UMass Music and Dance Presents Final Concerts of the Season

Minuteman Marching Band Percussion line
Minuteman Marching Band Percussion line

The department of music and dance will conclude its fall semester programming with two combined performances by their instrumental ensembles.

On Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m., the Wind Ensemble, conducted by Matthew Westgate, and Percussion Ensemble, led by Ayano Kataoka, will share the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall stage for a joint performance. The Wind Ensemble’s portion of the program, titled “We Must Rise…,”  will celebrate the life and work of Abraham Lincoln with two monumental pieces: Copland's “Lincoln Portrait,” narrated by Walter Carroll from National Public Radio, and David Maslanka's “Symphony No. 4.” The Percussion Ensemble will perform Tan Dun’s “Elegy: Snow in June,” Lou Harrison’s “Suite for Percussion, plus works by George Crumb and Aurel Hollo.

On Wednesday, Dec. 11, also at 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, the Symphony Band and Concert Band will present the final concert of the semester. The Symphony Band portion of the program, titled “Winds from the Old and New Europe,” will be conducted by graduate student Jose Ignacio Blesa Lull as part of his Master’s recital. Featured works will include “An Original Suite” by Gordon Jacob, an arrangement of Brahms’ “Blessed are They by Barbara Buehlman,” and Pedro Sosa’s “Lo cant del Valencia, plus music by Andrés Velero-Castells and Karel Husa. Led by Timothy Anderson, the Concert Band program will include Sullivan’s “Overture to The Pirates of Penzance,” which Anderson arranged in memory of Valley Light Opera founder Bill Venman, who passed away earlier this year.

Ticket prices for both concerts are $10 for the general public; $5 for students, seniors and 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. Free and secure parking 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.