The Wind Symphony opens this year's concert season with a diverse program beginning with a classic work by Aaron Copland: An Outdoor Overture, conducted by first-year DMA candidate, Sarah Baker. Texas composer Donald Grantham’s Farewell to Gray was commissioned by the United States Military Academy Band in celebration of the Academy's 200th anniversary. Following graduation, the cadets no longer wear the distinctive gray uniform worn throughout matriculation, a significant event in each cadet’s life and career. Second-year MM candidate, Alex Mondragon, will conduct.
Roshanne Etezady’s Anahita draws inspiration from two murals in the Assembly Chamber of the State Capitol Building in Albany, New York, completed by painter William Morris Hunt. One of these murals, The Flight of Night, depicts the Zoroastrian Goddess of the Night, Anahita, driving her chariot westward, fleeing from the rising sun. The first movement, The Flight of Night, is characterized by dramatic, aggressive gestures that are meant to evoke the terrifying beauty of the goddess herself. Movement two, Night Mares, is a scherzo-like movement that refers to the three monstrous horses that pull the chariot across the sky. In the final movement, Sleep and Repose/The Coming of Light, we hear the gentler side of the night, with a tender lullaby that ends with trumpets heralding the dawn. The popular Danzon No. 2 by Arturo Márquez will conclude the program. Russel C. Mikkelson, conductor.
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