Purdue News

November 10, 2000 Travel from Texas to Paris with free Purdue bands concert WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Take a Sunday Sojourn from Texas to Appalachia to Europe with the Purdue Fall Concert and Symphonic bands at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19. The event is at the Long Center, 111 N. Sixth St., Lafayette. No reservations are required for the free concert. M.T. "Mo" Trout, band director and assistant professor of University Bands, who came to Purdue from Texas, takes the audience and the Fall Concert Band on a trip to his old stomping grounds in "The Texans," a nostalgic piece that brings back memories of 1950s cowboy movies. "It has all the traditional elements of a movie with the larger-than-life western theme to the trail song to the comic sidekick character. And it ends with the band yelling 'Yee hah!' It's a fun piece," said Trout. A side trip to Ireland comes in the lullaby "Deir In De," then the Fall Concert Band also presents "Rondo Capriccio" by American composer John Zdechlik. When the Symphonic Band, under the direction of Jay S. Gephart, assistant professor of bands, takes the stage, a new round of travel begins. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Aaron Copland, the band will perform "Variations on a Shaker Melody" from the American composer's "Appalachian Spring," which takes listeners to the mountains of the Eastern United States. Then, "Paris Sketches" takes the audience back to Europe for a look at the city through the eyes of composer Martin Ellerby. Claude Smith's "Festival Overture" is a trip to places closer to home. "Written for the Air Force Band, it's high energy from beginning to end, and is a real show piece for every section of the band," said Gephart. "Southern Harmony" is a contemporary arrangement of old gospel hymns that includes a lively section where instrumental music, produced by the woodwinds and horns, mixes with complex, rhythmic clapping patterns produced by brass and percussion players. The concert concludes with John Phillip Sousa's "Free Lance March" subtitled "Ode to Victory." The piece is being played in honor of the Boilermakers upcoming football bowl journey. CONTACT: Kathy Matter, (765) 496-6785; kcmatter@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page