The Hope College Wind Ensemble will be presenting a "Lord of the Rings" concert on Friday, Feb. 26, at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The ensemble will play two pieces from "Lord of the Rings," arrangements of the HowardShore film score. The three "Lord of the Rings" films - "The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King"--debuted in theatres in 2001, 2002 and 2003 respectively.
The feature of the concert will be an earlier work inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's books, composer Johan de Meij's Symphony No. 1 "Lord of the Rings." De Meij's piece won the Sudler band award in 1989 and is one of the major works in the Wind Ensemble's repertoire. In it are five movements that portray events or characters from the books: Gandalf; Lothlorien; Gollum; Journey Through the Dark; and The Hobbits.
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 compact disc 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.