UGA Wind Symphony to perform dance-themed concert Oct. 1

The University of Georgia Wind Symphony will hold their inaugural concert of the academic year on Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall. The concert, structured around the theme of dance, is free and open to the public.

“It’s fun to give the audience something to latch onto, and the compositions for this performance just so happen to all revolve around the concept of dancing,” said Hugh Hodgson School of Music professor Jaclyn Hartenberger, who leads the ensemble. “I keep lists of music that I want to perform with the students—composers they need to be familiar with, a mix of new and older works—from which I pick a central piece, and the rest of the concert is a natural outgrowth from that starting point.”

The starting point for Wednesday’s concert is Armenian Dances Part I, Alfred Reed’s perennial staple of wind band literature incorporating various folk songs from the eponymous nation. Other works building off the central theme include Nancy Galbraith’s Danza de los Duendes, Bach’s Fugue à la Gigue, Arturo Marquez’s Danzón No. 2, and Overture from Dancer in the Dark by Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk.

The performance will also feature guest conductor Evan Harger, a graduate student at the Hodgson School, in a performance of The Solitary Dancer by Warren Benson.

“Evan’s piece is unique to the program, because it isn’t about dancing per se,” said Hartenberger. “It’s actually a piece about the dancer in repose, sitting in quiet before the performance. As such, it has this internal drive and energy just waiting to burst forth.”