Marches, Dances and Memorials: Musicians Present Tribute to Columbine

NEW PALTZ — The Symphonic Band, with fifty student and alumni musicians plus several performers from Kingston and Wallkill High Schools, performs five works including an elegy composed in memory of the Columbine High School shootings – in SUNY New Paltz’s Julien J. Studley Theatre on Tuesday, November 19, at 8 p.m.

The program, directed by Dr. William McCann, also offers a lyrical, energetic “Alvamar Overture” by James Barnes; the baroque-flavored “Mayflower Overture” by Ron Nelson, and two compositions by Guy Woolfenden: “Illyrian Dances,” inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night;” and “S.P.Q.R.,” which takes its cue from the ancient Roman occupation of Great Britain.

“An American Elegy” by Frank Ticheli, premiered in 2000, performed by the Columbine High School Band in conjunction with the University of Colorado Wind Symphony. The piece contains otherworldly, ethereal passages, moments suggesting triumph and hope, and sections designed to elicit prayerful reflection.

Ticheli, an associate professor of music at the University of Southern California, has called the work “an expression of hope.” In it, he sets to music words from the school song: “We are Columbine! We all are Columbine!”

“‘An American Elegy’ is offered as a tribute to great strength and courage in the face of a terrible tragedy,” Ticheli has said. “I hope the work can also serve as one reminder of how fragile and precious life is and how intimately connected we all are as human beings.”

Tickets are available at the door beginning one hour before the performance. They are free for students and $2 general admission. For more information, call 257-3872.

– 30 –