UND to host Honor Band, Choir & Strings Festival Jan. 20-22
The University of North Dakota Department of Music will host their 38th Annual Honor Band, Choir & Strings Festival Jan. 20-22.
This festival will feature more than 325 high school students from North Dakota and Minnesota who were selected from more than 750 students who auditioned in the fall. While these students are on campus, they will participate in rehearsals and master classes, as well as present a concert.
As part of the festival, two concerts will be presented that are open and free to the public. The first will be held Friday, Jan. 20, in the Chester Fritz Auditorium. This will be a Showcase Concert of many of the ensembles from UND’s Department of Music. The One O’clock Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Robert Brooks, and the Steel Pan Band, directed by Brian Pfeifer, will perform in the lobby at 3:35 p.m., prior to the 4 p.m. concert. Featured in the concert from UND will be the Concert Choir, Varsity Bards Choir and Enöxa Chamber Choir, conducted by Dean Jilek; the Allegro Choir and Vivo Chamber Choir, conducted by Melanie Popejoy; the Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Alejandro Drago; and the Wind Ensemble, conducted by James Popejoy. Additionally, the Showcase Concert will feature selected chamber ensembles, including a Flute Quartet, Trombone Octet, String Quartet and a Piano Ensemble.
On Sunday, Jan. 22, the UND Honor Band, Treble Honor Choir, Mixed Honor Choir and Honor Strings Ensemble will present their concert at 1:30 p.m. in the Chester Fritz Auditorium. The ensembles will be conducted by UND music professors Simona Barbu, Dean Jilek, James Popejoy and Melanie Popejoy. In addition to each ensemble performing a wide variety of outstanding literature, the band, choirs and strings will combine to present a grand finale performance of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Tickets for the Sunday event are $7.00 for adults, $3.00 for students/senior citizens, or $14.00 per family (2 adults, 2 children), and are available at the door.
For additional information about these performances, please contact the UND Music Department at 701.777.2644.
