Southeastern Wind Symphony to present concert April 17
Thursday, April 4, 2019
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University’s Wind Symphony will present its
spring concert titled “Medieval Times” April 17. Scheduled at 7:30 p.m. at Columbia
Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown Hammond, the concert is dedicated to the
music, art, poetry and architecture of the pre-1500s.
The concert’s first piece, said Associate Director of Bands, Director of Athletic
Bands, and Director of the Spirit of the Southland Marching Band Derek Stoughton,
is Ron Nelson’s “Resonances I.”
“Composed in 1990, the six parts of this work are made up of boxes of activity,
the duration of which is solely determined by the conductor, each with various note
combinations, aleatoric activities, or techniques to be employed,” he said. “As the
title implies, the work explores textures, sounds and resonances.”
The following piece is Pavel Tschesnokoff’s “Salvation is Created.” The piece
pays homage to a Kievan chant, originally set in Church Slavonic, a slavic liturgical
language still in use in some Orthodox denominations, Stoughton explained.
Next in the program is Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “English Folk Song Suite.”
“Folk songs have been handed down for many generations, and this standard of
the band repertoire consists of three movements, which all use British folk songs
as their source material,” Stoughton said.
The concert will close with John Krance’s arrangement of Carl Orff’s “Carmina
Burana.” The original Carmina Burana is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts
mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century, Stoughton
said.
“Orff’s setting of Carmina Burana is scored for a massive orchestra, an array
of percussion equipment, two pianos, celesta, two soprano, alto, tenor, and bass mixed
choirs - one large, one small - a boy’s choir, and soprano, tenor, and baritone soloists,”
Stoughton explained. “This transcription was conceived entirely as an instrumental
work, with the arranger fully incorporating the vocal parts. Krance selected thirteen
movements, a curious number when dealing with the subject of the fickleness of fortune,
and ordered them to programmatic satisfaction.”
Tickets for “Medieval Times” are adults $10; faculty, staff, seniors and non-Southeastern
students $5; and Southeastern students are admitted free. Southeastern students must
present their student IDs to receive tickets. Tickets are available at the Columbia
Theatre box office located at 220 E. Thomas Street or by calling 985-543-4371.
For more information, contact the Department of Music and Performing Arts at
985-549-2184.
