Instrumental ensembles to perform traditional fall-term concerts
After entertaining the campus community throughout the fall term with a series of “pop-up” concerts, the Hanover College Instrumental Ensembles will perform two traditional concerts in the coming weeks.
The ensembles, guided by conductor David Mruzek, professor of music, will present the “Fall Festival of Instrumental Music,” at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 18. The annual holiday instrumental program, “Christmas with Hanover,” will be held at 5 p.m., Friday, Dec. 3.
Both concerts will be performed in Fitzgibbon Recital Hall, Lynn Center for Fine Arts. Admission is open to the public, free of charge. Please note, face-coverings are required inside all campus buildings. Live streaming of the concerts will be available for those who cannot make it to campus.
The “Fall Festival of Music” will feature performances by the Hanover College Saxophone Ensemble, Hanover College Concert Band and Hanover College-Community Orchestra.
During the “Fall Festival of Music,” the six-member saxophone ensemble will present four pieces, including Wolfgang Mozart’s “Queen of the Night Aria” and Felix Mendelssohn’s “War March of the Priests.”
The orchestra, which features 20 musicians, will perform six selections, featuring Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Finale” from Symphony No. 12 and J. Cameron Law’s arrangement of the traditional “French Carol.”
The concert band will cap the event with a rousing performance, highlighted by a “Salute to America’s Finest,” a medley of official Armed Forces service songs, as well as “Back Home Again in Indiana” and “Hanover-We’re For You.”
“Christmas with Hanover” will feature 17 wide-ranging selections from three instrumental groups. The Hanover College Saxophone Ensemble and Hanover College Concert Band will be joined by the Hanover College String Ensemble for the holiday event.
The saxophone ensemble will present five pieces, all arranged by Frank Erickson. Among the selections are George Frideric Handel’s “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night” and the Scottish air “Auld Lang Syne.”
The 15-member string ensemble will perform five works, each arranged by Robert S. Frost, featuring the spiritual “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and the traditional carol “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
The event will conclude with seven songs from the concert band, highlighted by the traditional English folk song “Greensleeves,” Henry Smart’s “Angels from the Realms of Glory” and a traditional Christmas medley.
About David Mruzek, Conductor
David Mruzek, a music educator for nearly 40 years, serves as director of Hanover’s instrumental ensembles. He has been a member of the College’s faculty since 2006 and prior to his arrival at Hanover, taught at Colby Community College, Dodge City Community College and Columbus State Community College. For 11 years, he was a member of the 122nd Army Band of the Ohio Army National Guard and, in 1994, was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for distinguished service.
Along with his musicianship, Mruzek is a composer of original works for concert band and has more than 30 works to his credit. His compositions have been performed by numerous ensembles, including the U.S. Military Academy Band, Indiana Wind Symphony, Ohio State University Concert Band and Philharmonic Winds Osakan (Japan).
Mruzek is a member of the Indiana Bandmasters Association, Kentucky Music Educators Association, National Band Association and Phi Beta Mu (International School Bandmaster Fraternity).
