The Arizona Wind Symphony
Vicki Deken
Arizona Wind Symphony celebrates the legends, lore and landscapes of the Wild, Wild West at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7 at the Tempe Center for the Arts. The audience will enjoy a range of music inspired by the people, places and history of the American West.
What: Wild, Wild West
When: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 7
Where: Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 West Rio Salado Parkway
Tickets: $9 plus service fees; K-12 students $6; children under six years free. Tickets are available at the TCA Box Office or through http://tca.ticketforce.com/.
Musical Selections for Wild, Wild West
British composer Philip Sparke wrote Sunrise at Angel’s Gate after traveling to the Grand Canyon following a celebration at Northern Arizona University. The work attempts to cover the vastness of the Canyon while also realizing the delicate nuances of sight and sound in the morning as the sun reveals the Canyon and its depth.
Hollywood was also inspired by the American West. How could a concert of this nature not include a medley from the MGM movie How the West Was Won? The medley is subtitled A Western Fantasy. John Williams wrote The Cowboys as one of the musical elements in the 1972 motion picture The Cowboy and the Girl, starring the ultimate Western movie hero, John Wayne.
In the 1920s, University of New Mexico President J.F. Zimmerman asked John Philip Sousa to write a piece to salute the then Governor R.C. Dillon and the people of New Mexico. The result is the New Mexico March.
A former US Air Force band staff arranger wrote Frontier to emulate the vast western lands and Carl Strommen’s Prairiesong conveys the beauty of America’s heartland and mixes that with some hand clapping and a hoedown.
About the Arizona Wind Symphony:
Now in its 15th season, the Arizona Wind Symphony is under the musical direction of William J. Richardson. It has grown to be a 90-piece concert band comprised of adults whose careers cover a broad range including teaching, health care, music professionals, computer science and many more. The common thread among the band members is to present music of the highest caliber. The group is a Tempe-based non-profit organization, funded in part by the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the City of Tempe. You can find more information at arizonawindsymphony.com. Follow the Arizona Wind Symphony on Facebook by searching for Arizona Wind Symphony.