Concert brings holiday spirit
The Holiday Collage at the Doudna Fine Arts Center brought the holiday magic in the air with various old Christmas favorites and other selections.
Alan Sullivan, interim director of the Eastern Wind Symphony, said he thought the concert went great and the band members did a great job with their performances.
Danelle Larson, an assistant professor of music education and the band director of the Eastern Concert Band, added a free play ensemble to the program.
The free play allowed band members to use their creativity with their performances. The members of the free play did not rehearse their performance before the concert.
“They are having a musical conversation,” Larson said.
The ensemble members included Jonathan Parker, David Perez Delgado, Evan Fowler, William Rooney and Jake Schlich.
Some of the audience members’ favorite pieces were “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson, “Russian Christmas Music” by Alfred Reed, and “Stars and Stripes for Christmas” by John Phillip Sousa and Robert E. Foster.
Sullivan said the “Russian Christmas Music” introduced the band members and the audience to a new style of music.
Bill Mitchell, a sophomore music education major and a member of the Eastern Wind Symphony, said he felt like the Holiday Collage Concert went well.
Mitchell said his favorite piece was “Russian Christmas Music.”
“Its just a really epic piece,” Mitchell said. “It’s one of the standards.”
Audience member Nicole Richards, from Oblong, Illinois, thought the concert was well-done.
Richards said her favorite piece was “Stars and Stripes for Christmas” because of its similarities to other songs.
“It put a good twist on the stars and stripes song,” Richards said.
Andy Ambrose, a freshman music education major and a member of the Eastern Wind Symphony, said he is relieved that the concert is over.
Ambrose said now he can get back to studying for finals and start prepping for his Jury, a music performance final.
Taylor Reardon, a freshman elementary education major, said the concert was awesome. She said going to the concert helped her get into the Christmas spirit and season.
“It was energetic, nice and loud,” Reardon said.
Stacey Catterson can be reached at 581-2812
