NATCHITOCHES – The NSU Wind Symphony will host several regional concert bands in the Second Annual Invitational Band Festival with composer-in-residence, Katahj Copley on Feb. 28-29.
The event will feature Composer-in-Residence Katahj Copley and visiting clinician Dr. Frank Tracz, director of bands at Kansas State University.
“The festival serves NSU as a high-quality recruiting tool for students wishing to continue participation in music beyond their high school years,” said NSU Director of Bands Anthony Pursell.
The festival will feature each invited band to perform a concert in the acoustically treated Magale Recital Hall followed by a 20-minute clinic by Copley and then a short clinic by a Tracz. High school students will also be treated to open rehearsals with the NSU Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony and a masterclass by Copley and Tracz.
The festival will employ current NSU music education majors to serve as adjudicators for each band.
“Giving our students the opportunity to evaluate a band’s performance begins to formulate priorities in their mind of the things they will eventually need to assess when they are in front of their own ensemble,” said Pursell. “No matter if it is pre-assessment evaluations or simply getting ready for an end-of-year pops concert for their community, our NSU music education majors will benefit through active listening and assessing that performance in real-time.” NSU students will also enjoy an open Q&A session with Copley and Tracz and composition students will receive a lesson with Copley.
Visiting ensembles include Benton High School, West Monroe High School, and Parkway High School. The NSU Wind Ensemble will perform February 28 at 7:30 p.m. Parkway High will begin Thursday’s performances at 2:30 p.m., followed by West Monroe and Benton High at 4:30 p.m. All performances will be in Magale Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.
The NSU Wind Symphony will conclude the festival with a performance featuring Copley and Tracz, who will conduct the Wind Symphony.
“Giving our NSU students an opportunity to experience music by being led by the composer and a visiting master educator will greatly enhance their performance experience,” said Pursell. “When I was 18 years old, my college band director brought in a composer to be our guest conductor. I remember thinking to myself that is the person whose name is on top of this piece. It is an experience that I still value today, even after 28 years of leading bands of my own,”
The NSU Wind Symphony concert will be on Thursday, February 29 @ 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.
Concerts will be livestreamed via the CAPA livestream link: https://www.nsula.edu/capa/capalivestream/
