Wind Ensemble performs the last concert of the semester – The Washburn Review

The Washburn University Wind Ensemble performed their third and final concert of the semester on Saturday evening, November 19, 2022, at the White Concert Hall.

Five works were performed, including “Octet” by the famous composer Igor Stravinsky. Thomas Pi, senior in music education, played the trumpet.

“It was the most abstract of all the pieces,” Pi said. “It was something for everyone to chew on. Everyone needed to practice, so it was satisfying to be able to put that here.

Bryce Call, assistant trumpet teacher, joined the ensemble to play the solo part on two pieces.

“On the ‘Evensong,’ I really loved his tone,” said music education junior Mia Stricklin, who played flute. “[Evensong] is by Gryc, who is an amazing composer, and I love how he allows the flutes to let our own kind of timbre sound.

Joyful, triumphant, serene and sometimes disturbing, the ensemble performed a range of works with pinpoint precision in the acoustic room. The beginning of “Scram!” by James M. Stephenson pierced the silence and startled some spectators.

The direction of the orchestra was J. Thomas Seddon IV, group director. Seddon has been at Washburn for five years.

“He is very real. It’s very realistic and doesn’t sugarcoat anything,” Stricklin said. “If he kind of needs to drop something off and tell him how it is, he’ll do it.”

The other two works performed in the evening were “Children’s March” by Percy A. Grainger and “To Tame the Perilous Skies” by David R. Holsinger.

The concert schedule for the next semester for the Wind Ensemble has not yet been published. Information will be available at www.calendar.washburn.edu.

Edited by Glorianna Noland, Justin Shepard