Overview
The Butler University Wind Ensemble concludes the 2025–2026 academic year with a program commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America. Titled American Symbols, the program explores repertoire that reflects significant dimensions of the American experience, including themes of protest, peace, exploration, faith, and national identity. Graduate students in Wind Conducting, Ryan Mack and Collin Cerny, make their Schrott Center debuts conducting Jennifer Jolley’s March and Omar Thomas’s Shenandoah, respectively. The program continues with music by Percy Grainger, whose Bell Piece draws upon the work of English lutenist and Renaissance composer John Dowland in a setting for tenor voice and wind ensemble. In keeping with the ensemble’s commitment to featuring faculty and professional artists, this performance highlights one of Butler’s emerging musicians, graduating senior voice performance major Ian Knight. The program also celebrates the contributions of John Williams to the wind band repertoire, featuring Adventure to Earth from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and a newly prepared transcription of Flight to Neverland from Hook. Williams’s music represents a significant intersection between film music and contemporary wind literature. The concert concludes with one of the foundational works of the American wind band tradition, Symphony No. 6 for Band by Vincent Persichetti. This monumental composition exemplifies the artistic stature and international significance of the American wind ensemble and its enduring contributions to the global repertoire.
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