UW Wind Symphony to Present Spring Concert April 27

The University of Wyoming Wind Symphony will present its spring concert, “Wine-Dark Sea: A Symphony for Band,” Saturday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts concert hall.

Tickets are $12 for the public, $8 for senior citizens and $6 for students. A nominal processing fee will be charged for each ticket. To purchase tickets, visit the Performing Arts box office, call (307) 766-6666 or go online at www.tix.com/ticket-sales/uwyo/6984.

The concert will be conducted by Ogechi Ukazu, interim director of bands, and Amber Sturdevant, a student conductor from Gillette.

The program will open with “Portrait of a Peaceful Warrior,” a 2020 work by composer Kathryn Bostic that serves as a tribute to the vast and diverse voices of humanity coming together to stand up for justice, equality, inclusion and human rights.

Next will be George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” originally set for concert band by Ferde Grofé and arranged by Donald Hunsberger. This rendition preserves the characteristic timbres and transparent qualities of the orchestral setting while texturally capturing -- despite the absence of strings -- its innate vertical densities.

The second half of the concert will feature John Mackey’s 2014 composition, “Wine-Dark Sea,” commissioned for band by the University of Texas Wind Ensemble in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music.

The piece follows portions of Homer’s “Odyssey,” presented in three movements that outline the story -- from the wreck of Odysseus’ ship following the conquering of Troy to Odysseus’ seven-year beguilement by the nymph Calypso, to Odysseus’ journey to the gates of Hades to appease the gods before he can return home.

For more information, call Kathy Kirkaldie, UW Fine Arts coordinator, at (307) 766-2160 or email kirisk@uwyo.edu.