Two concerts by the Lee University Wind Ensemble are on the
horizon.

On Wednesday evening, Nov. 28, the wind ensemble will present
its annual fall concert in the Conn Center at 7:30.

Eight works representing five composers will be on the program.
Two of the works are by Percy Grainger, one of the premiere
American composers of the mid-twentieth century, and two are by
John Philip Sousa, each a departure from his normal march fare.
Grainger will be recognized with “Blithe Bells,” a melodious
setting of J. S. Bach’s sentimental favorite, “Sheep May Safely
Graze,” followed by “Molly on the Shore,” a favorite of bands
everywhere. 

Sousa will be represented by “Manhattan Beach,” a composition
usually labeled as a march in the Sousa Library, but in actuality,
is a dance known as the “two-step,” popular at the turn of the 20th
century. Sousa also wrote a number of suites for band, and the wind
ensemble will present the first movement of his “Looking Upward
Suite” entitled “By the Light of the Polar Star.”
The concert will also include “Overture in Five Flat” by Julie
Giroux, “Elegy” by conductor David Holsinger, and “Trittico,” a
three movement work by Vaclav Nelhybel written in the early 1960s
and credited by many as one of those compositions that changed the
course of band composition in that decade.
On Tuesday, Dec. 4, Dr. and Mrs. Holsinger will be joined in
concert by the two conductors in the Lee School of Music
Instrumental Conductor Masters Program.

Heather Hall, who comes to the program from a successful stint
at Signal Mountain High School, will be conducting Aaron Copland’s
“Down a Country Lane.” Originally written for piano in 1962, it has
been transcribed for both orchestra and band in the 1990s. Hall
will also conduct Norman Dello Joio’s “Satiric Dances,” three
movements written for a stage production of a comedy by
Aristophanes in the mid-1970s.

Mrs. Sarah Pearson comes from Girls Preparatory School in
Chattanooga. Pearson recently guest conducted with the Lee
University Orchestra during its fall concert. Pearson will conduct
“Courtly Airs and Dances,” a collection of modern settings of
Renaissance dances by American composer Ron Nelson. The six
movements span characteristic dances from five countries during the
1500s. Pearson will also conduct Jacob DeHann’s “Ammerland,” a
tribute to the beautiful lake region in Germany for which it is
named.
To fill out the concert, the Holsingers will select and conduct
three favorites from the preceding two fall concerts.

For more information about these concerts or other music events,
please call Lee’s School of Music at 423-614-8240.