The Hope College Wind Ensemble will present "A Tribute to Folk Songs" on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

The program will open with the classic "Variations on a Korean Folk Song" by John Barnes Chance, followed by "Shenandoah" set by Frank Ticheli.  The first half will close with one of the most influential pieces for wind bands, "Lincolnshire Posy," by Percy Grainger.  "Posy" is a set of six folk tunes that Grainger collected himself from the Lincolnshire region of England and then set for concert band.  Each movement deliberately reflects the natural, and often untrained, vocal aspects of the people he collected from, resulting in difficult pieces that use mixed meter and non-traditional harmonies.

The second half will open with a classic chamber work for winds, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Serenade in C Minor," which will be followed by "Be Thou My Vision," by David Gillingham.  The program will conclude with another standard work, "English Folk Song Suite," by Vaughan Williams.

The Hope College Wind Ensemble is under the direction of Gabe Southard, who completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts in conducting at MichiganStateUniversity. Prior to his residence at MSU, he served as Wind Symphony conductor and Flute Studio teacher at the University of Michigan-Flint, where he also taught orchestration, music appreciation and advanced conducting.  While living in Cincinnati, Ohio, Southard served as conductor of the Cincinnati Youth Wind Ensemble from 1999 to 2002.  Under his direction, CYWE toured England and Scotland, taking first place at the Bournemouth International Musicmakers Festival; completed a CD of the works of Mark Camphouse; and was invited to perform at the Ohio Music Educators Regional Conference.

Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located at 277 College Ave., on College Avenue at 12th Street.