Winter Concert on Dec. 5 to feature AU Symphonic Band, Ashland Community Band

ASHLAND, Ohio – Ashland University’s annual Winter Band Concert will be held this Friday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m., at Hugo Young Theatre in the Center for the Arts. The free concert features the AU Symphonic Band and the Ashland Area Community Band.

Each ensemble is conducted by Slade Denman, director of bands at AU.

“Our Winter Band Concert celebrates the incredible musical community we have here at Ashland,” said Denman. “These students and community members have invested tremendous focus and heart into this program, and I am excited to share their artistry with the broader Ashland community. It is a privilege to make music alongside them.”

The AU Symphonic Band, consisting of about 50 students from Ohio and across the U.S., features a high level of artistry and musicianship and performs an array of literature. On the docket for Friday night is “An American Elegy,” a famous piece in the wind-band repertoire that is an expression of hope, as well as the percussion-driven “Mesa Dances,” the four-movement “Elements: Petite Symphony” and the horn-based “The Klaxon” march.

The Ashland Area Community Concert Band, founded in 1993, is an ensemble that includes both university students and members of the community and performs a wide variety of literature from Broadway selections and classic marches to masterworks transcribed for concert band. Friday’s seven-song setlist includes “First Suite in E-flat,” the well-known masterwork for military bands by Gustav Holst, and familiar festive pieces “Greensleeves” and “Sleigh Ride.”

For more information, please contact Slade Denman at sdenman@ashland.edu.