On Thursday, Feb. 20, the members of the Asbury University Concert Band and the Asbury Jazz Ensemble took to the stage of Jameson Recital Hall for the Band Night Concert. With Professor of Music Education Dr. Glen Flanigan conducting, the two bands played nine pieces in total – four by the Concert Band and five by the Jazz Ensemble.
The night started with prayer, as all concerts do, and then the Concert Band opened the evening with “Rejouissance,” composed by James Curnow. As the night progressed, they shared with the audience “Mannin Veen” by Haydn Wood and “National Emblem” by E. E. Bagley. Another song they played was composed by an Asbury student, Charles M. Knox IV.
Knox, a senior Music major with an emphasis in composition, first started composing the piece “Cloud Line” on the first leg of his journey to Italy in May 2023 for the Asbury Chorale Italy Performance Tour. The song conjures the feelings of an airplane taking off and watching the sun set over the ocean. It elicited a great response from the audience, as everyone sat in awe of the lengthy student-composed song.
Among the members of the Concert Band, sophomore tubist Connor Melendez played his first concert on the stage of Jameson. After transferring in this semester from Culver-Stockton College, Melendez noted that he wanted to find a school that had a fine arts program or wind ensemble.
“It was probably one of the best playing experiences I’ve ever had as a musician, and it didn’t just come from me,” Melendez said. “You come across different instructors, musicians and cultures. They’re all unique in their own ways, and they all have their own unique takeaways. The environment I was in [on Thursday] was much different than I was in at Culver-Stockton playing, and it was kind of cool and thrilling to be in something so new.”
After the Concert Band had performed their final song of the evening, the march “National Emblem,” a brief intermission was taken. Musicians bustled about on stage, rearranging chairs and switching places as the Jazz Ensemble replaced the Concert Band. Out of the 41 members of the first band, eight stayed on the stage, some switching instruments.
The five songs they played put the audience in good spirits, as the band, Dr. Flanigan and the spectators seemed to raise each other up. Each song had different solos, and by the end of the five songs, every musician had stood and played his or her solo. They played “Nasty Blues” by Mike Carubia, “Bing’s Bounce” by Chris Sharp, “Send in the Clowns” by Stephen Sondheim and arranged by Dave Barduhn, “Puttin’ on the Ritz” by Irving Berlin and arranged by Chris Sharp and “Killer on the Keys” by Larry Neeck.
At the end of the concert, the band members celebrated with each other and with family and friends. The next performance for Concert Band will be the Band Invitational Concert on March 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Jameson. The Jazz Ensemble and Handbell Choir Concert will be on March 27 at 9 p.m in the Rader Student Center.
Photo courtesy of Macy Carmony.
