KSC’s Concert Band has been busy rehearsing this semester for their upcoming fall concert.
The performance will center around the theme of, “Flying with Heroes,” and include heroic music from movies, television and novels, according to Concert Band Director Dr. John Hart.
Hart said that he wanted the ensemble members to connect with the repertoire on a nostalgic level.
“I brought in some music from movies that were very influential to me as a youth,” Hart said. “Then the ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ [piece] constitutes music that was formative in the students’ youth.”
Hart added that the “How to Train Your Dragon” piece was highly suggested by the ensemble members.
“At the end of every semester, I run a survey [to know] what the band members want to play, and there was an overwhelming call for the music for ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’” Hart said.
The ensemble will also be playing music from the film, “The Rocketeer,” a 1991 live action Disney film.
“[It includes] the heroic flying theme and is a bit of a cheesy movie, but with a great cast and awesome music made,” Hart said.
Concert Band will also perform “Gandalf,” which is movement one from “The Lord of the Rings.”
“The version we are playing was [composed by] Johan de Meij and written in 1987,” Hart said. “This music predates the movies.”
The ensemble will also perform music from “Titanic”, “The Last Starfighter” and Hart’s own arrangement of the “Dr. Who” theme.
“With the music from ‘Last Star Fighter’ and ‘The Rocketeer’, these are pieces that I wanted to conduct since I was a little boy,” he said.
Hart said that the rehearsals leading up to the performance have been productive.
“[It’s going] fantastic and I’ve been having more fun this semester than all the others since I’ve been here,” Hart said. “We’ve been focusing on fundamentals like balance and blend and developing a shared sense of artistry and musicality, pretty much from day one… They’ve just gotten so much better.”
Freshman flutist Elizabeth Guelpa said she has been enjoying her experience in the ensemble and playing the repertoire.
“I really like the music we have set for the concert… it’s got some movies that I’ve never seen before and some stuff from what I watched as a kid; it’s very nostalgic for me,” Guelpa said.
Guelpa continued, “I think [Dr. Hart] structures them really nicely and it’s a really nice environment in the band.”
Guelpa added that the balanced environment of the ensemble has been helpful.
“It’s a very lighthearted situation and it’s not just work, work, work the whole time,” Guelpa said. “We crack jokes and then we definitely get into the music when we’re working and make something that sounds really cool.”
Hart said that having a wide age range of members has added to the ensemble’s productivity.
“We’ve got people ages 18 to 88 and I think it’s really cool if you have the older generations mixed in,” Hart said. “It’s inspirational, educational, and cross-generational and we learn from each other all the time.”
Hart said he hopes the theme of the repertoire also hits close to home for the audience.
“I think the theme of flying and heroism goes hand in hand so it runs deep in the subconscious,” Hart said. “If the audience feels compelled to close their eyes and imagine themselves flying, absolutely do that and have fun.”
The performance will take place on Thursday, Nov. 3 in the Redfern Arts Center Main Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
Nicole Dumont can be contacted at
ndumont@kscequinox.com
