High Country Press

Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05

Appalachian Symphonic Band Thursday

Scott Tobias directs the Appalachian Symphonic Band in a Thursday, February 21, performance at 8:00 p.m. in Rosen Concert Hall. Admission is free. The guest conductor is Jay Bocook and tenor Randall Outland is guest performer.

The concert begins with And Make a Joyous Sound by Roger Cichy. The composition is a brief, energetic fanfare written in 2001 for the Des Moines Symphony. The band also will play Colonial Song by Percy Grainger. Grainger wrote the piece to express his feelings aroused by thoughts of the scenery and people of his native Australia.

Bocook will direct the performance of his composition A Boy’s Dream about the delight and wonder of a child’s daydreams. Outland will sing “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini’s opera Turandot. Bocook arranged the aria.

“Apollo Unleashed” from Frank Ticheli’s Symphony No. 2 and Henry Fillmore’s “Rolling Thunder” round out the performance.

Montreat Pipes and Drums Join Wind Ensemble Friday

John Stanley Ross and Scott C. Tobias direct the Appalachian Wind Ensemble in a Friday, February 22, performance at 8:00 p.m. in Farthing Auditorium.

Joining the ensemble are Blue Ridge Brass and Montreat Scottish Pipes and Drums with guest conductor James Laughridge, trombone soloist Harold McKinney and the Appalachian Dance Ensemble. Admission is free.

Ross, Tobias and McKinney are members of the Hayes School of Music faculty.

The program is composed of “Dance Movements” by Phillip Sparke, “Dance Sequence” by Gareth Wood, “Dance of the Jesters” by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and “Danza Sinfonica” by James Barnes.

Blueridge Brass and Montreat Pipes and Drums will perform “Grandfather Highland Games March,” “Massacre of Glencoe,” “Carlingford Loch” and “Scotland the Brave,” all written or arranged by Laughridge.

“We are excited and privileged to be part of this presentation,” said Jim Laughridge, director of Blue Ridge Brass and the Montreat Scottish Pipes and Drums, in a press release. The band is a regular performer at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games and is currently seeking sponsors to defray expenses for a trip to Washington, D.C. For more information, call 828-765-2544.

Appalachian’s Jazz Ensemble I featuring Dick Oatts Saturday

Todd Wright directs Jazz Ensemble I in a performance Saturday, February 23, at 8:00 p.m. in Farthing Auditorium. Admission is free. Joining the performance is guest artist Dick Oatts.

The program includes two compositions by Oatts—“Gumbo G.” and “Leap of Faith.” The ensemble also will perform “Groovin’ Hard” by Don Menza, “Spanish Fire” by Michael Phillip Mossman, “Out of the Night” by Sammy Nestico, “Neverbird” by Ray Brown, “Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum” by Wayne Shorter and other selections.

Oatts was introduced to the saxophone by his father, Jack Oatts, a respected jazz educator and saxophonist. Oatts has performed with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, Stockholm Jazz Orchestra, Danish Radio Big Band, Norboton Jazz Orchestra and the UMO Big Band in Helsinki. He has accompanied vocalists such as Joe Williams, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Nnenna Freelon, Mel Torme and Milton Nascimento. He has recorded solos for pop artists Luther Vandross, James Taylor and Everything But the Girl.

For 30 years, Oatts has appeared at college jazz festivals as a soloist and clinician throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, South America and the Middle East. He has been on the Manhattan School of Music faculty since 1989 and an artist-in-residence at the Amsterdam Conservatory since 1997.

Faculty Piano Recital Sunday

Pianist Steve Sensenig, a faculty member in the Hayes School of Music, will perform a recital on Sunday, February 24, in the Recital Hall at 4:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Appalachian Concert Band performs February 25

The Appalachian Concert Band presents its spring concert Monday, February 25, at 8:00 p.m. in Broyhill Music Center’s Rosen Concert Hall. Admission is free.

Kenneth Tysor will conduct the band. Tysor is a graduate student majoring in music education. John Stanley Ross, a member of the Hayes School of Music faculty, will serve as a guest conductor for the concert.

The program begins with “Flourish for Wind Band” by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Other selections are the popular “El Capitan” by John Philip Sousa, “Second Suite in F for Military Band” by Gustav Holst, “Nimrod” from “Enigma Variations” by Edward Elgar and “Four Gypsy Dances” by Jan Van der Roost.

Music Sorority Recital February 27

Members of the ASU chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota, an international music fraternity for female music majors and alumae, will perform a Sister Recital on Wednesday, February 27, at 6:00 p.m. in the Recital Hall. Admission is free.

Student Piano Recital February 27

Pianist Max Shagdaron, a student in the Hayes School of Music, will perform a recital on Wednesday, February 27, at 8:00 p.m. in Rosen Concert Hall. Admission is free.