CWU Symphonic Band and Concert Band Concert

The Central Washington University community and the greater Ellensburg area are invited to a concert featuring the CWU Symphonic Band and Concert Band on Thursday, November 20, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in Hertz Concert Hall of the McIntyre Music Building. Admission is free and open to the public. The CWU Concert Band, under the direction of Kyle Edwards, lecturer of band, will open the evening with a program that bridges traditional and contemporary wind band repertoire, including works by John Philip Sousa, Nicole Piunno, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Brian Balmages, and David Biedenbender. The second half of the program will feature the CWU Symphonic Band, conducted by Dr. T. André Feagin, Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music. Their performance includes works by Dana Wilson, Frank Erickson, Paul Creston, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, concluding with Alfred Reed’s masterwork Praise Jerusalem! Composed in 1986, Reed’s Praise Jerusalem! (Kovia Yeroosaghem) is based on a seventh-century Armenian hymn melody notated by the renowned musicologist Gomidas Vartabed and included in his Chants of the Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The piece takes the form of an introduction, theme with five variations, and a finale, all derived from the original hymn. Though not programmatic, the variations explore the musical richness of this 1,300-year-old melody, fully employing the color and power of the modern wind orchestra. The work culminates in a radiant finale featuring antiphonal brass. The concert will also mark the debut of Tyler White, first-year graduate conducting student in CWU’s Master of Music program in Wind Band Conducting.