During the football off-season, many UO band members retire the duck’s catchy fight songs to perform for the Oregon Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble. On Feb. 6 at Beall Concert Hall, the Oregon Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble had their last concert of the term, “Enigma III.” The Oregon ensemble performed various songs such as “Libertango” and “Marche Slave,” while the Wind Symphony played a collection of songs varying from “President Garfield’s Inauguration March” to “Iridessi” and “Scenes from Billy the Kid.”
The evening featured great performances from every musician on the stage, amazing composers and impressive compositions from director Dr. Jason Silveira. Fans stayed engaged throughout the performance as they tried to guess Silveira’s thought process behind the ensemble of songs and their connection to each other.
“I think that the diversity of the pieces really shows that they aren’t just playing classical pieces; there are a lot of genres thrown in there,” Ashton Jones, a student at UO, said. “It’s always fun to have that in the environment.”
The Symphony and Wind Ensemble consists of well over 50 performers, so creating a cohesive performance can be extremely difficult, but they were able to execute a magical and enjoyable experience for friends, family and other guests in attendance. The band made their hard work seem easy as they performed in perfect correlation and serenaded the crowd with outstanding music.
For many Oregon Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble members, music is a life-long passion. Many students in the symphony started playing in their youth and continued to perform at a collegiate level. It is apparent that not only do they love playing music, they have dedicated years of practice to it.
“The passion for music is you get to perform for people, and you get to make the audience happy,” Tyler Cleveland, french horn performer, said. “But it’s also a time to just relax, not worry about academics and just focus on music, which is a big uniter.”
Compatibility holds a big part in the production. Being able to trust every person on the stage allows the performers to feel a sense of ease when playing their instrument. Cleveland said that coming into the spring term, the group is looking forward to improving their musical skills and staying consistent with the good energy they have curated through their passion for playing music.
While this was the symphony’s last winter performance, Cleveland said they have had tremendous success since the fall and that they anticipate being even better in the spring term. Coming into the last term of the year, it is apparent that we can expect more great performances from the Symphony. This upcoming spring term, make sure to stop by Beall Hall for a unique and talented performance by the Oregon Wind Symphony.
