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Paula Holcomb

Conductor Paula Holcomb and the �������� Wind Ensemble will offer selections from a recent concert tour of downstate New York and New Jersey on Thursday, April 13 at 8 p.m. in King Concert Hall at Rockefeller Arts Center. Admission is free and open to the public.

The highlight of the evening will be a performance of “Mountains and Mesas,” an original work by SUNY Fredonia School of Music Director Karl Boelter. “Mountains and Mesas” was written for the 2005 Best of the West Band Festival at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colo., where the piece premiered in December.

Other performances will include:

• “Gathering of the Armies” from Richard Wagner’s 1850 work “Lohengrin;”
• Richard Peaslee’s “Arrows of Time,” featuring SUNY Fredonia Concerto Competition winner and trombonist William Lang;
• Mark Engebretson’s newest composition, “Wind Symphony;”
• Gustav Holst’s “Second Suite;”
• And Afro-Cuban composer Leo Brouwer’s “Cancion de Gesta.”

The Wind Ensemble performed in Sayville and Riverhead N.Y. and Stone Ridge, N.Y. on March 22 and March 23, respectively, in preparation for their appearance at the Eastern Division Conference of the College Band Directors National Association.

The students received an invitation to perform at the conference after Dr. Holcomb, a SUNY Fredonia School of Music faculty member, sent a recording on the Wind Ensemble’s final concert of the 2004-2005 season to the event organizers.  “We were up against some pretty stiff competition,” said Dr. Holcomb. “I was excited when the students were selected.”

In other news, the Wind Ensemble is slated to return to the studio before the end of the semester to complete work on a DVD-CD. The project will include musical performances by the Wind Ensemble as well as composer commentary. The DVD-CD is expected to be released sometime within the coming year.