The Titmus Theatre resonated with the sounds of N.C. State’s Wind Ensemble as it played several holiday classics and other musical selections Tuesday night.
According to director of the ensemble, Paul Garcia, the annual Wind Ensemble’s Holiday Concert was an opportunity for the group of 54 student musicians to display some of the pieces they have worked on over the course of the semester.
In its entirety, the Wind Ensemble is comprised of many different sections featuring percussion, flutes, horns, bassoons, clarinets and trombones, among others.
Randall Rehfuss, the concert coordinator, has been working for three years to plan events such as the Wind Ensemble’s Holiday Concert.
“When I graduated [from N.C. State] in 2011, this position opened up and I applied,” Rehfuss said. “I was a very active choral student in the music department when I was an undergraduate.”
Rehfuss said he has enjoyed coming back to N.C. State as a staff member and being able to watch students become involved with the music program.
“Many of the people who are in Wind Ensemble are in other ensembles throughout the music department, as well as through other activities on campus,” Rehfuss said.
Students in the Wind Ensemble said they were excited to show off their hard work and the progress they have made during the course of the semester.
Ben Markoch, a sophomore in graphic design, has been playing the clarinet in the Wind Ensemble for two years.
“Music is such a big part of my life,” Markoch said. “My dad is the band director at a local high school, but that really didn’t influence my decision to get into music at all.”
The concert featured several performances by individual sections and then finished with the entire ensemble onstage for several notable pieces.
Markoch’s favorite number of the night was the arrangement of the piece “Greensleeves,” by Alfred Reed, in which he also had a clarinet solo.
“I’ve found that through playing music and through playing the clarinet, it is another way to express myself in an artistic way that is different from what I do in other areas of my life,” Markoch said.
The Wind Ensemble performed many holiday songs, following the arrangements of iconic artists such as Mannheim Steamroller. In the style of Mannheim Steamroller, Garcia led the ensemble through the arrangements of “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “Deck the Halls” and “Stille Nacht.”
Josh Rhodes, a junior in genetics, has been playing trumpet in the ensemble for a year and said the holiday music is really enjoyable to play.
Rhodes joined the ensemble this year but has been playing with N.C. State’s marching band for three years.
“It’s a lot different than marching band,” Rhodes said. “The type of music we play, it’s more classical music…You have to put a lot more effort into it outside of class.”
The Wind Ensemble not only featured definitive Christmas pieces, but also integrated songs honoring other holidays and the spirit of the winter season.
As a group, they celebrated the spirit of Hanukkah through the arrangement of “A Hanukkah Celebration,” which features five traditional Hanukkah pieces.
Garcia concluded the night with what he said is his personal favorite: an upbeat arrangement of “Sleigh Ride,” which highlighted the percussion section.