DePauw University Band Opens Season with Collaborative Sunday Afternoon Performance
October 3, 2018
In its first concert performance of the 2018-19 season on October 7, Craig Paré will lead the DePauw University Band in an engaging variety of works for winds, brass and percussion. Featured on Sunday’s 4 p.m. program in Kresge Auditorium will be “Agua Nocturna” by Jess Langston Turner, presented in collaboration with DePauw Modern Languages faculty colleague Alejandro Puga, who will share his insight and expertise into Mexican poet Octavio Paz, upon whose poem Turner’s piece is based.
Steven Snyder, director of jazz studies at DePauw, will introduce the audience to jazz influences in “Melodious Thunk” by David Biedenbender, and Ye Liu, Class of 2022, will be soloist on his native Erhu for Hardy Mertens’ unique work “Land of Thousand Flavours.”
Other pieces include American bandmaster Percy Grainger’s “Molly on the Shore,” “Tunbridge Fair” by Harvard composer Walter Piston (an early 
composition teacher of Leonard Bernstein), and a scenic, musical description of “Yosemite Autumn” by Mark Camphouse, accompanied by a video presentation edited by bassoonist and ITAP intern Sydney Forbes (pictured).
As in the past, the band also invites audience members to bring along a non-perishable food item as a donation to the Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry. Each contribution -- food item or cash donation -- can be redeemed at the venue’s box office for a free ticket to the performance.
“Our first concert this fall is going to be a terrific mix of styles, sounds and experiences for our audience,” noted Paré, director of University Bands. “The variety of pieces, the enjoyable guests that we are hosting, and the excitement that the University Band’s generating in its first performance together will be a visual, aural and even emotional treat.
“All these qualities are important in programming an entertaining and interesting concert, but it is also fulfilling creatively to take opportunities like this a step further, when possible, and find ways to connect with our community,” the 
conductor continued. “In addition to a shared commitment to the local Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry, through the band’s programming we also hope to show what ‘21CM’ truly means in our School of Music philosophy through our performances.”
Future dates this fall when the University Band will be performing, as well as collecting donations for PCEFP, include the ArtsFest Fall Gala at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, and the annual Thanksgiving Week concert at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18.
General admission to student ensemble concerts is $5; tickets for seniors over 65, youth and all students are free. To obtain tickets online, visit the School’s new website at depauw.edu/music. The Green Center box office also is open from noon–4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 90 minutes prior to each ticketed performance.