February 10, 2004

Ensemble concert to feature contest to conduct

CSUS Symphonic Wind Ensemble

Music lovers with a passion to conduct will have a chance to play out a dream and patronize the arts at the same time during the CSUS Symphonic Wind Ensemble’s Carnegie Hall Benefit Concert at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25 in the Music Recital Hall in Capistrano Hall. The concert is a fundraiser for the student ensemble’s trip to the New York Wind Band Festival where the group will play a concert in Carnegie Hall on April 13.

Tickets will be on sale before and during the concert for a chance to conduct the ensemble near the close of the evening. Audience members may purchase as many tickets as they wish to increase their odds of winning the drawing to wield the baton. Following a brief orientation from CSUS director of bands Robert Halseth, the lucky guest conductor will lead the ensemble in The Liberty Bell March by John Philip Sousa, a piece known to comedy buffs as the theme from the “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” TV show.

Other works on the program include Variations on America by Charles Ives, Symphonic Dance No. 3 – Fiesta by Clifton Williams and the world premiere of Home Cookin’, a three-movement composition based on traditional American music by Sacramento-based composer Steve Miller.

The hard-working ensemble members have raised more than $60,000 of the $100,000 the 50-piece group needs to get to the New York Wind Band Festival this spring. The group was one of two collegiate ensembles to receive a coveted invitation to play at the festival in November. The festival is an annual educational event for student musicians and includes workshops, clinics and competitions spread over two, week-long sessions. Each session culminates with a public concert at Carnegie Hall.

Tickets are $15 general and available from the CSUS Ticket Office at (916) 278-4323 or Tickets.com. Media assistance is available from CSUS public affairs at (916) 278-6156.

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