DePauw Hosts Fourth Annual Honor Band Program This Weekend

January 19, 2016

The DePauw University School of Music will host its fourth annual Honor Band program this weekend, January 23–24, at the Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts. The select ensemble, led by Craig Paré, director of bands at DePauw, was drawn from fourteen high schools across Indiana. The talented musicians will travel to campus for two days of intensive training prior to their public concert on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 2 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium.

The Indiana schools represented in this year’s DePauw Honor Band include Avon, Bishop Guerin, Cathedral, Greencastle, Kelly, Monrovia, Plainfield, Scecina Memorial, Southmont, South Vermillion, Terre Haute North, Warren Central, West Vigo, and Whiting High School.

To participate in the annual program, area music directors nominate outstanding students who have excelled in their respective high school bands. As part of their experience, the students take part in master classes and workshops presented by University’s acclaimed music faculty.

The DePauw faculty also selects university music students to serve as mentors and co-performers in side-by-side rehearsals and in the final performance with the visiting high school musicians.

Among the works the students will prepare is one of John Philip Sousa’s most famous marches, The Thunderer, arranged by the legendary conductor Frederick Fennell, especially known for his pyrotechnics and Sousa recordings. Alfred Reed’s spectacular Alleluia! Laudamus Te and Michael Kamen’s “An American Symphony,” from the film Mr. Holland’s Opus, are other highlights of Sunday’s concert, which concludes with Richard Saucedo’s Windsprints and features the percussion section.

“We are so excited about this year’s Honor Band, both for the number of high schools represented in this year’s ensemble and for the level of performance represented in these talented high school musicians,” Paré said. “Each student was nominated by their band director, indicating a high level of musical leadership and achievement in their respective ensembles. We have some challenging music for these students, but I am certain they are going to enjoy each of these terrific pieces, as well as the experience of making music side-by-side with their colleagues from other band programs.”

General admission to the DePauw Honor Band concert is $5. Tickets for seniors, children and all students are free. For additional information about the program, contactProfessor Paré (cpare@depauw.edu). Tickets for Sunday’s concert may be purchased online at music.depauw.edu, or at the Green Center box office, beginning one hour prior to the performance.

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