Music lovers, rejoice, because spring means concert season at Texas Lutheran University. On offer this month we have TLU percussion, student conductors, jazz band, orchestra, mariachi, and band concerts, plus performances by the students of the Community Music Academy!
The fun starts on Wednesday, April 15, with a concert by TLU Percussion at 7 p.m. in Jackson Auditorium. On April 16, enjoy a Student Conductors Concert from 4–5:30 p.m., followed by a performance that same evening by the TLU Jazz Band at 7 p.m. Both of those concerts are in Jackson Auditorium.
On Sunday, April 19, the TLU Orchestra will perform at 4 p.m. in Jackson Auditorium. That concert will feature music inspired by the cinema, and features soloist Senior Dylan Caldwell on viola, a newly written composition by TLU junior Elijah Browning, and side-by-side pieces with the TLU Community Music Academy Chamber Orchestra and Performers Orchestra.
Then on April 20 at 7 p.m., all are invited to an evening of festive music with Noche de Mariachi con Mariachi Oro y Negro in Wupperman Little Theatre, located in the Schuech Fine Arts Center.
Top off the month with the annual PRISM Concert—a collaborative highlight of the spring School of Music season. This “collage-style” concert, which takes place April 24 at 7 p.m. in Jackson Auditorium, features a wide variety of ensembles, including the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Winds, along with the Jazz Band, TLU Choirs, and small chamber groups positioned throughout Jackson Auditorium. Like the spectrum of colors refracted through a prism, the diversity of performances and ensemble sizes showcases the breadth of talent among the School of Music’s students and faculty.
This year’s PRISM concert is themed Miniatures and Monuments, featuring music for both small and large ensembles, including several landmark works from the jazz band and wind ensemble repertoire. The performance makes use of multiple locations throughout Jackson Auditorium, allowing the audience’s focus to shift dynamically as the music unfolds around the hall. Monumental works on the program include Ernesto Lecuona’s powerful Malagueña, as arranged by renowned big band leader Stan Kenton; the first movement of Paul Hindemith’s seminal Symphony in B-flat; From the Shores of the Mighty Pacific, featuring Professor Keith Robinson, tuba; and the incredibly important 20th century work for band, William Schuman’s Chester Overture.
Next up on your April/May concert calendar is the TLU Community Music Academy. CMA is a nonprofit community music school providing music education to students of all ages and levels of ability. Every spring, the students of CMA present concerts which all are invited to attend. On April 30, the CMA Choir will present its concert at 7 p.m. in the Chapel of the Abiding Presence on TLU’s campus, and on May 5 at 7 p.m. in Jackson Auditorium, the CMA Orchestra will perform.
All of these concerts are free and open to the public.