Wind ensemble hopes to blow the house down

Members of the UCLA community ready to relax this Wednesday
should look no further than Schoenberg Hall. The UCLA Wind
Ensemble, working under guest conductors Professor Gordon Henderson
and Victor Aguilar, has prepared a spring concert that is sure to
delight all musical tastes.

The group, comprised mainly of music performance students, has
prepared several pieces that reflect a wide variety of musical
styles and eras, from classical to contemporary and everything in
between, according to Aguilar, a doctoral student in the music
program.

The ensemble has had approximately seven weeks, with four hours
of group rehearsal time per week, to put together Wednesday’s
concert. Each student had to pass a rigorous audition process for
admission into the ensemble.

Playing in Wind Ensemble provides students in the group with a
way to hone their craft among other talented musicians, working in
harmony with each other to produce a musical experience that
reflects their hard work and will entertain the audience.

For many, the group offers chances for friendships, which in
turn contribute to the ensemble’s unity.

“I really enjoy the people I am with,” said Eric
Fiero, a first-year music performance student and trumpet
player.

Aguilar noted that this camaraderie helped the students master
difficult pieces, and the group has learned to play well
individually and as a whole.

One of the older and more technically complex pieces that will
be featured Wednesday is Stravinsky’s “Octet for
Winds.” Dating back to the 1920s, it is a piece which
features only eight performers from the group. The challenging
composition has been a learning experience for the students as well
as for Aguilar, the conductor.

“I knew it was a significant piece, especially in my world
and the wind band world,” he said. “It’s a very
difficult piece to conduct and play. But since we started
rehearsing it and since I’ve been writing my dissertation (on
it), going through the process, I’ve learned to appreciate
it.”

Switching gears toward popular music, the group will also be
performing a selection from the soundtrack of the 1975 movie
“The Wind and the Lion” by Jerry Goldsmith. The
sweeping, thrilling piece, conducted by Henderson, reflects the
film’s subject of adventure and political intrigue in the
Moroccan desert.

“Movie music is so attractive to the ear,” Aguilar
said. “You hear the “˜Jaws’ theme, you hear the
“˜Star Wars’ theme, and we all can hum it. “˜The
Wind and the Lion’ is one of those pieces that you can
actually walk out humming, because it’s so entertaining to
hear.”

“Redline Tango” is another piece to look forward to,
with its fast rhythms and sensuous, exotic sound. The group was
fortunate enough to have the opportunity to invite John Mackey, a
composer and Los Angeles resident, to listen and assist with the
interpretation of the piece. “Redline Tango” appears to
be a student favorite, with third-year music performance student
and clarinetist Chelsea Lumley citing complex meter changes that
make it a fun, though challenging, piece to play.

Additional pieces include works by Felix Mendelssohn and Ron
Nelson. With the mix of both classical and modern music, Lumley
said that audiences should expect the unexpected.

The UCLA Wind Ensemble hopes to provide a perfect opportunity to
hear exciting music from all ends of the musical spectrum played by
a group of talented musicians.

“It’s going to be a worthwhile experience,”
Aguilar said. “This is just something where (people) can
relax and enjoy for just an hour of their lives and not think about
mathematics or chemistry.”

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