Purdue News

March 31, 2000 Musical depictions of dinosaurs highlight Windworks II concert WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Creating the sounds of dinosaurs challenged Purdue's Varsity Band to design new instruments and play old ones in new ways for "Dinosaurs," a featured number at the Sunday, April 9, Windworks II concert. Set for 2:30 p.m. at the Long Center, 111 N. Sixth St., Lafayette, the concert will feature the Varsity Band, directed by Pamela Nave, along with the Collegiate Band, led by William Kisinger, and the University Concert Band under the baton of David Leppla. Admission to the concert, sponsored by Purdue University Bands, is free. In "Dinosaurs," composer Daniel Bukvich incorporates non-traditional instruments in an essentially classical piece to create the unusual sounds that allow the audience's imaginations to flip back to prehistoric times. Bukvich put a lot of thought into the piece, selecting specific dinosaurs – from triceratops to iguanodons – to depict, Nave said. Bukvich even orchestrated a musical encounter between a stomping Tyrannosaurus rex and a group of flying, shrieking pterodactyls. Varsity Band members stomp their feet, clap their hands and yell "yalt" to add to the portrayal of Tyrannosaurus rex. Meanwhile, to create the pterodactyls, "the clarinetists take off their mouth pieces and play them. It makes a really awful sound," Nave said. Lengths of PVC pipe are incorporated into Bukvich's depiction of the brontosaurus, which, among other things, calls for the pipes to be used as stomping tubes. Alto saxophone players click their keys during this section, while the flutists and trumpeters blow air through their instruments while rapidly changing fingering to add to the musical image. The voice becomes an important instrument when the Varsity Band sings to bring iguanodon to life on the concert stage. Rhythmic patterns on mallet instruments and low brass crescendos figure into the presentation of stegosaurus. Nave plans to introduce the various dinosaur themes to the audience before the piece is performed to help them understand the composer's intentions. The other two Windworks bands bring a lot of variety to the family-oriented program. The Collegiate Band contributes George Gershwin's "Strike Up the Band" and Edwin Franko Goldman's "The Chimes of Liberty March," among other tunes. The University Concert Band includes selections from Walt Disney's "Fantasia" in its program. It also will perform the triumphant coronation scene from Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" complete with symphonic fanfare brass. CONTACT: Kathy Matter, Purdue Bands publicist, (765) 496-6785; kcmatter@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page