New England premiere highlights annual Combined Band Concert
The New England premiere of John Mackey’s “Antique Violences” will highlight the annual Combined Band Concert of the University of Maine Symphonic Band and UMaine Concert Band at 7:30 p.m. April 26 at the Collins Center for the Arts.
The premiere will feature alto saxophonist Nathan Sprangers, a music education major from East Machias, Maine who is the 2018 soloist competition winner, and professor Jack Burt performing on multiple trumpets, all provided for the concert by Schagerl Meisterinstrumente.
The University of Maine Symphonic Band, directed by Christopher White, is the third group to perform “Antique Violences,” following the Michigan State University Wind Ensemble and Dallas Winds. Sprangers is the fourth instrumentalist to publicly perform the concerto, following former Canadian Brass trumpeters Justin Emerich and Jens Lindemann. New York Philharmonic principal trumpeter Chris Martin premiered the concerto in 2017.
Graduate student Erik Paulsen will be an associate conductor of the Symphonic Band for the concert. The UMaine Concert Band is directed by Philip Edelman.
Tickets for the Combined Band Concert are $12, free with a student MaineCard. Call 581.1755 for tickets or disability accommodations. Tickets also are available online.