The School of Music at UNCSA presents the UNCSA Wind Ensemble, in partnership with the Piedmont Wind Symphony, performing a joint live performance that includes
the works of internationally acclaimed jazz composer and musician Omar Thomas on Friday,
Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m. on the Stevens Heart. The ensembles will probably be carried out by music
director and Music college member Mark Norman.
Tickets are $20 common, $15 for college students with legitimate IDs on our website or by calling the field workplace at 336-721-1945.
The UNCSA Wind Ensemble and the Piedmont Wind Symphony will carry out a number of of Thomas’
items together with “A Mom of a Revolution,” “The Low-Down Brown Get-Down,” “Come
Sunday” and “Shenandoah.” Thomas will probably be introducing his items and talking all through
the live performance.
Omar Thomas
The live performance may even characteristic Jeff Scott’s “Baile si quiere!” that includes the UNCSA
School Winds; John Mackey’s “Songs from the Finish of the World,” that includes soprano
Lindsay Kesselman and the Piedmont Wind Symphony; and Chen Yi’s “Energetically” from “Dragon
Rhyme” with the UNCSA Wind Ensemble. Conducting graduate pupil Tim Heath will serve
as visitor conductor.
Mark Norman, the College of Music’s director of instrumental ensembles who additionally serves
because the music director of the Piedmont Wind Symphony, says bringing in famend expertise
like Thomas is essential for college students.
Mark Norman
“It’s a whole honor that we’re internet hosting maybe one of the sought-after and
influential composers of this era, actually his era,” stated Norman.
“It’s a thrill for us to have him on campus working with our college students, working with
our group, and our skilled musicians inside the group. We’re very excited
and the scholars are excited.”
Throughout his residency at UNCSA, Thomas may even rehearse his items with college students
and function a visitor lecturer for the composition seminar and efficiency hour.
Thomas’ work to be carried out throughout the live performance highlights the period of blaxploitation
movies throughout the early ’70s. This style of filmmaking positioned Black actors in lead
roles, was aimed toward African American audiences and was controversial for stereotyping
characters. “Regardless of the backlash studios obtained, the movies possessed an thrilling,
uncooked, soulful high quality, and from these movies had been born a number of the most iconic characters
and soundtracks ever created,” Thomas stated. “The Low-Down Brown Get-Down” pulls from
numerous sounds and types of African American people music together with funk, R&B, soul,
early hip-hop and the blues, he added.
“I’m thrilled to work with Mark Norman and UNC College of the Arts,” stated Thomas. “With
the superb musicianship of UNCSA’s college students and the gracious management of Mark,
I feel we are going to create a memorable and funky efficiency.”
UNCSA School Winds
The UNCSA School Winds consists of Music college members Tadeu Coelho, flute; Jaren
Atherholt, oboe; Ronald Rudkin, clarinet; Maria Serkin, horn; Stephanie Patterson,
bassoon; and Chris Reichmeier, bongos.
About Omar Thomas
A Brooklyn native of Guyanese descent, Omar Thomas has been commissioned to create
each jazz and classical type work along with his music carried out in live performance halls round
the globe. His work has been carried out by such numerous teams because the Eastman New Jazz
Ensemble, the San Francisco and Boston Homosexual Males’s Choruses, The US Marine
Band, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and the Showa
Wind Symphony, along with a number of of the nation’s high collegiate music ensembles.
In 2019, Thomas was awarded the Nationwide Bandmasters Affiliation/Revelli Award for
his wind composition “Come Sunday,” turning into the primary Black composer awarded the
honor within the contest’s 42-year historical past. He’s now a Yamaha grasp educator whose first
album “I AM” debuted at No. 1 on iTunes Jazz Charts and peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard
Conventional Jazz Albums Chart.
About Lindsay Kesselman
Lindsay Kesselman, Soprano Soloist
Lindsay Kesselman is a two-time Grammy-nominated soprano who passionately advocates
for modern music. She has been featured in “Vitality in All Instructions” by Kenneth
Frazelle with Sandbox Percussion on the Saratoga Performing Arts Heart, the function
of Anna in Kurt Weill’s “The Seven Lethal Sins” with the Charlotte Symphony, “Astronautica:
Voices of Ladies in Area” with Voices of Ascension and extra. Kesselman has been the
resident soprano of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble for 10 seasons and Haven, Kesselman’s
trio with Kimberly Cole Luevano and Midori Koga, which actively commissions and excursions
all through North America. Kesselman holds levels in voice efficiency and music training
from Rice College and Michigan State College.
Concerning the UNCSA Wind Ensemble
The College of North Carolina College of the Arts Wind Ensemble combines chosen
proficient highschool, undergraduate and graduate college students to carry out quite a lot of
basic literature and fashionable wind band repertoire. All sections rotate to particular person
half assignments which might be personalised for every pupil by the utilized college and
director.
All through its historical past, the wind ensemble has enabled college students to work with world-class
soloists and composers and has participated in quite a few new music commissioning initiatives
resulting in world and regional premieres. Many former members now carry out with skilled
orchestras, navy bands and chamber ensembles world wide.
Concerning the Piedmont Wind Symphony
Based in 1989, the Piedmont Wind Symphony (PWS) consists of the best skilled
musicians within the Piedmont-Triad space of North Carolina. Recognized for his or her energetic
and revolutionary programming, PWS constantly brings headlining performers akin to
Ben Folds, Al Jarreau, The Capitol Bones, Demondrae Thurman and Arturo Sandoval to
its audiences. 1000’s of concertgoers take pleasure in PWS performances and its Piedmont Pops
concert events every year. Serving as a number one ambassador for N.C. bands, PWS steadily
works with at present’s composers and music educators in producing recordings and offering
inspiration to band members of all ages.
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