The department of music hosted a wind ensemble concert on March 19 in the Nicholas Martin Hall at 7:30 p.m.
Texas Wesleyan’s wind ensemble, directed and conducted by Dr. Thomas Willmann, the visiting director of instrumental studies and professor of music education, performed five pieces with a common theme tied to the upcoming eclipse. They were not the only ensemble to take the stage. Under the direction of Dr. Alisha Ower, the evening also featured performances from the Arlington Heights high school philharmonic and symphonic orchestras.
“The majority of the pieces were themed around the eclipse and the school’s theme for UCD, ‘the sky’s the limit’,” Willmann said.
Of the pieces that were played by the wind ensemble, one was an original composed by Willmann.
“The piece is called ‘Whomp!’,” Willmann said. “I don’t know where the name came from, to be honest. It was written back in grad school. I was highly caffeinated, working on stuff late night at a coffee shop, so it ended up just being a really fun piece to run.”
This evening was a moment for students to showcase their skills. One such student, senior instrumental conducting major, was afforded the opportunity to show her skills as a conductor for one of the pieces, something that is usually only granted to graduate students and those with more experience.
“I just wanted a leadership role for my senior year and to be able to make a difference,” Garcia said. “I do weekly lessons every Wednesday and then once or twice a week, I just get to come up and conduct during rehearsals.”
Like Garcia, many students put a lot of time and effort into preparing for the concert. Sophomore vocal performance major Patricio Izaguirre is a member of the wind ensemble and took the time to prepare for the evening on top of his many other commitments.
“This concert for us tonight, it took a lot of hours, you know. We practice Monday, Wednesday, Friday for an hour to hour and a half,” Izaguirre said. “I just always like to challenge myself and see what else I can do, especially as a vocal performance major because it’s such a competitive career.”
Izaguirre is also a member of the mariachi group that has performances coming up this semester. To find out more about the events hosted by the department of music check out Ramspace or social media @txwesmusic.
