Although football season is in full swing, Ohio University concert bands have just begun their fall debut.
OU’s Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band held a free concert in Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium to commemorate its 100th anniversary on Tuesday night.
The evening began with OU’s Symphonic Band, conducted by Richard Suk and graduate conductor Kyle Baltzer.
The concert’s attendance held a crowd of 100 consisting of Athens residents as well as OU students. One of whom was Samantha Skeens, a junior studying mathematics.
Skeens had just come from marching band practice, but she knew she wanted to watch her friends perform.
“It was really cool to attend my first actual Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony concert,” she said. “But I’m also taking an exploring musical styles class that requires I go to six band concerts.”
The whole theme of the Symphonic Band’s performance was very bright and enjoyable, Skeen said.
“I really enjoyed both bands and all of the pieces that were chosen,” she said. “You could tell the level of difficulty between the Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony differed, but the entire concert was still pretty great.”
Ryan Reilly, a junior studying music education, played the trumpet in the Symphonic Band that evening and said he believed both bands did very well.
“It was definitely a great way to open up the 100th anniversary,” he said. “Both bands worked extremely hard in preparation for this first concert and I think it showed.”
The Symphonic Band featured music by famous composers such as John Philip Sousa and Gustav Holst. Paul Hindemith’s “Symphony in B-flat” in particular was a very difficult piece for the musicians, Reilly said.
“Hindemith was actually one of our audition pieces and it really challenged us as musicians playing it,” he said.
After a brief intermission, OU’s Wind Symphony took the stage. The group opened with a piece directed by graduate conductor Rebecca Titus and was then followed by Andrew Trachsel, director of bands.
The Wind Symphony had an amazing start to their season, Trachsel said.
“The students did such a great job, which just made everything come together the way it should,” he said.
The Wind Symphony featured music from Hindemith and the recently deceased David Maslanka. Maslanka’s “Requiem” is a truly gorgeous piece that really captured the legacy he left behind, Trachsel said.
“It was a natural choice to choose 'Requiem' for our first concert,” Trachsel said. “I am quite sure bands all over the world are playing his music in memory of his amazing work and dedication to the art.”
The Wind Symphony concluded with Hindemith’s “Symphony in B-flat.” The almost 20-minute masterpiece is an important work to the band world, Trachsel said.
“Hindemith’s symphony is just so well written,” Trachsel said. “It’s a piece I really love and believe in, and it helps me be able to teach my students when I’m passionate about the music.”
Even after studying the piece for two decades, the score still surprises and entertains him every time, Trachsel said.
“It’s pretty exciting because music never gets old,” he said. “Plus, I knew it would be a challenge for the musicians.”
The bar is set pretty high for the Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony, Trachsel said. But after Tuesday’s opening concert, there is little to no doubt the musicians will exceed their director’s expectations throughout the 2017-18 season.
