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UWF Symphonic Band To Present ‘Lord Of The Rings’ During Spring Concert

Michael Spooneybarger/ CREO

 

  Audiences can hear the University of West Florida’s Symphonic Band at the Music Department’s first spring concert. The free event is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb, 23, at the Little Theatre in downtown Pensacola’s historic district. 

Dr. Richard Glaze Associate Professor and Director of Bands directs the UWF Symphonic Band rehearsal in the Eugene Gonzalez Music Rehearsal Hall Tuesday February 9, 2016 in Pensacola, Florida. The upcoming concert featuring music from The Lord of the Rings will be at the Pensacola Little Theatre Tuesday February 23.
Credit Michael Spooneybarger/ CREO

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 The 42-member ensemble will feature “Symphony No. 1 The Lord of the Rings” by Johan DeMeij. The five-movement work written for band is based on the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy.

Students continue the rehearsals they started in January, and many of them appreciate the musical intricacies of the piece and have an appreciation for the composer. 

  “It’s very idiomatic, and it focuses on all the colors of the different instruments in the band, so it’s really fun to play and really fun to listen to as a piece that is specifically for band rather than a transcription from an orchestral or choral work,” said Olivia Hawkins, a UWF sophomore who plays the flute.  

Other students delight in the fact that fans of Tolkien’s mega-popular fantasy trilogy, “Lord of the Rings,” will likely enjoy the music, which was composed to complement the books. 

“… It really reflects everything, all the movements … the characters and the things that they represent in the books… so I really enjoy it because it’s just musically complex … as I listen, having read the books and watched the movies, I can hear and see in my mind how it reflects all of these characters,” said Marcus Baker, a junior who plays the double bass. 

Dr. Richard Glaze Associate Professor and Director of Bands directs the UWF Symphonic Band rehearsal in the Eugene Gonzalez Music Rehearsal Hall Tuesday February 9, 2016 in Pensacola, Florida. The upcoming concert featuring music from The Lord of the Rings will be at the Pensacola Little Theatre Tuesday February 23.
Credit Michael Spooneybarger/ CREO

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Catch “Lord of the Rings” when the UWF band performs it at 7: 30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23. To reserve tickets, call (850) 857-6285. 

 

This article is part of a collaboration between WUWF and the UWF Center for Research and Economic Opportunity.