FHSU bands will showcase band and wind ensembles tomorrow

By JESSALYN KIRCHHOFF

Tiger Media Network

The FHSU Bands and Percussion Ensemble is scheduled to take place at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center.

All of the concerts by FHSU Ensembles and performed at Beach-Schmidt Performing Arts Center are free of charge. The public is welcome to attend and no tickets are required for any of these events. 

Peter Lillpopp, director of bands at FHSU, gives a brief description of what attending guests can expect from the night.

“The first half of the concert will feature the FHSU Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Ryan Pearson, FHSU director of percussion and assistant director of bands,” Lillpopp said. “The players in this ensemble will perform on everything from drums to keyboard instruments like the marimba and xylophone to non-traditional percussion instruments.”

After the percussion ensemble, the wind ensemble will perform the concert’s second half.

“A wind ensemble includes woodwinds, brass and percussion,” Lillpopp said. “It is like a concert band, but with limited doubling of instruments.”

This will be the first performance for the FHSU Wind Ensemble this year. However, it will certainly not be the last. On Thursday, February 22, they will be performing at the Kansas Music Educators Conference in Wichita. The FHSU Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at this conference by a recorded audition submitted last year.

The FHSU Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Winds perform three concerts a year in addition to the FHSU Athletic Band performances at all home football and basketball games. These ensemble concert dates are scheduled for March 4 and May 2 and the concerts will also take place in the Beach-Schmidt Performing Arts Center. These ensembles are made up of music majors and non-music majors, primarily undergraduates, but also a few graduate students.

Lillpopp would like to give a shout-out to all of the students who participate in FHSU Bands.

“Many of the students in the FHSU Wind Ensemble also play in the FHSU Tiger Marching Band,” he said. “Being in the FHSU Bands is an enormous amount of time and energy spent rehearsing and practicing in addition to going to classes. It takes a very dedicated and committed person to belong to an ensemble like a band, but they do it because they love playing their instrument and performing in an ensemble. It’s a great energy to be around every day.”

More information on upcoming events this semester can be found at https://www.forthaysarts.com/, where you can also RSVP to each of the future events. 

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