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Visiting Ecuadorian Conductor Luis Alberto Castro to Conduct Wind Ensemble As Part of Ongoing Cultural Partnership
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
In December, the UMass Department of Music & Dance will present performances by a number of ensembles from its wind and band programs, including one from Luis Alberto Castro, conductor of the Banda Sinfónica Metropolitana de Quito (BSMQ), a professional wind band in Quito, Ecuador. The schedule can be found below.
On Monday, Dec. 5, the UMass Concert Band (Timothy Anderson, director) will perform in the Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall at 7:30 p.m. The program, which will be conducted by interim conductor James Minnix, will feature works including Frank Ticheli's Shenandoah, Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite, Kevin Day's Song for Tomorrow, Erica Svanoe's Steampunk Suite, and alumnus Jose Blésa-Lull's Thought for Do.
Later that same week, the UMass Wind Ensemble (Matthew Westgate, director) and Symphony Band will present an ambitious end of year concert on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Tillis Hall. Guest performers will include the Longmeadow (Mass.) High School Wind Ensemble, as part of a day-long visit and clinic led by Westgate, and Luis Alberto Castro, conductor of the Banda Sinfónica Metropolitana de Quito (BSMQ), a professional wind band in Quito, Ecuador.
Castro’s appearance is part of an ongoing relationship between the BSMQ and the UMass Wind Studies program that began in 2019 when Westgate traveled to Ecuador to guest conduct the band. When a planned visit from Maestro Castro to UMass was delayed because of the COVID pandemic, musicians from the BSMQ and the UMass Symphony Band collaborated weekly via Zoom to create chamber music. Earlier this fall, Westgate returned to conduct the band in Ecuador, this time with UMass jazz professor and saxophonist Felipe Salles as a guest soloist. Maestro Castro will return the favor by guest conducting the Wind Ensemble’s portion of the December 7 program, and also teach graduate conducting lessons and serve as guest lecturer during his visit.
The Dec. 7 concert will open with director Arthur Thovmasian leading the Longmeadow High Wind Ensemble in works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, David Biedenbender, and Brant Karrick. The UMass Wind Ensemble will then join them for a side by side performance of Morten Lauridsen’s Magnum Mysterium with Westgate conducting.
Next, the UMass Symphony Band, conducted by Lindsay Bronnenkant, will take the stage for a performance of music selected around the theme of “Elements.” Featured works include Percy Grainger’s Children's March (Over the Hills and Far Away), Anthony Iannocone’s After a Gentle Rain (Madeline Wight, graduate conductor), Michael Markowski’s City Trees (Richard Sargent, graduate conductor), and Arturo Marquez’s Conga del Fuego Nuevo.
The last portion of the program will feature Castro leading the UMass Wind Ensemble in performing his Fanfarria Ceremonial No. 3, Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, Clifton Williams’ Symphonic Dance No. 3, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite, and Victoriano Valencia’s Balin ("Calypso").
Ticket prices for each performance are $10 for the general public, $5 for students, seniors & UMass Amherst employees, and free for UMass students. Tickets may be purchased at the Fine Arts Center Box Office, by phone at 413-545-2511, or online at www.fineartscenter.com/musicanddance. The concert will also be streamed to the department’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/umassmusicdance.
Chamber ensembles from within the Wind Studies program will also be presenting free concerts on Friday, December 9 and Monday, December 12, both at 7:30 p.m. in Bezanson Recital Hall. Both performances will also be streamed to YouTube.
All of the aforementioned venues are located in the Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts, 151 Presidents Dr., Amherst, MA. Free parking for Bromery Center events is available in nearby University lot 71 off Massachusetts Avenue and lot 62 via Thatcher Way or Stockbridge Road. Visit the Fine Arts Center website for more information or refer to the UMass interactive parking map. All visitors must follow established safety protocols set forth by UMass and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
