Northwestern’s symphonic band is preparing to perform for students and community members during their upcoming concert in Christ Chapel.
According to Dr. Tim McGarvey, director of the symphonic band, concertgoers should expect a “huge variety in kinds of music.”
The first half of the concert is comprised of songs inspired by the American West. The pieces themselves come from a large variety of sources. The song “End Title” comes from the film Silverado, “The Twittering Machine” was inspired by a painting of four birds perched on a crank shaft and “Yosemite Autumn” was inspired by a vacation in Yosemite.
According to McGarvey, the music of the second half of the concert is harder to categorize. For example, the march that will be performed is not a typical style of march. It was inspired by the military bands that the composer encountered during basic training. Throughout the piece, conflicts can be heard. For instance, some of the instrumentation is made to sound like bombs are exploding.
Some band members are looking forward to playing “End Title.” Junior Aaron Sundet is particularly excited for what he calls the “epic melodies” in this piece. Sophomore Aaron Norman is also excited for this number.
“It’s a really good piece overall,” Norman said.
According to Sundet, NW’s symphonic band is of a higher caliber than an average high school band. Because of this, they are able to play some music that an average high school simply cannot perform.
“A lot of gifted students are performing in band,” Norman said. “As performers, we put countless hours in to be prepared to play for the students, staff and residents of Orange City.”
According to McGarvey, recordings cannot compare to the experience of listening to live music. He contends that recordings miss the personal interaction between band and the audience that live music offers.
“Everyone will find something in the concert and say, ‘Wow, that’s really cool,'” McGarvey said.
McGarvey encouraged all students to attend the concert because it is an experience that cannot be duplicated.
The symphonic band will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9 in Christ Chapel.
