May 14: Concert, celebration
UD Symphonic Band concert also celebrates faculty anniversaries
2:41 p.m., May 6, 2015--A concert by the University of Delaware Symphonic Band at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 14, will celebrate the UD anniversaries of the band’s co-directors and feature their mentor, renowned wind ensemble conductor and educator Malcolm W. Rowell, as guest conductor.
The concert, sponsored by the Department of Music, will be held in Loudis Recital Hall of the Amy E. du Pont Music Building on the University’s Newark campus. Tickets at $15 for adults; $10 for faculty, staff, alumni and senior adults; and $5 for students will be available at the door, with payment by cash or check only.
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The concert will celebrate the 20-year UD anniversaries of Heidi I. Sarver, associate professor, and James Ancona, assistant professor, both of music.
Sarver is director of the 300-member UD Marching Band, co-conductor of the Symphonic Band and instructor of the Marching Band Techniques course. She also supervises student teachers pursuing an undergraduate degree in music education.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s degree in trumpet performance at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Ancona is assistant director of the UD Marching Band, director of the Basketball Pep Band and co-director of the Symphonic Band. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s degree in music performance at Indiana University.
More about the concert and guest conductor
The UD Symphonic Band consists of 60-70 wind and percussion instrumentalists, with membership open to students from all majors.
The group performs standard concert band literature as well as transcriptions and music originally written for wind band.
The guest conductor for the May 14 performance, Rowell, is director of bands and professor of music emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMA). He is a strong proponent of new music, having commissioned and premiered numerous wind compositions with the UMA Wind Ensemble and Symphony Band, of which he served as principal conductor from 1980-2003.
Rowell has twice received the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence and the Kappa Kappa Psi A. Frank Martin Award for his contributions to college bands. He is the 2013 recipient of the Paul Smith Hall of Fame Conducting Award.