Before Spring Break: UCO Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony Concert

The University of Central Oklahoma’s Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony hosted a concert on March 12 in Mitchell Hall Theatre to showcase performances by student musicians and two guest performers: Dr. Danielle Herrington and the h2 Quartet.

The Wind Symphony was joined by the h2 Quartet for the 20-minute-long minimalist work “Second Nature” by Viet Cuong. The award-winning ensemble has performed across the United States, Europe, and Asia, according to their website.

The quartet’s members are Geoffrey Deibel on soprano saxophone, Jeffrey Loeffert on alto saxophone, Jonathan Nichol on tenor saxophone, and Kimberly Loeffert on baritone saxophone. 

The group has seven critically acclaimed recordings and has been featured on NPR and PBS programs, including the nationally syndicated “Backstage Pass” music performance program, according to their website.

In addition to performing with the Wind Symphony, the quartet collaborated with the ensemble on a recording of this piece, said Dr. Brian Lamb, director of bands and professor of conducting at UCO. 

The h2 Quartet also has Oklahoma roots, Deibel said. Jeffrey and Kimberly Loeffert worked at Oklahoma State University for about a decade, while Nichol is currently a director and professor of music at the University of Oklahoma, and the ensemble’s annual workshop — The Great Plains Saxophone Workshop — is at OU every summer, according to Kimberly Loeffert.

Promise Fried, student performer and first chair flute in the Symphonic Band, said the Wind Symphony is UCO’s top wind ensemble, but the Symphonic Band isn’t lower, and both are insanely competitive.

“I would say that our strongest ensemble players are in Wind Symphony, but we still have an amazing Symphonic Band with incredible depth,” Fried said. 

She said the Symphonic Band is a great place to come together and just make music, giving the opportunity for even non-music majors to participate in a music scene.

“Symphonic Band is building you towards playing in a high-level ensemble because that’s what Wind Symphony is,” Fried said. “It performs like a professional ensemble.”

Fried also stressed the importance of supporting aspiring artists and the arts in general, saying music and art are fundamentally human, and if we don’t support these aspiring artists, then we don’t have art.

“It’s so important to support the arts,” Fried said. “Because what would you do without music in a movie? What is a horror movie without the creepy music?”

The Symphonic Band opened the concert with “Prelude, Siciliano, and Rondo” by Malcolm Arnold, led by graduate assistant conductor Ryan Holcomb. The ensemble then performed “Where Joy Leaves a Shadow” by local guest composer Hamed Erfani, who was in attendance, conducted by Lamb.

That was followed by “Blessed Are They” from A German Requiem by Johannes Brahms, conducted by Dr. Marty Marks. The set concluded with “Halcyon Hearts” by Katahj Copley, conducted by graduate conducting assistant Chase Dealy. 

There was an intermission between the two bands’ performances. 

After intermission, the Wind Symphony, under the direction of Lamb, opened its set with “Mock Morris” and “Ye Banks and Braes O’ Bonnie Doon,” two masterworks by Percy Aldridge Grainger. The ensemble then performed “Auspicious” by Hamed Erfani, conducted by Holcomb. 

The next piece played was “Four Maryland Songs” by Jack Stamp, featuring guest singer and faculty member Herrington. The group followed with “Geschwindmarsch by Beethoven,” a paraphrase from Sinfonia Serena by Paul Hindemith.

The set concluded with “Second Nature,” featuring the h2 Quartet. 

Lamb will conduct his final concert with the Wind Symphony on May 2 before his retirement, having been with the school for 25 years. The concert will feature the world premiere of a work by composer Carter Pann.