UNL Wind Ensemble opens season with ‘Catharsis’

Wind Ensemble
Wind Ensemble

UNL Wind Ensemble opens season with ‘Catharsis’

calendar icon19 Sep 2018    

LINCOLN, Neb.— The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music’s Wind Ensemble opens its 2018-2019 concert season on October 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Kimball Recital Hall with a program colored indelibly by Brook’s philosophy, expressed in 1968, as it resonates in contemporary American society. 

“There are two ways of speaking about the human condition: there is the process of inspiration – by which all the positive elements of life can be revealed, and there is the process of honest vision – by which the artist bears witness to whatever it is that he has seen.” (Peter Brook, The Empty Space).

The optimism of Bernard Rogers’ Dance with Pennons (from Three Japanese Dances of 1956) is muted by the conflicted emotions of Jennifer Jolley’s The Eyes of the World Are Upon You, a work inspired by both the 1966 University of Texas tower shootings and the passage of S.B. 11 – the “Campus Carry Law” – by the Texas legislature in 2016. Frank Ticheli’s 1994 setting of the beloved 19th century spiritual, Amazing Grace, brings this tune out from the shadows of Jolley’s composition and into the clear light of day as brief respite. This simple act opens an ideal space for David Maslanka’s Symphony No. 7. Inspired by “old songs remembered,” this four-movement epic encompasses the entire emotional journey of the first half of the program as it progresses from joyful memories, through unrelenting, violent chaos, to a simple song of peace and healing.

The Wind Ensemble is the university’s premiere concert band. Its select mission is to provide instrumentalists of advanced technical proficiency a pre-professional ensemble experience. With an emphasis on contemporary American compositions, the Wind Ensemble’s repertoire reflects the most recent technical and textural innovations, as well as the rich tradition of wind and percussion music extending back to the Renaissance. 

Tickets at the door are: General Admission $5; Students/Seniors $3.