Last Sunday in Varsity Theatre the Marquette Wind Ensemble took the stage to perform its final concert of the year at 2.p.m on April 17. The ensemble consists of 55 Marquette students who exclusively play stringless instruments, such as woodwind, percussion and brass.
Band Director and Professor of Practice Erik Janners was responsible for selecting the program music for the concert.
“When I put this concert together, I wanted it to be a nice mix of things,” Janners said. “Some easier works, some works that would really challenge the group at the end of the year, and all of them of course have appeal to an audience.”
The band performed “Viento y Tangos” a tango-inspired piece by Michael Gandolfi, as well as “Roma,” composed by Valerie Coleman. The piece utilizes five themes —”Romani Woman,” “Mystic,” “Youth,” “Trickster” and “History”— and fuses styles such as the Argentine Tango, the Spanish malagueña—a traditional Andalusian flamenco style originating from Málaga, Spain—and jazz. The song was composed as a tribute to Romani culture.
One of the performance’s most difficult pieces was Adam Gorb’s “Dances from Crete,” a four-movement piece blending modern composition with traditional Cretan folk melodies. Saxophonist Jakita Fleck, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, explained the hurdles the band faced while learning the song in rehearsals.
“Each of the four movements differ in their time signature and in their musical technicalities. We have a young band, so because it’s a more challenging piece, we’ve struggled with it,” Fleck said. “But it’s also been really interesting learning it and trying to get it under our feet, even with the challenges it brings.”
The band has been rehearsing since the end of its Winter Concert in February. In order to ensure members have each song mastered before their performance, they rehearse together three times a week. Kian Howe, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, plays the bass trombone in the concert. He has found the rehearsal process a constructive way to improve the band’s sound.
“Making sure that you balance your sound appropriately in different sections is really important,” Howe said, “There are times where I’ll be playing a sustained note and I have to make sure that I’m playing quieter so the flutes can be heard better. There’s a lot of moving parts.”
The spring concert was the final performance with the Wind Ensemble for 19 Marquette seniors. Fleck said they will miss the camaraderie they found in the ensemble, performing with their talented bandmates under the guidance of Janners.
“He had so much knowledge,” Fleck said. “I’m really going to miss getting to see him and chatting about [music].”
Janners hopes students who came to the spring concert experienced the joy of music and felt a connection to the Marquette community.
“I’m extremely proud of the amount of musical growth this group has made since September, and I think this concert really highlights that,” Janners said.
This article was written by Allison Scherquist. She can be reached at [email protected].
