UK Wind Symphony, Symphony Band, Concert Band to Present Spring Concerts April 24
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 15, 2022) — The University of Kentucky Wind Symphony, conducted by John Cody Birdwell, will present Ottorino Respighi’s “Pines of Rome,” at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 24, in the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall.
Later that evening, at 7:30 p.m., the UK Symphony Band, conducted by professor George Boulden and associate conductor Michael Hudson, and the UK Concert Band, conducted by Shayna Stahl, will present, “From the Light into the Dark,” a free concert. Guest conductors for this concert include Josh Gillen and Emily Church.
The UK Wind Symphony’s program includes "Petals of Fire" by Zhou Tian; "Fascinating Ribbons" by Joan Tower and Ashley Shoupe (graduate conductor); "II Concerto for Clarinet" by Oscar Navarro, featuring Scott Wright on clarinet; "Home Away from Home" by Ukranian-born composer Catherine Likhuta; and Ottorino Respighi's "Pines of Rome."
The UK Wind Symphony consists of the finest wind and percussion graduate and undergraduate students in the nationally-recognized UK School of Music conducted by Birdwell, director of UK Bands. As the centerpiece of a band program that has served the Commonwealth of Kentucky for over 100 years, the Wind Symphony continues a rich tradition of performing the finest traditional and contemporary compositions in the concert band/chamber winds repertoire.
Tickets for the UK Wind Symphony’s 3 p.m. performance are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Free tickets for UK students can be purchased in advance up to the day before the concert. To purchase tickets, contact the Singletary Center for the Arts ticket office at 859-257-4929, visit online at www.scfatickets.com or visit the ticket office in person.
Admission is free for the UK Concert Band and Symphony Band’s 7:30 p.m. performance of “From the Light into the Dark.”
The School of Music at UK College of Fine Arts has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, music therapy, composition and theory and music history.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.