(ANGOLA) - The Trine University Wind Ensemble will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence during its first concert of the spring semester later this month.
The concert, titled "Happy Birthday, America!", begins at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, in Ryan Concert Hall inside the T. Furth Center for Performing Arts. Admission and parking are free, and audience members are encouraged to wear patriotic attire.
The program will feature music spanning U.S. history, from the Revolutionary War to the present day. Familiar themes from "The Star-Spangled Banner" and American folk music will be woven throughout the performance.
Selections include music from Broadway's Hamilton, Civil War-era works such as Bandanna Sketches by Clarence Cameron White, a 1904 presidential campaign march by Helen May Butler, and American Salute by Morton Gould, written during World War II. The concert will also include I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Amazing Grace, and an anthem from Ernest Bloch's 1926 rhapsodic work America, which will close the program.
The Wind Ensemble will be joined by vocalist Colleen McNabb-Everage, CEO of the Angola Performing Arts Academy, who will perform Anthem from America and a surprise encore. McNabb-Everage is a graduate of Ball State University and Roosevelt University and has been active in the northeast Indiana arts community.
Trine Director of Music Brad Jopek said the goal of the concert is to explore the people, music, and moments that have shaped the nation's history.
The Wind Ensemble is made up of Trine University students, local musicians, and high school performers representing a wide range of academic majors and communities across Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois.