This year’s event, entitled “A ‘Mostly Shostakovich’ Festival,” will feature conductors Stephen W. Pratt, Eric M. Smedley and David C. Woodley. The concert will begin with selections from the Concert Band, move into the Symphonic Band and close with the Wind ?Ensemble.
Focused primarily on the music of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, the concert will include a variety of his uplifting, exciting works centered around dance, conductor Stephen W. Pratt said. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death, and each band will play anywhere from one to three of his pieces.
While some performances in the music school practice their repertoire for months, these three ensembles, which are made up of undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students, have only been rehearsing the music for the past two weeks.
“They are all filled with music majors at their top level,” Pratt said of the bands in terms of their preparation times. “Really good groups make for fast preparation.”
In addition to the Shostakovich pieces, it will also be a night for premieres. A commissioned piece by IU student Benjamin Taylor, “Shattering Infinity,” will be played by the Symphonic Band. IU student Jason Nam created an arrangement for the Wind Ensemble of award-winning composer William Bolcom’s piece “Inventing Flight.”
Recognizing Shostakovich as one of the greats of the composing world, Pratt said one of the portions of the show he is most looking forward to is Shostakovich’s “Folk Dances,” which will be played at the end of the ?program.
“It was arranged by one of my college conductors and conducting teachers,” he said of the final song. “So it will be ending the concert in a very special way for me.”
Although enthusiastic about the performance as a whole, Pratt said he is particularly excited about the “Inventing Flight” wind arrangement by Nam.
“It will be the first performance it is heard as a wind ensemble,” Pratt said.
