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WINONA LAKE – Grace College Community Wind Ensemble will present an evening of music titled “A Tribute Concert” April 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Rodeheaver Auditorium in Winona Lake. Featured soloist for the evening will be Gert Kumi, performing the theme from “Schindler’s List” composed by John Williams. The concert, free and open to the public, will present music that shows the versatility of the wind band. The wind ensemble will open the concert with “Toccata” by Girolamo Frescobaldi, which was originally written for the organ. It is essentially a solo piece that was improvised. Frescobaldi (Ferrara, Italy 1583 - Rome 1643) was the most eminent organist of the first half of the 17th century. When he was appointed organist at St. Peter’s in Rome in 1603, 30,000 people were reported to have witnessed his first performance. Second on the program will be Kumi, violin soloist performing “Schindler’s List.” Williams composed the score for “Schindler’s List.” Kumi, an Albanian native, has performed as a violin soloist and recitalist across North America, Europe, China, South Korea and Africa. He began playing violin at 8 years old. In February 2000, he immigrated to the United States to begin the master’s program at the Juilliard School, as a scholarship student of Stephen Clapp. From 2005-2007, he served as adjunct professor at Nyack College in New York City. In 2007, he was appointed artist in residence at Grace College in Winona Lake, where he served for three years. Under his leadership, the string program grew considerably in both size and quality. Kumi is currently on the faculty of the Masterworks Festival for Christian Performing Artists in Winona Lake and was recently appointed assistant professor of music at Anderson University. He performs as concertmaster and soloist with Symphony of the Lakes in Winona Lake, and plays regularly with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and Anderson Symphony. He will also perform the “Third Movement” from Pjeter Gaci’s “Violin Concert” titled “Albanian Dance.” Finishing the first half of the program is one of Martin Becker’s favorite composers, W. Francis McBeth, and his “Divertgents op. 49.” Becker stated, “The tonal boundaries of the modern concert band are displayed brilliantly with the composing genius of Dr. McBeth”. At one time, his “Double Pyramid Balance System” was a widely used pedagogical tool in the concert band world. He died in January, at 78, in Arkadelphia, Ark. Opening the second half of the concert, the Wind Ensemble presents “Variations on and English Hymn” by Claude T. Smith. “The Overture on an Early American Folk Hymn” is based on the hymn “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” which was written in 1836. The text of the hymn is a paraphrase of the 23rd Psalm. Smith said about his composition, “Just as people never seem to grow tired of reading and hearing the 23rd Psalm, so I should never grow tired of being reminded that ‘My Shepherd Will Supply My Need.’” What band concert would be complete without a John Philip Sousa selection?
Maybe disappointing to some, the Sousa selection will not be one of his traditional marches, but his recently released “People Who Live in Glass Houses,” edited for band by John R. Bourgeois in 2002. Sousa wrote the suite “People Who Live in Glass Houses” in 1909, the year before the Sousa Band’s world tour. The music in this suite was written in the character of the music from the countries or regions from which the various drinks originate. This suite is in four movements: “The Champagnes,” “The Rhine Wines,” “The Whiskies - Scotch, Irish, Bourbon, and Rye” and “The Convention of the Cordials (liqueurs).” Next will be “Paper Cut” composed by Alex Shapiro. Not only will the musicians be performing on their traditional instruments, in this composition they will be called upon to perform with paper sounds, movement gestures and to an electronic tract. About her music, Shapiro said, “Music isn’t just melody, its rhythm and texture. The composition offers a interesting combination of sound and sight with the element of paper and the myriad of sounds that can emerge from something so simple offers the listener a fresh view of what music making can be and opens everyone’s ears to the sonic possibilities found in everyday objects.” Becker has chosen a Henry Fillmore march to conclude the concert, “The Americans We March.” Fillmore realized that it was probably his finest march. He published it in 1929 as “Americans We” and dedicated it to “all of us.” The Grace College Community Wind Ensemble, conducted by Becker, has been presenting concerts under Becker’s baton for the past 10 years. The band is made up of Grace College students, community members and professional musicians.
