Springfield, Ohio - Wittenberg's Symphonic Band will perform tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Weaver Chapel and feature the premiere of Flight by Wittenberg student Angelique J. Gabrielle '17 of Chillicothe, Ohio.
The band is conducted by Brandon D. Jones and will also feature music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Karel Husa and Leslie Bassett. Gabrielle is currently pursuing her B.A. in music with concentrations in organ, composition, voice, and choral conducting.
Gabrielle is the assistant conductor of the Wittenberg Singers where she leads the ensemble in rehearsals. Along with student conducting, she is an active composer for Wittenberg, having works performed by the Wittenberg Singers, the Wittenberg Chamber Orchestra and the Wittenberg Symphonic Band, with a guest conducting position for the Wittenberg Chamber Orchestra. She also performed as guest organist for the Dayton chapter of the American Guild of Organists in 2015.
Before coming to Wittenberg, Gabrielle participated in various ensembles including, but not limited to, the First Capitol Chorus of Chillicothe, the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra, the Chillicothe Cavalier Orchestra and concert band.
Flight was written in the wee hours of the morning when the sun had not begun to rise. While writing the piece, Gabrielle imagined the sun rising over an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. In fact, toward the beginning of the work, the "attention" bugle call is used. As the piece unfolds, it shows the preparation of the aircraft for flight. Her style of writing for this piece came from influences of James Horner and Steven Bryant.
The concert opens with Husa's Divertimento for Brass and Percussion, a work reflective of his Czech heritage and his early neo-classical style. Husa won the Pulitzer in 1969, a year after composing his seminal work for wind band Music for Prague, 1968. The Symphonic Band will also perform Bassett's Lullaby for Kirsten. Bassett won the Pulitzer in 1966 for his Variations for Orchestra. Admission to the show is free.
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