MSU Wind Ensemble to be featured at national band convention in Biloxi
Contact: Anna Owens
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥敽蒙壬檚 premier concert band is traveling to Biloxi next month to perform for members of a prestigious national music association.
Taking the stage March 4 at 8:40 p.m. at the Beau Rivage Resort, the MSU Wind Ensemble will represent MSU as a featured university band at this year鈥檚 American Bandmasters Association Convention.
Led by MSU鈥檚 Director of Bands Elva Kaye Lance, the ensemble is performing concert pieces that include a debut of 鈥淎 Southern Reflection,鈥 a new work composed by MSU Department of Music Head and Professor Barry E. Kopetz, and a performance of 鈥淪lidin鈥 Down the Mississippi,鈥 composed by MSU鈥檚 Associate Director of Bands Clifton Taylor who also will be featured on the trombone.
Lance, a recent ABA inductee, said the performance gives the band a chance to showcase its skills for a distinguished audience in an exciting atmosphere.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very proud to receive this honor and have the opportunity to highlight not only MSU鈥檚 music-making excellence, but to recognize other performers from Mississippi and the surrounding region,鈥 Lance said.
Guest conductors alongside Lance and Kopetz include Dick Clardy, director of instrumental music at Fort Worth Independent School District in Fort Worth, Texas, and a member of the Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity Hall of Fame; Julie Giroux, an acclaimed wind ensemble and symphonic band composer who currently resides in Madison; J. Steven Moore, associate dean of undergraduate studies at the University of Miami鈥檚 Frost School of Music; and Lawrence Stoffel, director of bands at California State University-Northridge.
Performing with the band for a rendition of Giroux鈥檚 鈥淢y Soul to Keep鈥 are the State Singers, led by conductors Gary Packwood and Phillip Stockton, director and associate director of choral activities for MSU鈥檚 Department of Music, respectively.
Other performers throughout the six-day convention include the U.S. Air Force Concert Band and the Auburn University Symphonic Winds.
Selective membership for the ensemble is determined by competitive audition regardless of major. In addition to clinic and concert performances, the group has made international appearances in Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic.
Housed in the Department of Music, MSU鈥檚 band program includes students of all majors and provides opportunities for ensemble and auxiliary participants. Learn more at .
Founded in 1929, ABA鈥檚 invite-only membership recognizes outstanding achievements by concert band conductors and composers. For more information on the ABA convention, visit .
MSU is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .