By Mike Greife,
February 1, 2016
WARRENSBURG, MO – Student musicians with the Wind Ensemble and Concert Choir in the
Department of Music at the University of Central Missouri will perform in concert
at New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13.
The concert kicks off the 33rd season of the MidAmerica Productions’ Ensemble Spotlight
Series. The Concert Choir, under the direction of Alan Zabriskie, will perform a program
titled The Long Road Home. Works include White Stones by Thomas LaVoy; Kalējs Kala
Debesīs by Selga Mence; Miten wir im Leben sind by Mendelssohn; Kanaval by Sydney
Guillaue; Come to Me, My Love by Norman Dello Joio; I Am by Dominick DiOrio; Wayfaring
Stranger by Nathan Bigler; and Way Over in Beulah Lan’, arranged by Stacey V. Gibbs.
Weiwei Xu is the accompanist.
The Wind Ensemble, conducted by Scott Lubaroff, will perform John Frantzen’s Skronk;
Percy Grainger’s Bell Piece, guest conducted by Ernest Jennings with the baritone
solo sung by Austin Wellhoff; Mason Bates’ Chicago, 2012; and David Maslanka’s Give
Us This Day.
The two UCM ensembles will share the program with the Council Rock South Orchestra
from Holland, Pa.
“This is a great opportunity for our students to experience New York City and to perform
in one of the world’s great concert venues,” Lubaroff said. “It’s also a great opportunity
to showcase the excellence of our students and the value of our programs in a national
venue, as well as the commitment to the arts by our university.”
A total of 110 UCM students, accompanied by music faculty Zabriskie and Lubaroff,
will make the trip. This will be the second performance for the UCM music students
at Carnegie Hall as part of the Ensemble Spotlight Series. UCM groups were recommended
for the 2010 performance and were invited to participate in 2016 following the submission
of various audition materials. In addition to the 2010 performance, the Wind Ensemble
performed in 2014 for the College Band Directors National Association Conference at
the University of Arkansas and for three Missouri Music Educators Association conferences
between 2008 and 2015. The Concert Choir performed for the MMEA conference in January
2016.
Tickets for the performance are available by contacting the Carnegie Hall box office
at 212-247-7800, or online at carnegiehall.org.
For more information, contact the UCM Department of Music at 660-543-4530.
