Concert Preview: Knightwind Ensemble, March 21

First a reminder: this is your last chance to get your tickets for the Menomonee Falls Symphony Orchestra Dinner Concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings of Valentines Weekend, at the Silver Spring Country Club. Take your special someone to a nice dinner and a concert, and help the MFSO at the same time. All of the details are on the MFSO web site: http://my.execpc.com/~regent/mfso.htm


Mark your calendars for Sunday March 21st at 3 PM. The Knightwind Ensemble will present Transitions at 3 PM in the Schwan Concert Hall on the campus of Wisconsin Lutheran College. The concert will be directed by Associate Conductor Don Glassel. As some of you know, the previous director, John Steinke, stepped down as Music Director of the Ensemble after 32 years. The search for a new Music Director is underway, and this concert is indeed a transition from one music director to the next.

Mr. Glassel has chosen a number of new works for the Ensemble to perform, as well as some standards of the wind band repertoire. The new pieces include two from composers that Knightwind Ensemble concert goers will recognize: Timothy Mahr and Thomas Doss.

The Mahr composition is Mountain Prayers. He wrote it in honor of the retirement of Dr. Derald DeYoung of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Knightwind concert goers might remember that Dr. Mahr wrote Imprints, a work commissioned by the Knightwind Ensemble in 1989. Dr. Mahr's music is very approachable and always enjoyable.

The new piece by Austrian composer Thomas Doss is Magic Overture. In the words of the composer: "the piece was written as an anniversary present for the Burgermusik Gotzis in Austria. The magic of music and landscape in the Austrian Vortarlberg area spread throughout the little village." It's a wonderful little piece that I'm sure you will enjoy!

The program also includes the Symphony For Band by Vincent Persichetti, one of the really big pieces for wind band; the Giles Farnaby Suite of Gordon Jacob; and the first movement from Johan de Meij's Symphony Number One: The Lord of the Rings, which is a musical description of Gandalf the Wizard. A lot of great music for a Sunday afternoon!

For ticket information, please see the Knightwind Ensemble web site: http://www.knightwind.org/. Note that if you print the page with the concert announcement, you'll get $1 off the cost of the adult tickets in your group. And stop by to say Hi, as I will be selling the tickets!