CANYON West Texas A&M University’s acclaimed School of Music will wrap up the academic year with a trio of upcoming concerts and major recitals including some local performers.
Concert Band
The WT Concert Band will offer an energetic and ecstatic conclusion to the year.
The Concert Band will perform at 6 p.m. May 3 in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus. Admission is free.
On tap for the performance: Prelude Opus 34, No. 14 by Dmitry Shostakovich; “Pride of the Wolverines” by John Philip Sousa; “Arabesque” by Samuel R. Hazo; “Concerto Grosso” movement four, “Badinerie,” featuring the Morri Saxophone Quartet; “Ecstatic Waters” by Steven Bryant; and “Un Cafecito” by Dennis Llinas.
“We’re ecstatic to present our final concert of the year,” said Dr. Russ Teweleit, professor of music. “Working with this group has been one of the rewarding experiences of my career. It is also among the most challenging programs the WT Concert Band has ever attempted.”
Guest conductors include Patrick Lucas, a graduate student from Odessa; Gerry Lara, a graduate student from Midland; and Braden Lefevre, a graduate student from Canyon.
- Piccolo/Flute: Amaya Rangel, senior from Odessa.
- Oboe: Katie Carlson, sophomore from Midland.
Trumpet: Patrick Lucas, graduate student from Odessa; Gerardo Lara, graduate student from Midland. - Horn: Norrin Hodgson, senior from Odessa.
- Tenor Tombone: Alec Jung, junior from Midland.
- Euphonium: Connor Haislip, freshman from Odessa.
- Percussion: Colton Leadingham, freshman from Odessa; Payton Hayes, sophomore from Midland.
Symphonic Band
The WT Symphonic Band will end its year with a concert celebrating childhood and creation.
The Symphonic Band will perform at 8 p.m. May 3, also in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus. Admission is free.
Slated to be performed are “Lincolnshire Posy” by Percy Aldridge Grainger; “Salvation is Created” by Pavel Chesnokov and arranged by Meghan Lancaster, a senior music major from Canyon; “A Child’s Garden of Dreams” by David Maslanka; and “The Melody Shop” by Karl L. King.
“The WT Symphonic Band has had a remarkable season. Our concert at the 2023 National College Band Directors National Association convention in February in Athens, Georgia, was highlight of my teaching career,” said Don Lefevre, associate professor of music. “This concert will celebrate the band’s amazing accomplishments, which also have resulted in an invitation to perform at the 2024 Texas Music Educators Association Convention in February in San Antonio.”
- Piccolo/Flute: Amaya Rangel, senior from Odessa.
- Alto Saxophone: Dillon Martin, sophomore from Odessa.
- Trumpet: Payne Morris, senior from Odessa; Brayden York, sophomore from Odessa.
- Horn: Christopher Santiago, sophomore from Odessa.
- Bass Trombone: Justin Slaughter, senior from Odessa.
- Euphonium: Patrick Lucas, graduate student from Odessa.
- Tuba: Chris Perez, senior from Odessa.
- Percussion: Aidan Caballero, freshman from Odessa.
Honors Recital
Outstanding student soloists will be in the spotlight at a trio of upcoming concerts.
Students, to be selected by music faculty, will perform at 4 p.m. May 1 and 2 in showcase recitals. The chosen students will represent woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboard, voice and guitar areas of instruction.
Then, the annual Honors Recital will take place at 7:30 p.m. May 2, featuring award-winning students from each discipline.
“The Honors Recital allows us to reward the student musicians who have proven themselves to be amazingly talented young artists,” said Dr. Robert Hansen, Regents Professor of Music and director of the School of Music. “We greatly anticipate this longstanding tradition each year, when we also recognize academic achievement and leadership with prestige scholarships and we initiate new members of Pi Kappa Lambda, the national music honorary society.”
Honor scholarship winners also will be announced and presented.
The recitals each will be held in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus. Admission is free.
Call 806-651-2840 for information. Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World. That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign — which publicly launched in September 2021 — has raised more than $120 million.
WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the university has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The university is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.
