Faculty Chamber Winds (and Friends!)
By Paul Overly
This fall the woodwind, brass, percussion, and string faculty members are uniting to form a new chamber
ensemble on campus. The Faculty Chamber Winds, dedicated to performing masterworks and new literature
in the chamber music repertoire, is under the direction of Dr. Michael Moore.
“There is a wealth of good music out there just waiting for us,” says Michael. “I’m excited about exploring some of the greats (Mozart, Beethoven, Stravinsky, etc.) as well as uncovering new works for various combinations of instruments and voice.”
Members of the Foundation Brass and the Faculty Woodwind Quintet serve as the core of the Faculty Chamber Winds, with additional faculty, staff and alumni joining as “friends” to fill out instrumentation as needed. Michael notes that “the unique instrumentation of each work requires a very flexible ensemble, and that has proved difficult to make happen with our student groups simply because of the logistics involved.”
Michael views the formation of the Faculty Chamber Winds as contributing to the educational mission of
the University and the Division of Music by exposing our students to a significant yet heretofore largely
unexplored repertoire on campus. He also sees it as another opportunity to “unify our faculty around what
they do best—making excellent music for the glory of God.”
The inaugural program will feature Handel’s Musick for the Royal Fireworks, Persichetti’s Serenade No. 1, and Dvorák’s Serenade for Winds in D Minor. “I think we’ve got a nice variety of works lined up,” says Michael. “Most folks are familiar with the Handel. The Dvorák is one of those ‘greats’ that is just so rich and colorful. And the Persichetti is thrown in to keep things interesting!” There’s something for everyone!
The concert will be held in Stratton Hall on October 12 at 7 p.m. Admission is free.