
The music department is kicking off the upcoming semester with a plethora of concerts and other events. Brandon Haskett, the music department chairman, said he was “particularly excited” for a new collaboration between the National Arab Orchestra and the SVSU Concert Choir. He said the collaboration will expose the university to new types of music.
Haskett said he is looking forward to the wide range of music students will perform this semester.
“I’m excited about several faculty recitals, including those by Will Sutton, Townes Miller and MiJung Trepanier,” he said. “It is a great opportunity for students to come see their teachers perform and ‘walk the walk.’”
Haskett said he is hopeful the “sheer variety of music” planned for this semester will excite audiences.
“The concert band concert should provide audiences with some interesting musical selections influenced by other cultures,” he said.
Norman Wika, the director of bands, said he was excited for this semester’s concert band program.
“We are going to feature our trumpet instructor, Eduardo Farais, on ‘Concerto for Trumpet’ by Alfredo Dias,” he said. “This concerto was originally written for trumpet and string orchestra, but I transcribed it for concert band. It’s interesting to note that Farais’ first trumpet teacher was a student of Dias.”
Wika said the music department will host three community events concerts for the winter semester, including Concert Band Festival in February, Michigan School Vocal Music Association District 5 Choral Festival in March and a jazz clinic in April.
The new semester will bring new performers and repertoire, Wika said.
“While many of our events and concerts are annual traditions – the Rhea Miller series, student concerts – they will always be different than previous years,” he said. Wika said students have different classes and opportunities this semester.
“We feature a new set of classes, new opportunities for students to interact with professional musicians and new opportunities for the community to interact with the university,” he said. “Through it all, we will strive to make music at the highest possible level.”
- Review: look-back at 4 years as an SVSU cardinal - 17 Apr 2023
- Online classes should also have snow days - 29 Jan 2023
- This is the ugliest January Michigan has seen so far - 22 Jan 2023
Categories: Uncategorized