Northwestern College Symphonic Band to perform concert

The Northwestern College Symphonic Band will present a concert on Friday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Christ Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.

The band, under the direction of Dr. Tim McGarvey, professor of music at Northwestern, will perform a variety of pieces including Samuel Hazo’s “Exultate,” which was written as music for a celebration and introduces nine melodic themes throughout the piece. The band will also present “Song for My Children” by Andrew Boysen, which was written to express his love for his five children.

Victoriano Valencia Rincon’s “Arrullo” will also be performed during the concert. The song is a suite in three movements that form part of the Five Pieces of Colombian Music for Youth Band project. “Internal Combustion” by David Gillingham will also be performed, and is centered around two main thematic ideas—motives from the song “In My Merry Oldsmobile” and the melody from “Song of Invention.” The band will also perform “William Byrd Suite” by Gordon Jacob. Byrd was one of the most active English keyboard writers, and Jacob wrote the suite based on the six pieces from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book in 1923 in honor of Byrd’s death.

The band will close the concert with Alfred Reed’s “Alleluia! Laudamus Te.” During the praise song, the band will be treated as both a single massive choir and also broken down into individual sections, each functioning as a separate sub-choir.

“We are excited to share this remarkably diverse combination of pieces,” says McGarvey. “Each piece has its own unique voice and should be inspiring and enjoyable to all of those who hear it.”