UTSA’s Music Dept. brings the spirit of winter to campus.
UTSA’s Music Department is currently hosting the fifth annual Winterlude concert series, which celebrates the upcoming holiday season and the diverse musical talents of many UTSA students.
The 2017 Winterlude concert series consists of three musical performances. On Sunday, Nov. 19, the combined UTSA Choirs and Orchestra performed George Handel’s “The Messiah.”
The second Winterlude event occurred on Monday, Nov. 20 and consisted of many holiday selections performed by various UTSA instrumental ensembles, which were followed by the combined UTSA Choirs and Orchestra in the Hallelujah Chorus of Handel’s “The Messiah.”
The final Winterlude concert event occurs on Monday, Dec. 4 in the Art Building’s Recital Hall on UTSA’s Main Campus at 7:30 p.m. The final concert focuses on instrumental performances by the UTSA Concert Bands: Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band and the University Band.
The bands will be conducted by directors of bands and band area coordinators Dr. John Zarco and professor Ron Ellis, along with Christina Moersen, a UTSA graduate student whose focus is in conducting.
Ellis said, “One of the great things about this concert is that we get to combine all the students from the concert ensembles onto the stage and share great sounds and feelings of the holidays together, at the same time helping out the UTSA Music Department with the benefit concert aspect.”
Admission into the Winterlude 2017 concert event is $10, or in groups of five people or more at $8 per person. All of the proceeds of the event will go to help fund the Music Department.
The concert will have a secular and sacred holiday music selection, which consists of ten songs such as “Dashing Through the Snow,” “Feliz Navidad” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
“The students have worked incredibly hard to create and bring to life a terrific evening of music for the entire family. Complete with a retelling of ‘The Night Before Christmas’ done by select students in each ensemble,” said Ellis.
The three bands performing at the final concert of the Winterlude event are comprised of talented students from many different educational backgrounds.
Zarco said, “If you’re a student at UTSA, you can be in any group; you can be in the top group if you want, but you have to audition into it. The bands are not just for music majors. You can be in any major and play within any of the groups; they represent a wide variety of majors. Winterlude really is a university event.”
The Music Department is spreading the holiday spirit this semester with the Winterlude 2017 event, and everyone is encouraged to attend. Music can create a sense of community and happiness between everyone here at UTSA.
“Music is important because everyone listens to it. It is a way to connect with different people. Music is an important part of peoples’ lives; I go crazy if I don’t have my radio on. The type of music we play here at UTSA you can’t find everywhere. We are very happy to be providing live music in this format every year. It provides a great deal of joy,” said Zarco.
For more information about UTSA’s Music Department and future band events, visit music.utsa.edu or utsabands.org.
