By Audrey Forbes
College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office
CONWAY — The UCA Band Program will perform its 12th annual Band Extravaganza! on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. at Reynolds Performance Hall.
The event is free and open to the public. The performance will feature the Bear Marching Band, Jazz Band and the UCA Wind Ensemble.
Associate Director of Bands Brantley Douglas will lead the Bear Marching Band, drum line, color guard and twirlers in music from UCA football halftime shows and traditional school songs in the highlight of the evening.
“You’ve seen the Bear Marching Band on the field and in the stands at the football games,” said Dr. Ricky Brooks, director of bands. “Now you get to experience the Bear Marching Band up close and unplugged.”
The UCA Wind Ensemble, conducted by Brooks, will begin the evening with “Occident and Orient Grand March” by Camille Saint-Saens and “Overture in Five Flat” by Julie Giroux, which features a fast tempo defined as “you have five minutes” by composer Giroux.
“This overture is pure fun for the performer and listener,” Brooks said.
Larry Jones, assistant professor of music, will direct UCA’s top jazz band.
The event serves as a fundraiser for the UCA Band Program. A $10 donation at the door is appreciated.
Band Extravaganza! is included in the UCA Honors Wind Ensemble Clinic for high school students. The ensemble features 51 of Arkansas’s top band students representing 18 schools across the state. These students will take part in the on-campus clinic Dec. 1 and 2.
For more information, contact Brooks at 501-450-5764 or rickyb@uca.edu.
The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Music, and Film, Theatre and Creative Writing as well as the School of Communication. The college’s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call 501-450-3293.
