Last Thursday, May 1, the UND University Band, in tandem with the Varsity Bards, performed their final concert of the semester in the Memorial Union ballroom from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The concert was the second performed by the band this spring and was titled “Pop Culture in the 21st Century.” As expected, the performance was comprised of a number of some of the most influential and iconic music of the last 25 years.
The concert was conducted by Dr. James Popejoy, Emily Chasowy, and Casey Behm, with Popejoy serving as lead conductor and emcee.
After a brief introduction called “Overture to A New Millenium,” the performance began in earnest, with the music split into three different sections: Music from Film & TV, Music from Video Games, and Popular Music.
The Film & TV section featured some of the most memorable music to be featured on the silver screen, including a medley of tunes from “Wicked,” the hit 2004 musical-turned Hollywood blockbuster, the main theme of the beloved Star Wars series “The Mandalorian,” and a collection of themes from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Film & TV portion concluded with the first appearance of the UND Varsity Bards, who performed “I’m Just Ken” from the hit movie “Barbie.”
The next section, Music for Video Games, was a collection of both video game and anime music, and the band began the section with a collection of tunes from both. Included were pieces from “Assassin’s Creed III,” “Full Metal Alchemist,” “Skyrim,” and “Naruto.”
Two video games were given more attention. Following the medley of “Epic Gaming Themes,” the University Band launched into the main theme of the legendary “Halo” franchise, though this turned out to be a collection of various themes from across the games, before finishing with three jazzy numbers from the 1930s-inspired videogame “Cuphead.” After, the Varsity Bards made their second appearance with “Sogno di Volare” from “Civilization VI.”
The night concluded with three popular songs from the last 25 years, including Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect,” Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk,” and, most memorably, The Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way,” which was performed by the Varsity Bards using a hilarious assortment of toy instruments.
Before the end of the night, Conductor Popejoy thanked the band for their hard work and willingness to dedicate their time to the band.
“As this ensemble primarily consists of non-music majors, these students must make extra efforts to fit this [band] into their schedule,” Popejoy said.
The consensus of the audience after the show was that the band did a wonderful job, and everybody seemed to walk away with a different favorite.
“My favorite piece tonight was probably the Avengers themes,” one junior in attendance said. “I grew up watching those movies, it was really nostalgic and I thought the band did a great job playing them.”
“It reminded me of when I was back in the theater, and how I felt when I was watching the movie for the first time,” another student attendee agreed.
“[Mine was] the Skyrim theme,” said another. “It’s one of the most iconic themes in gaming, and it was an incredibly faithful recreation.”
Quinn Berg is a Dakota Student General Reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].
