This collaborative, continuous and innovative program aims to use movement and other extra-performative elements to bring the audience into a deeper relationship with the music and performers.
 
It has probably always been true that sight influences what most listeners hear, but such a relationship seems even more powerful (and unavoidable?) today in the era of mass media and technology. The Wind Ensemble and I hope that expanding our definition of musical performance to include elements of theatre, dance, singing, mime and musical movement will enable you as an audience member to connect in a more vivid way with the music being performed, and eliminate some of the barriers between performer and audience.
 
Tonight you will see the Wind Ensemble playing an eclectic array of works, most performed without a conductor and many including elements of motion in the performance. The program aims to take advantage of the performance space and immerse the audience whenever possible. Costumes, lighting effects and incidental music add to the overall experience.
  
Pedagogically, I value this program as a vehicle to expand the instrumental musician’s definition of performance. In the twenty-first century, musicians increasingly need broader skills in connecting with an audience, often through non-traditional means. The modern musician must be able to play beautifully, with effortless technique AND must also be able to connect with audiences that journey toward concert music through avenues beyond the traditional symphonic hall. Ultimately, this program embodies Shenandoah Conservatory’s commitment to collaboration – both within the music division and throughout the conservatory.
 
A creative team of students from the Wind Ensemble and across the conservatory — particularly theatre and dance — have conceived of the program order, sequence, transitions, incidental music, costuming and movement conceptions. They have taken great ownership of the planning and creative processes and in many cases have led portions of rehearsals.
 
I am incredibly grateful to the wonderful students at Shenandoah who have taken such incredible risks in preparing and performing such a program. I am amazed by the wonderful talents of our collaborators in dance, theatre and the music creative team. And I’m so grateful to welcome back to Shenandoah University alumnus Jonathan Wyatt ’19 (Bachelor of Music in Composition) to premiere his exuberant Spellcaster for narrator and wind ensemble.
 
I am equally grateful to the tireless efforts of my Shenandoah colleagues, especially Karlyn Viña, Shaun Evans, Ting-Yu Chen, Kirsten Trump and Kaela Dunlap for their amazing contributions to this exuberant program!

Enjoy!

Dr. Tim Robblee
Conductor and Music Director
Shenandoah Conservatory Wind Ensemble