On March 29, 2019, I attended the Symphonic Wind Ensemble Concert, which was divided into two parts and performed by different bands. The first part of the concert was performed by the UBC Concert Winds (consisted only from wind instruments) and conducted by graduate assistant conductors Jacob Pope and Lauren Visel. After the intermission, the performers rearranged the stage and added additional instruments (harp, cellos, string bass) to form the UBC Symphonic Wind Ensemble conducted by Robert Taylor.
“Scenes from the Louvre” by Norman Dello Joio set a solid beginning for the concert. It consists of five movements, although the UBC Concert Winds decided to skip the fourth movement in their performance. The first movement “The Portals” used multiple percussion instruments followed by multiple wind instruments in the beginning. During the first 30-40 seconds, the wind instruments were accompanied by a steady beat of drums, which stopped closer to the middle part of the movement. The first movement created an exciting and grandiose atmosphere. The second movement “Children’s Gallery” was rather light-hearted. The beginning was calm and performed by higher octave instruments; later on, the bass instruments entered the scene to conclude the introduction. After that, the whole piece was very warm and bouncy, perfectly depicting the children’s character. I could imagine this movement being used in the Disney cartoons from the 20th century. The fourth movement “The Nativity Paintings” was in a slower tempo graciously developing throughout the performance. The wind instruments were accompanied with percussions, imitating light bell sounds, similar to the ones used in some Christmas spirit compositions. The fifth movement “Finale” was similar in its nature to the first movement in the way that it had a loud and solid sound. At the end of the piece, the ensemble played a chord three times to conclude the whole performance on a high note.
As a fan of thrillers and mystic movies, I really liked “Toledo” by Bruce Carlson. The composition is quite long, where the beginning is quite slow and builds up the tension, increasing the tempo closer to the middle, and getting back to a more calm ending. This was one of the compositions that actually kept me focused during the whole performance like some thriller movies do.
“Hereafter Calls” by Michael Martin was performed by the UBC Symphonic Wind Ensemble. The beginning of the piece uses the bass instruments as a drone on top of which the higher octave instruments play their melody. The interesting feature of this performance was that the ensemble on the main stage had additional members on the upper-level stage, each located in the middle and on the side of the stage. These positions added a better acoustic sound of those member’s instruments and created a better listening experience for the audience. By the end of the performance, each member started getting further to the side of the upper stage adding some echo sound to their playing.
The highlight of the concert was “La Fiesta Mexicana” by H. Owen Reed consisting of three movements, Prelude and Aztec Dance, Mass, Carnival. From the title I expected this composition to be very lively and energetic. However, my expectations were wrong and the first two movements were quite slow and mellow. The last movement, on the other hand, was very bright and interesting. During the performance of the third movement, a separate band consisting of 4 members with wind instruments was changing its location. First, the band started playing a separate melody in the right back of the auditorium, where the spectators were sitting. Then, closer to the end, the band moved to the backstage and waited for its part. The members of the band went out from the backstage and started playing a typical Mexican motive. They were all dressed in traditional Mexican costumes for the carnivals with huge sombreros. It was a very interesting twist, which I am sure not many people expected, and added a festive atmosphere to conclude the whole concert.