Since the start of the semester, the students, faculty, and ensembles of the University of North Dakota Music Department have been hard at work preparing their Fall semester repertoire. As we speed into October and the upcoming holiday season, the UND Music concert season will be in full swing. A few ensembles have already had their first performances, but there are many more to come.
UND’s Wind Ensemble and University Band will have their first performance of the season at the Chester Fritz Performing Arts Center on Oct. 14. This concert will be conducted by Dr. James Popejoy and will showcase the work done so far by the band students.
Later that week, UND’s Concert Choir will also have their first performance of the year on Oct. 19. This will take place in the Josephine Campbell Recital Hall in the Hughes Fine Arts building. The choir will be under the direction of the department’s new Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Casey Behm, and will showcase a variety of choral pieces that the ensemble has been diligently preparing.
Each semester, the department hosts a few student showcase events as a way to allow individual music students to show off their talent and hard work they have been doing on their own time. The first showcase is on Oct. 20 and the next is on Nov. 3. There is also an Honor Showcase that will take place on Nov. 24. Each of these showcases will take place in the Josephine Campbell Recital Hall and will all look different, highlighting a variety of music and instruments.
The Varsity Bards and Allegro choirs will also have a joint performance on Oct. 26 in the Memorial Union. This concert will be under the direction of Dr. Casey Behm and Ms. Melanie Popejoy and will feature the work of both the UND’s men’s choir and treble voices choir.
Kicking off the concerts for November, UND’s Percussion Ensemble will perform in the Josephine Campbell Recital Hall on Nov. 7. This ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Jason Kihle, and they spend the semester preparing unique music for this performance along with occasional other performances.
Under the direction of Dr. Alejandro Drago, the UND Chamber Orchestra will perform in the Josephine Campbell recital hall on Dec. 3.
Perhaps one of the most highly anticipated events of the fall semester for the UND Music department and Grand Forks community is the annual Winter WUNDerland holiday concert that takes place right before finals week and winter break. This year’s Winter WUNDerland will take place on Dec. 6 in the Chester Fritz Performing Arts Center and will feature holiday and seasonal music prepared by the various choral ensembles of the UND music department. Along with this, performances featuring instrumentalists and small vocal groups will be featured throughout the concert. The event highlights not only ensemble talent, but individual talent as well.
The evening before the main Winter WUNDerland performance there is also a VIP WUnderland event that features a wide range of music prepared by UND’s Concert Choir. A few of the smaller ensembles will perform throughout the evening as dinner is served as well. This event is intended to raise money for the music department every year.
These are just a few of the upcoming performances that the talented performers and musicians of the UND Music department have to offer this fall semester. Supporting local musicians and music students is important and can be a great way to spend your time.
Nora Lee is a Dakota Student Section Editor. She can be reached at [email protected].
