Northwestern students have the opportunity to enjoy a concert performed by the Symphonic Band, directed by Timothy McGarvey. On Friday night, at 7:30 p.m. in Christ Chapel they will perform a variety of pieces, including Morton Gould’s “American Salute,” based off a popular song during the Civil War, and Gillingham’s “No Shadow of Turning” inspired by the hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” where the band will be joined by the bell choir on campus.
The crowd favorite, composed by John Williams and arranged by Robert W. Smith, “Suite from the ‘Star Wars’ Epic,” consists of six movements of music from all six ‘Star Wars’ movies.
The musical weekend will continue Saturday with performances by the Heritage Singers, directed by Thomas Holm, and the Jazz Band, directed by McGarvey. The concert, which starts at 7:30 p.m., will open with a variety of songs performed by the Jazz Band.
One of the goals for the Jazz band is to “give students in the ensemble experience in as many different jazz styles as we can,” McGarvey said. “The by-product of that is that it provides for an audience incredible variety in the kinds of things that they are going to be listening to.”
“Flirtibird” by Duke Ellington, one of the pieces being performed tomorrow night, was scored for the 1959 crime drama Anatomy of a Murder. The ensemble will also perform a standard jazz piece by John Green titled “Body and Soul” as well as “Imminent Impact” by Les Sabina, Michel Legrand’s “The Windmills of Your Mind” arranged by Eric Richards, and “Saturday Morning Blues” composed by Mike Tomaro.
Marie Jeppesen, a trumpet player in Jazz Band, said “Roll ‘Em” by Mary Lou Williams is her favorite piece.
“It sounds like when you’re going to a 20s movie, and everyone is swinging and dancing, and it’s really crazy,” Jeppesen said. “We’re pretty good, just saying. Things have come together really nicely.”
Following Jazz Band will be the Heritage Singers. They will begin their performance with Johannes Brahms’ “Liebeslieder Waltzes (Lovesong Waltzes)” accompanied by Bethany Dykstra and Leigh Carson on piano. Lovesong Waltzes is a collection of brief poems, written in German, which expresses the complexity, tenderness and rejection of love with lines such as: “Oh those women. Oh those women. Oh those women. If it weren’t for the women I would’ve become a monk” (Lovesong Waltzes).
The Heritage Singers will then conclude the concert with “Little Fugue in G minor” by Bach. This piece, originally written for organ, has no real text. Instead, the choir has an arrangement of syllables and the theme is fragmented, tossed around each section.
“These pieces are fabulous for the audience to be enriched and entertained,” Dr. Holms said.
“It takes a lot of work,” Jacob Ven Huizen, a bass in the Heritage Singers, said. “[I’m excited] for the audience to hear how much work we put into it.”
