneville, will perform pieces from its fall marching shows, “The 70s.”
The Marching Band is under the direction of Wojcik and Dr. Larry Bradford, assistant band director at Delta State.
First on the program will be the powerful and very popular Chicago hit, “25 or 6 to 4 "featuring sophomore trombonist Brian Thomson of Greenwood and senior trombonist David Cunningham of Greenville.
In the second piece, Santana’s “Everybody’s Everything” will feature the Delta Belles dance team.
Third on the program will be Bill Chase’s “Handbags and Gladrags”featuring sophomore trumpet Evan Mealer of Olive Branch and junior saxophonist Will Bryer ofSouthaven.
The Marching Band will then bring the concert to a close with a rousing arrangement of the Styx hit, AD-1928, “Rockin’ the Paradise.”
The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Delta State Music Department at (662) 846-4615.
