Wind Symphony Presidents' Concert Feb. 22

Guest composers David Maslanka and Roy David Magnuson, a 2005 School of Music graduate of Illinois State University, will be in attendance for performances of their compositions at the Sunday, Feb. 22, Wind Symphony Presidents' Concert at 3 p.m. in the Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall at Illinois State.

Stephen Steele is conductor of the Wind Symphony and director of the University band program.

Tickets are $6 for the general public, $5 for faculty and staff and $4 for students and senior citizens.  They can be purchased at the Center for the Performing Arts box office from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays or by phone at (309) 438-2535.

The Wind Symphony will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln with a performance of Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait," commissioned shortly after the beginning of World War II by conductor Andre Kostelanetz to help motivate and comfort Americans as the country entered the war.  For narration, Copland used sections from different speeches by Lincoln - Gettysburg Address, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and a message to Congress.  The orchestral music included passages from such familiar melodies as "Springfield Mountain" and "Camptown Races."

The Wind Symphony will present the premiere of Magnuson "Seeking, Seeking."  Magnuson has composed music for concert band, orchestra, chamber ensembles, vocalists, video games and films. His works for concert band have been performed throughout the United States by high school, university and professional ensembles including the University of Arkansas Fort Smith, the University of Miami, Illinois State University and the Air Force Band of Mid-America.

While still an ISU undergraduate, Magnuson received both the Dr. Charles Bolen Scholarship for Theory/Composition and the Mary Jo Brown Scholarship for excellence in the field of music.  That same year he was chosen to participate in the National Band Association Young Composer Mentor Project with Mark Camphouse for his piece "Harvest Moon: A Celebration for Symphonic Band." The piece was performed in June, 2004 by the Air Force Band of Mid-America.

Maslanka's Symphony No. 3 was written in 1991, commissions by the University of Connecticut Wind Ensemble.  Illinois State's band ensembles have performed many of Maslanka's compositions and he has been present for quite a few, demonstrating his close relationship with the School of Music.

Born in Massachusetts and now a resident of Missoula, Montana, Maslanka has become particularly well-known for his works for winds and percussion.  Before becoming a fulltime composer, he taught on the faculties of the State University of New York at Geneseo, Sarah Lawrence College, New York University and Kingsborough College of the City University of New York.