The new and powerful All-Campus Band will have a joint concert with Lavender Jazz this Friday, Oct. 31, hoping to show off the talent and flair for band music that Goshen has left relatively untapped in recent years.
“Over the last couple of years we have had an increasing number of wind and brass players coming to Goshen College,” Christopher Fashun, director of the All-Campus Band, said. “The number of orchestra wind parts didn’t provide enough opportunities for these students and we needed to create a concert band to fulfill this need.”The band will be able to explore pieces and themes not accessible by the Symphony Orchestra or Lavender Jazz. This Friday’s concert will showcase that availability, playing a variety of music that ranges from classic band works written by Bach and Pierre La Plante to contemporary works, including John Mackey’s Foundry and Brian Balmage’s Elements.
“Having a campus band allows me to play more styles of music,” Seth Miller, senior saxophonist, said. “I get to experience the joy and challenge of having repertoires with vastly differing styles. All-Campus Band also gives more people the chance keep playing their instruments, especially those instruments not in orchestra.”
Not only is this new ensemble enjoyable for students, it also helps them grow and show how diverse Goshen students’ talents are, from classical to contemporary to Caribbean.
“Band repertoire, in comparison to orchestral music, is a relatively new field that dates to just [the] first few decades of the 20th century,” Fashun said. “The progression of compositional techniques has experienced a much faster trajectory than that of orchestral music. The pieces that the All-Campus Band is performing on Friday will demonstrate the diversity and possibilities of the wind band sound.”
These possibilities include a percussive piece that may be an interesting experience for listeners.
“The piece “Foundry” is super exciting,” Brenner Burkholder, a first-year band member, said. “It sounds less like a traditional band song and more like a rhythmic, scary manufacturing plant, but in a good way.”
This new, full sound that will fill Sauder Hall comes to audiences courtesy of both students speaking out for its need and hard work from within the Music Department to advertise the band and acquire musicians from all parts of campus.
“I feel blessed that we did get a great group of student musicians,” Fashun said. “Now it’s the exhilaration and excitement of sharing this new ensemble with the rest of the campus and the Goshen Community.”
“I feel blessed that we did get a great group of student musicians,” Fashun said. “Now it’s the exhilaration and excitement of sharing this new ensemble with the rest of the campus and the Goshen Community.”
