September 18 was a treat for the music lovers who attended the twilight concert that evening. “Happy Birthday, Sousa!” was the title of the outdoor concert dedicated to the great composer John Philip Sousa. Sousa is well known for his mastery over the march compositions and is rightly called the “American March King.” Superior Wind Symphony is a premier wind ensemble at Michigan Tech comprising of Tech students and community members. Michigan Tech does not offer a degree in music but have many such ensembles formed at the Rozsa Center for Performing Arts. One of them is the Superior Wind Symphony which has software, computer science, chemical, environmental, electrical and mechanical engineering major students performing as a band. The Superior Wind Symphony offers innovative programming, symphonic thrills and exciting premieres in their concerts and feature some innovative musical compositions from older works. These concerts also have dance, speech and visual art in some of them on stage appearances. Famous old and new compositions are often played with some tweaks by the ensemble and they regularly play at the December commencement. SWS also conducts a tour near the Great Lakes region in the month of November.
The ensemble was arranged by Mike Christianson and the performance featured songs from various genres. Mike Christianson is the director of bands at Michigan Tech and is the instructor of the Wind Symphony course offered in the spring and fall semesters.
The SWS ensemble which performed that evening did not focus their performances on a particular genre but showcased tracks composed by famous musicians like John Williams and Hoagy Carmichael. The concert took place outside of the Rozsa Center near the Walker Lawn. People were enthusiastic and came with lawn chairs, dinner and blankets to protect them from the cold which gradually increased after the sun started to set. Mike Christianson had arranged the ensemble with great perfection in a very little span of time. All the participants have to go through auditions to be a part of SWS. The arranger also anchored the concert very well by giving insights and personal experiences about the songs that he chose to perform.
The concert started with a formal introduction of Christianson and then the SWS crew performed tracks from Star Wars. Princess Leia’s theme, Star Wars’ main track and Imperial Attack were some of the famous tracks performed. In total, the ensemble played five Star Wars background scores, all with equal grace and perfection. The Star Wars main track was the last track played and was the most appreciated one by the audience and received a round of applause. Later the band played the most loved American folk song, Amazing Grace. Every performance had a pause in between for setting up the instruments or changing position according to the requirements for a particular song.
Solo performances were equally mesmerizing. Luke Dowell, a civil engineering student, had auditioned as a xylophonist to get into the SWS ensemble. He played “Impression of Chinese Instrument” composed by Fritz Kreisler. The xylophone is made up of wooden bars which are individually tuned to notes. The sound created is very exciting and Dowell’s performance was recognized by applause from the audience.
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony is considered to be one of the greatest works in music as it can be arranged using the modern instruments. SWS played Beethoven’s 5th symphony using the trombone. This arrangement was first played in the year 1909 by a military band. “Stardust,” composed by Hoagy Carmichael was played next using the same arrangement of trombone. These two tracks led the audience to an old era and everybody was engrossed in listening to these performances.
John S. Pratt was a drummer and composer born in 1931. He wrote books and also is in the hall of fame in New Jersey. John S. Pratt was famous for his composition named “My friend Norman.” This composition is one of the favorite compositions for rudimentary drummers. Mike Christianson shared an interesting fact about John S. Pratt. John used to receive calls at some local bar to save people on the street. Collin Baldwin, a software engineering major, played “My friend Norman” on a field drum.
The movie “Catch Me if You Can” has some of the greatest background scores composed by John Williams. SWS arranged some of the tracks from the movie and played a compiled version of the tracks. These tracks were played as a solo on saxophone by Dan O’Neil, a mechanical engineering student. Later, Claire Allison performed Brahms’ “Lullaby” on the bass saxophone. The use of bass saxophone to play a lullaby was a perfect fit. The last performance covered the patriotic track Stars and Stripes Forever and was the best suited track to conclude the musically pleasing performance.
If you wish to witness this musical journey again, SWS will be playing with the Jazz Band on October 1 and later again on November 12 in the Rozsa Center. SWS are well known for their November tour near the Great Lakes region. Visit the Rozsa Center website, scan for the shows and get ready to experience classic music played by Michigan Tech’s very own Superior Wind Symphony.
