The Heisey Wind Ensemble opens its 18th season at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, (Oct. 20) at Swasey Chapel under the direction of Dr. Russel Mikkelson, professor of music at Ohio State University and visiting music director of the Heisey Wind Ensemble while Richard Blatti is on leave. The program, titled "American Salute," includes composers Harry Fillmore, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, James Curnow, Eric Whitacre, and James Barnes. Pete Mills, guest saxophonist, will also perform selections with the ensemble. Mills directs the Denison Jazz Ensemble and teaches saxophone and woodwind methods.

Tickets are available at the door; cost is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and students under 12 are free. Denison University faculty, staff and students are admitted free with their Denison University ID. Area band directors have free student passes available for their students.

Of special interest in the program is a selection titled "Lonely Beach (Normandy, 1944)". Composer James Barnes was inspired by film footage that recorded the assault on Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. In the film, four soldiers are seen attempting to reach the relative safety of the sea wall. Three of the soldiers reach the wall, while the fourth is hit and falls, unmoving. Although surrounded by thousands, he dies alone. The first part of the tone poem begins with the sound of wind and waves. As the assault begins, the music builds to a frenzy, portraying panic and the death of the soldier. The second half is a eulogy for all the soldiers who died on that beach. Composed in 1992, the work was commissioned by the United States Army Band in Washington, D.C. Its premiere performance was on November 11, 1992, Veteran's Day.

A second piece of special interest is "Where Never Lark or Eagle Flew" by James Curnow. This piece was inspired by the poem "High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. which used to be recited at the end of the broadcast day on all of the television networks prior to signing off.

The 2002-2003 Heisey Wind Ensemble Concert Season includes concerts on December 13, March 1 and April 12. Featured guests and soloists this season include Dale Knobel, president of Denison University, Susan Mills, percussion professor at Ohio State University and Eddie Daniels, world famous clarinet virtuoso. Daniels is a Vail visiting artist in residence at Denison.

The Heisey Wind Ensemble was formed in February of 1985 by J M Day and Don Workman to provide an outlet for skilled musicians interested in playing traditional concert band literature. The group is sponsored in part by the Denison University Music Department. The Heisey Wind Ensemble and Denison have been working together since September 1986 to provide Denison students with a quality concert band with which to perform and to provide the Central Ohio area with a concert band to enjoy. In 2001 the Heisey Wind Ensemble was selected as one of three adult groups from the state of Ohio to perform at the Ohio Music Education Association's annual conference. The ensemble's performance drew acclaim as one of the highlights of the conference.

Russel Mikkelson is director of University Bands and associate professor of conducting at Ohio State University. He conducts the OSU Wind Symphony and Chamber Winds, oversees the graduate wind conducting program, and guides all aspects of the University?s band program. Mikkelson serves as president of the Big Ten Band Directors Association and is active nationally and internationally as a guest conductor and clinician.

For more information about the Heisey Wind Ensemble, please contact Doug Moran at 740-344-8333 or (morand@denison.edu).

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575