WMU ensembles to present headline performance at state conference
University Chorale
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—The Western Michigan University School of Music will showcase three of its large ensembles at the Michigan Music Conference at 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, in the DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids.
Tickets are $10 general admission and $5 for students, and are available online at ticketmaster.com/promo/3frl3j.
Michigan Music Conference
"The Michigan Music Conference is the single most important gathering of music educators in the state, and it is a tremendous honor for our ensembles to be invited to perform the opening night concert. This is a tribute to the standard of excellence demonstrated by our students and faculty, and we are anxious to 'show them off' to the state. They will be outstanding representatives of Western Michigan University,” says WMU School of Music Director Bradley Wong.
Kimberly Dunn Adams, director of University Chorale, remarks, "Being selected to perform at this conference is an incredible honor. But even more than that, featuring three of WMU’s ensembles on the opening night of the Michigan Music Conference is a great way to represent the broad musical audience of the conference itself. We are presenting works representing several hundred years’ worth of repertoire in multiple genres. Every educator and performer at the conference should hear something that they enjoy and appreciate."
About the program
The concert will open with a performance by the University Chorale, which will present the music of Byrd, Brahms and Hogan. The Symphonic Band, conducted by Dr. Scott Boerma, will perform wind band classics and a new work by WMU faculty composer, Dr. Christopher Biggs, titled "Extinction."
The University Symphony Orchestra, which recently took high honors in the national American Prize competition, will close the program with the music of Wagner, Marquez and Tchaikovsky. Symphony director Bruce Uchimura says, "It is an honor to perform at the opening concert of the 2016 Michigan Music Conference. The major Western Michigan University large ensembles will perform a variety of music that will showcase the energy of our talented students and the expertise of our dedicated faculty. Attendees will be impressed and moved by the enthusiasm that our students will display in their music making. Many of our students started out their musical journeys with the excellent music teachers and programs in Michigan and will be proud to show them their achievements.”
For more information about the concert and conference, visit michiganmusicconference.org.
For more news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.