By Lanita Withers Goins, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-3890
Posted 2-11-09
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Scores of talented high school musicians will sharpen their skills at the 20th Carolina Band Festival & Conductors Conference hosted by the UNCG School of Music Feb. 19-21.
The three-day event will feature two public concerts. The UNCG Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, in Aycock Auditorium. Tickets are $10 for adults, $6 for seniors and $4 for students and can be purchased at the University Box Office or by calling (336) 334-4849.
The Carolina Band Festival Honor Bands will give a free performance Saturday, Feb. 21, at 2 p.m. in Aycock Auditorium.
The festival began in 1990 as a way to reach out to talented high school musicians and their teachers by bringing in first-class conductors and utilizing music faculty to work with attendees.
“I believed that we needed an event which was ‘highly selective’ and one which would attract the very best students to our campus,” said Dr. John Locke, the event founder and director of bands at UNCG. “I thought this would be sort of the opposite purpose of our already successful Summer Music Camp, which was open to nearly everyone.”
Now in its 20th year, interest in the Carolina Band Festival remains high. This year, more than 350 students applied for about 180 seats in the Honors Band. Participants were competitively selected by audition tapes, making the caliber of talent comparable to that of fine All-State bands.
The students were drawn from seven states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
“This is a significant part of our outreach to the music education community in the Southeast,” said Dr. Kevin Geraldi, UNCG’s associate director of bands.
This year’s musicians will rehearse and perform under the direction of two noted guest conductors. Dr. Eric Wilson, the director of bands at Baylor University, will direct the concert band for grades 9 and 10. Composer Dr. Frank Ticheli will lead the symphonic band for grades 11 and 12.
Students won’t be the only ones learning. During the coinciding Conductor’s Conference, approximately 60 public school music teachers will attend sessions focusing on the technical, gestural and musical aspects of conducting. They will be led by H. Robert Reynolds, the director of bands emeritus at the University of Michigan and wind ensemble conductor at the University of Southern California, with additional sessions and clinics given by Wilson, Ticheli and UNCG music faculty.
For more information, contact the UNCG Band Office at (336) 334-5299.
