Contributed by Zaz Hollander
Horns A Plenty
5/6/2017 - 7:30PM
Mat-Su Concert Band
Glenn Massay Theater
8295 E College Dr. Palmer
Cost: FREE Children under 5, $5 Students, $10 General
Mat-Su Concert Band brings a once-in-a-lifetime musical opportunity to the stage of the Glenn Massay Theater at Mat-Su College with its Horns-A-Plenty concert at 7:30pm on Saturday, May 6th.
The program features Hubler’s “Concerto for 4 Horns” performed by 16 French horns. This central piece of the concert showcases the band’s remarkable horn section. Composer Heinrich Hubler wrote this concerto (the one piece he is known for) in 1856 after participating in a performance of Robert Schumann’s composition for four horns and becoming inspired.
The concert has an intermission. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $5 for students and children under five get in for free. Tickets can be purchased online at www.matsuconcertband.org.
The band’s capable brass sections are showcased in several other pieces. “Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral” by Richard Wagner is a solemn, lilting selection from the German romantic opera “Lohengrin” which premiered in 1850. As arranged for the band, the piece creates a luxurious sound.
Horns are also prominent in “An American Elegy” for concert band, composed by Frank Ticheli to commemorate those who lost their lives at Columbine High School in 1999 and to honor the survivors.
In addition, the band will perform several John Philip Sousa marches and a medley from Beauty and the Beast.
The band got its start in 1984 as the Mat-Su Community Band, formed by Matanuska Music owner, Hank Hartman. Other directors have included Neil Long and Phil Munger. Current director, Gleo Huyck, is a retired music educator and private instructor. Under Huyck’s baton, the band performs a wide-ranging selection of challenging music. The band this season numbers at about seventy amateur musicians who assemble every Monday night for rehearsals at Teeland Middle School.
