Wind Symphony to perform at CSUEB
March 5, 2015
The CSUEB Wind Symphony will give its annual quarter performance at 7:30 p.m. at the University Theater on Wednesday, showcasing a variety of song selections, and feature the CSUEB Brass Choir.
The concert will consist of woodwind, brass and percussion instruments.
“Unlike a big band, it does not use any electronic equipment or amplifiers,” said Director of Bands Dr. Danielle Gaudry. “It’s more what you would consider a concert band.”
The Wind Symphony holds main auditions for the band at the beginning of every year. Once the students audition they do not have to audition again for Gaudry. However, new auditions are welcomed at the start of each quarter.
“We’re one of the large ensembles of the music department,” said Gaudry. “I have auditions at the beginning of the year for placement, in terms of who will play first clarinet, and second clarinet.”
The Wind Symphony at CSUEB, like other campus bands, is open to auditions from students outside of the music department.
“Essentially the audition is for me to hear if the musicians can play at the level of the music that we’re playing in the ensemble,” said Gaudry. “Also for me to get a sense of which part they should be playing.”
Though their concert schedule is fairly frequent, Wednesday night’s performance is the largest on-campus of the quarter for this band. “We perform usually anywhere from two to five times per quarter,” said Gaudry. “At the end of each quarter, we have one big performance in the [University Theatre].”
Other events outside the University Theatre include participation from not only the CSUEB Wind Symphony, but also bands from surrounding schools and touring bands.
“We’ve had an instrumental music festival,” said Gaudry. “And we’ve also had an invitational band festival here on campus where we’ve invited local high school bands to come and be adjudicated.”
Next for the Wind Symphony, is a four-day tour, in which they will make their way down to Los Angeles, stopping at local schools along the way to perform, and eventually linking up with California State University, Los Angeles for a joint concert on their campus.
For Wednesday’s performance, and most other concerts, compositions are selected from a wide variety, in an effort to broaden the styles of music learned by the students in the program.
“I think very carefully about what kinds of concepts I want to teach my students,” said Gaudry. “And the music becomes the vehicle through which I teach those concepts. This way we can expose the students to a wide variety of music and composers and develop and help them grow as musicians.”
The 35-piece Wind Symphony band will also feature the CSUEB Brass Choir for a few numbers at the show. This group, including trumpets, trombones, euphonium, French horn, and tuba will perform a smaller selection of the set with the band.
Tickets for the CSUEB Wind Symphony’s Winter Quarter Concert are $7 for adults, $5 for children, and free for CSUEB students with a current Bay Card.
