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Monday, February 24, 2025

Combined Wind and Jazz Ensemble Concert Leaves Audience Stunned

Groups of students crowded into Jarman Auditorium for the Wind Symphony, and Jazz Ensembles concert on Tuesday night at 7. Wind Symphony members greeted the crowd as they filed in, sitting tall and professional onstage. This would be the final concert of the semester, and for many seniors, their final performance in Jarman.

After some quick tuning, and a preliminary round of applause, conductor Dr. Gordon Ring wasted no time in getting the concert started. The Wind Symphony’s first song, “The Barber of Seville” began with a bright impact note that took everyone in the audience by surprise.

The song continued on to feature fun melody trade-offs between the woodwinds and brass instrument sections, as well as surprising dynamic changes powered by a strong percussion section. If those melody tradeoffs didn’t keep the audience on their toes, the last few seconds sure did. The band came full circle for a few measures of strong and rich notes in unison to powerfully end the song.

From there, the performance just kept getting better. For their second song, “Pomp and Circumstance March #3,” Longwood University‘s music student Matthew Little took the stage as conductor. He did a fantastic job as he led the band through insane impact moments, smooth transitions into legato sections and even a fast and bright section of the piece, before bringing the instruments back together to end on a surprisingly more somber note.

Another student, Jared Dawdy took the stage as solo vocalist for the third piece. Little and Dawdy, earned their chance to shine on stage after winning the 2014 Student Conductor and Student Soloist Competitions. Dawdy kept the audience incredibly entertained as he added a bit of flair to his solo with dramatic and fun facial expressions.

To finish their portion of the concert, the Wind Symphony played yet another bright and intense piece written by John Philip Sousa. The piece went by in a flash with its borderline crazy tempos and flashes of dynamics. Before you knew it, they ended with a bang and the crowd was erupting in applause.

A brief intermission followed the Wind Symphony’s performance as the stage quickly transformed for Jazz Ensemble B. Not only was there a change in music style, but also mood as the lights dimmed and Jazz Ensemble B took the stage to perform their first song, “Hangin’ With my Peeps.”

This crowd could be seen swaying back and forth in their seats to the fun saxophone melodies throughout the first piece. Patrick Arnold also impressed the crowd as he stood up, tenor saxophone in hand, and played a completely improvised solo that fit perfectly into the song. This solo and the upbeat tones of this first song were a perfect way to segue into the jazz portion of the concert.

Jazz Ensemble B’s second song, “Emergency Stopping Only,” began quickly, but on a low note that hinted at an upcoming impact moment. And impact they did. The strong sound that such a little

band produced was nothing less than astounding. This piece also featured a few impressive solos on trumpet and trombone before closing on one last light and bright note.

For their final piece, the ensemble took the mood down a little bit and returned to a classic swing type of song. While the tempo was still upbeat and engaging, the feel of the music was completely different as it represented an older time period. Cody Leonard on alto saxophone, Cory Anderson on trumpet and Patrick Arnold also impressed the audience in their featured solos throughout this piece before ending the song.

But with an ending comes a new beginning, also known as Jazz Ensemble A.

After a quick warm-up, the band immediately moved into the fast tempos, high notes and animated unison rhythms of their first song, “Sweet Georgia Brown.” They continued to hold this fast tempo as well as consistently work their way through a few complicated melodies, even as conductor, Dr. Kinzer, stepped away. The fun didn’t stop there. Jazz Ensemble A wooed the crowd again on their second song, “A String of Pearls,” when members of the saxophone section stood up and serenaded the audience with beautiful melodies and perfect harmonizing from the brass and rhythm instruments.

Following this song, Dr. Kinzer took the time to recognize all of the graduating seniors as they played their last concert in Jarman. A special recognition went out to tenor saxophone player Miguel Gavilan as he prepared to take the lead on the third song, “All My Life.” It was a beautiful ballad featuring smooth notes and perfect harmonies from the full band that kept the audience wanting more.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, even amazing concerts. But not before Jazz Ensemble A played their last song, “La Quema del Diablo” or “burning of the dead.” However, this title was pretty misleading because it was more of a shuffling or funky piece rather than evil or terrifying. The feet of audience members throughout the auditorium could be seen tapping along to the moving beat driven by percussionist

Spencer Smith. The trumpets, trombones and saxophones also each got their chance to shine for one more moment as they traded the melody around. Suddenly, the song ended with a literal bang and the concert was over.

Longwood University’s Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensembles did a phenomenal job on their last concert Tuesday night. Not only did it feature the talent of many young musicians, but it also opened the eyes of the audience to fun new songs. It was a great night for all, and few walked out of the auditorium without a smile on their face.