Gardner-Webb Department of Music Presents Instrumental Concerts in November

Jazz Ensemble, Symphonic Band and Orchestra to Perform Various Musical Selections 

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—The Gardner-Webb University Department of Music presents three instrumental concerts over the next two weeks. The Jazz Ensemble, Symphonic Band and Orchestra—which feature students, faculty and some community members—will perform various selections from Christmas tunes and classical works to film scores and jazz standards.  

Jazz Ensemble

The first concert on Nov. 7 features the Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Matt Whitfield, professor of music. The group will perform at 4 p.m. in O. Max Gardner Hall. The free program includes several standards, such as “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got that Swing),” “Georgia on My Mind,” “That Old Black Magic,” and a surprise Motown tune. The band has 11 members consisting of nine current students, one former student and one faculty member.

GWU Symphonic Band

The next concert by the GWU Symphonic Band will be on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in Dover Theatre. Directed by Associate Professor of music Tim Hudson, the program also features the Brass Choir. The free program includes the theme from Masterpiece Theater, an arrangement of “Let Us Break Bread Together,” music from “The Incredibles,” some traditional band music, a collection of familiar music from the “James Bond” movies, and ends with John Philip Sousa’s roaring Semper Fidelis March.

The Symphonic Band is the primary ensemble for wind and percussion students. Membership in the ensemble is open to all music majors and non-majors at the permission of the director.

GWU Orchestra

The Gardner-Webb Orchestra will present its concert on Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. in Dover Theatre. This is a ticketed event. Admission is $10 for the public and free to all students, regardless of school, with student ID, and free to GWU faculty and staff.  Donations will also be accepted at the event to benefit the orchestra.

The concert features members of the Crest High School Chamber Orchestra and director Peter Strickland, who is a Gardner-Webb alumnus, Class of 1997. The program includes the Christmas classic, “O Holy Night,” along with “Christmas Eve Sarajevo,” a piece that describes a lone cellist playing Christmas carols in the midst of the Bosnian war. Other selections are “Conga del Fuego Nuevo,” “Triumph of the Argonauts,” “Death,” “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” and an arrangement of Duke Ellington tunes. 

Soloists are GWU faculty members: Hudson on the trumpet and Joseph Meyer on the violin. They each have a solo in “Emmanuel” by Michel Colombier, and Hudson has a solo in “Apollo 13” by James Horner.

Meyer plays violin and viola and is an active soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader who has been garnering critical acclaim throughout the country. Currently, he holds positions as associate concertmaster of the Charlotte Symphony and the Colorado Music Festival, as well as guest concertmaster of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, where he has served as concertmaster and guest concertmaster for 10 years.

Hudson is a Yamaha Performing Artist, Summit Recording Artist, a founding member of Carolina Brass and in 2015 joined The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass. He has played with the Philadelphia Chamber and several other orchestras across the United States and abroad. Just a few of them are the New England Philharmonic, Boston Philharmonic and the Knoxville Symphony. As an educator, Hudson has been teaching trumpet since 1983 and began his college teaching career at the age of 25. In addition, he maintains an active performance schedule playing an average of 250 jobs each year. He plays with brass groups, symphonies and with pop/jazz artists, such as Ray Charles, The Temptations, Manhattan Transfer, Neil Sedaka, Tony Bennett, Branford Marsalis, Mannheim Steamroller, Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, Doc Severinsen and Dizzy Gillespie.

Auxiliary aids will be made available to persons with disabilities upon request 10 working days prior to the event.  Please call 704-406-4270 or email [email protected] with your request.

Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.