On Dec. 13, Hillsdale Wind Symphony will perform their annual winter concert featuring a variety of energetic pieces and Christmas classics with a twist.
The symphony has grown to 60 members – both community members and college students – since 2002 when Director Robert Livingston, now also teacher of music at the college, started the community symphony.
Livingston chose “Toccata” by Girolamo Frescobaldi, “Four Scottish Dances” by Malcolm Arnold, “Continuum” by Robert Buckley, and “Ghost Train” by Eric Whitacre for this year’s concert. The second part of the concert will feature “traditional Christmas carols with a bit of a twist,” Livingston said.
Percussionist Catherine Ellis said she appreciates that Livingston has picked pieces with more percussion then pieces featured in previous concerts.
“Bob always picks fun pieces, and, as a percussionist, it is nice to have some pieces that are a little percussion heavy to keep us entertained,” Ellis said.
Ellis has been playing in the wind symphony on-and-off for 10 years since Livingston – her high school band director at the time – invited her to join the group her sophomore year. She said she has enjoyed the community of the group.
“I really enjoy the community aspect and that there are people of all ages who come. You don’t have to be perfect at what you play and we are not just there to play music at rehearsals – we laugh and tell jokes and stories, but we are serious about the music,” Ellis said. “We play as well as we can, but we are there to have fun and play music at the same time.”
Ellis said the concerts are just as fun for both the audience and the musicians.
“It is a very comfortable environment, and on top of that, the concerts are always packed every single time, and I’m sure its not just family members that come out for the concert. We play a lot of good music – a lot of classical – and we play a lot of fun pieces, and I’m sure it’s just as fun for the audience as for the musicians,” Ellis said.
Both community members and Hillsdale College students play in the symphony. Livingston started it as community group, but since then, Hillsdale College students have been invited to participate for a credit hour.
“[The symphony] was something that I had wanted to do for a while. At first it didn’t seem like it would go and then all of a sudden people started coming, and since the first concert, it has been going strong ever since,” Livingston said. “Originally, I just thought it would be a community thing because I really did not have a connection with the college at that point. We were rehearsing at the college, and Mr. Holleman suggested we made it open to the college kids so they could take a different class.”
Sophomore Grace Hertz is one of a growing number of college students involved in the wind symphony. Hertz heard about the symphony before she came to Hillsdale. She said she was excited to keep up with flute while she focuses on piano. Hertz said she enjoys the communal aspect of the symphony.
“I think the dynamic between being a community group which also has involvement in the college is unique and really makes it special. It’s not just college students – it’s an effort from the community as a whole, and that is really neat.”
Hertz said she is excited for the concert this year.
“I think it is going to be really neat, and we have a unique lineup of music. There is some Christmas music, but it is not all Christmas music, and a lot of out songs have a higher level of difficulty than we have done before, which makes for great and unique sounds,” Hertz said.
Tim Galloway, who comes from Reading and plays the French horn, has been coming with his sons for the past four years. He said that each year he is excited and surprised by the progress of the symphony.
“Every time I am amazed that we only meet once a week and there are 8-12 rehearsals. I am amazed how two weeks before the concert I am thinking ‘gosh are we going to be ready for this?’ and somehow those last couple weeks everyone buckles down a little. I am always amazed how it turns out.”
The concert will be at Markel Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
