Cal Poly Wind Bands Concert to Feature Percussionist John Astaire June 6
Percussionist John Astaire will be the guest solo artist at Cal Poly’s Wind Bands Spring Concert at 8 p.m. Friday, June 6, in Harman Hall in the Performing Arts Center’s Christopher Cohan Center.
A distinguished alumnus of Cal Poly, Astaire is an established percussionist at the highest level. He has performed with the Kylix Contemporary Music Ensemble, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, and the San Luis Obispo Symphony. He has recorded with the Aguava New Music Ensemble, the Kylix Contemporary Music Ensemble, and the Durande Flute and Percussion Duo, which he also co-founded.
The Wind Ensemble will accompany Astaire in a performance of “Raise the Roof” by Michael Daugherty, a piece that features solo timpani. Astaire will also perform the Hungarian dance “Czárdás” on the xylophone with accompaniment by the Wind Orchestra.
The concert will also feature two Cal Poly students. Alessandra Shanus, a fourth-year music major, will be accompanied by the Wind Ensemble in a performance of the first movement of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2, a piece made famous in the Disney film “Fantasia 2000.” In addition, fourth-year music major Ryan Wazcek will premiere his newest composition, “Sprint.”
The Wind Orchestra will begin the concert with works for concert band including “Incantation and Dance” by John Barnes Chance, “Suite of Old American Dances,” and a medley of songs from “The Sound of Music,” both by Robert Russell Bennett. The concert will also include the “Overture to ‘Candide’” by Leonard Bernstein. The program will conclude with a performance of “Bugler’s Holiday,” featuring six of Cal Poly’s best trumpet performers.
Director of Bands Andrew McMahan and Associate Director of Bands Christopher J. Woodruff will conduct the concert.
Tickets to the concert are $12 and $14 for the public and $9 and $12 for senior citizens and students. Prices include all Performing Arts Center fees, and event parking is sponsored by the PAC. Tickets are sold at the Performing Arts Ticket Office between noon and 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. To order by phone, call SLO-4TIX (756-4849).
The Cal Poly’s Wind Bands Spring Concert is sponsored by Cal Poly's College of Liberal Arts, Music Department, and Instructionally Related Activities program. For more information, call the Music Department at 805-756-2406.