“Lean in.”
Last week, Jared Wright interrupted the Southwest Civic Winds as the band rehearsed Percy Grainger’s “Lincolnshire Posy.”
“Lean into every crescendo, every decrescendo,” he said. In short – make the most of the emotion in the music.
If you go
WHAT: Concert by Southwest Civic Winds, conducted by Jared Wright.
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, 1000 Rim Drive.
TICKETS: $20. Available at www.durangoconcerts.com and 247-7567.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.southwestcivicwinds.org.
Grainger’s suite for symphonic band will be familiar to concertgoers as it contains memorable English folk tunes. A passionate champion of folk music, he was also an early supporter of music for concert bands as opposed to marching or militaristic bands. “Lincolnshire Posy” has the kind of emotional resonance that’s perfect for the final concert in the Winds’ 13th season.
“This year, ‘Eternal Hope’ has been our theme,” Wright said. “Our fall program features music that reflects the universal human experiences of hope, perseverance, love, conflict and remembrance.”
In addition to Granger’s suite, the Winds will perform an arrangement of the Shaker tune “Simple Gifts,” a transcription of John Williams’ film score for “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and “A Hymn for the Lost and Living,” by Eric Ewazen. The evening will conclude with “Four Dances” from Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story.”
With 50 musicians, Southwest Civic Winds continues an illustrious American tradition of community concert bands that rekindled in the 20th century. That deep tradition began in medieval times, flourished in 19th century Britain and America, and is a genre unto itself today.
To pay tribute to its deep history, the Winds will open with the “Star Spangled Banner” followed by a rarely heard homage to John Philip Sousa: “The Belle of Chicago.”
The ensemble’s own history dates to 2012, when two local musicians co-founded the Winds. Ruth Katzin, then of Katzin Music, and Mark Walters, former professor of music at Fort Lewis College, decided to participate the revival of community bands that swept Europe and America. They put out a call to local musicians, professional and amateur, to join the new Southwest ensemble. Professional musicians like saxophonist Jeff Solon, percussionist Mark Rosenberg and trumpet player Chris Ross, play with the group as well as musicians who may have been in high school or college bands but have never given up their instruments or dream of playing in a band.
For years, Katzin played flute in the group. Walters served as artistic director and conductor until he suffered a stroke in 2019. He died on March 6, 2023, after an heroic struggle. For the final concert of that season, Artistic Director Jared Wright organized a tribute to Walters by mixing works Walters himself favored, particularly three composers: Grainger, Dmitri Shostakovich and Leroy Anderson.
“When I was a music student at FLC, I studied conducting with Mark,” Wright said. “He had an encyclopedic knowledge of music, and as a conductor, he had giant shoes for anyone to fill. His sense of camaraderie with the musicians was always apparent.”
After Walters’ death, Wright served as assistant director to Rhonda Muckerman, who directed the ensemble until she went on to direct the Durango Choral Society. Wright succeeded her as artistic director and conductor of the Winds. A much in demand trumpet player, he performs regularly with a number of Four Corners jazz ensembles, conducts the Civic Winds Jazz Orchestra, teaches in his own studio and is choir director for Christ the King Lutheran Church.
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
