By Liz Hammond Contributing writer
Honors Band Gala will be held at Susquehanna with the alumni performance on Feb. 17 at 8:30 p.m., and the honors performances will take place on Feb. 19 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.. Both performances will take place in Weber Chapel.
The Gala will include distinguished alumni and a concert by the symphonic band, honors band, honors wind ensemble and honors festival band. There will also be a special performance conducted by professor emeritus Don Owens from Northwestern.
The performance will benefit both current Susquehanna students and the high school students who will be in attendance. It is a chance for all students to hear Susquehanna alumni who have gained success as professional musicians both as performers and music educators.
For the alumni, the gala will be a chance to return to where they started their career as students and perform as young professionals. This will be a chance for students to see there is success after they graduate and one day it could be them returning for the annual festival.
When interviewing associate professor of music and director of bands, Eric Hinton, he said that this means a great deal to the music department.
“We have been sharing our passion for music and for music education with students for 25 years now,” Hinton said. “It is our hope that the experience we provide inspires and motivates students to continue to make music for the rest of their lives.”
The 25th anniversary is a big landmark for the department. The Honors Band Festival has been a successful recruiting tool for the music department.
“[Owens] played a profound role in my education and he has so many wonderful things to share with Honors Band students and Susquehanna students alike,” Hinton said. The piece that Owens wrote for the Honors Wind Ensemble is what Hinton is most excited for.
“It’s a wonderful challenge and an honor for the students to work on a piece that’s been written specially for them, particularly with the composer in residence,” he said.