Clemson Symphonic Band to Perform Nov. 25

The Clemson University Symphonic Band is closing out the fall semester with a performance at 8 p.m. Nov. 25 at the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts.

Conducted by Mark Spede, the program features a wide array of genres. The evening begins with the Celtic-tinged “Kirkpatrick Fanfare,” a piece by American composer Andrew Boysen. Next, guest conductor Timothy Hurlburt continues the journey to the Emerald Isle with an early 20th century piece by Percy Grainger titled “Irish Tune from County Derry.” The piece is a variation on “Londonderry Air,” more popularly know as the melody to “Danny Boy.”

Iconoclastic composer Charles Ives’ “Variations on ‘America,’” originally written for a July Fourth celebration. The first half of the concert ends with Gustav Holst’s First Suite in E-flat for Military Band, a classic of band literature.

The second half of the program is decidedly “out of this world.” It opens with Mason Bates’ “Mothership,” featuring Evan Jacoby on alto saxophone. A contemporary work, “Mothership” combines traditional instruments and modern electronic sounds, along with improvisation. “The Descending Blue,” by Daniel French, follows. The piece begins quietly with an eloquent oboe solo before building to a climatic fanfare.

The evening concludes with “Space Cat,” written by Clemson’s Spede for an animated film produced by Clemson’s Digital Production Arts studio. The band will perform the music as the film plays on a giant screen.

Admission is $5 for adults and free for students. Tickets are available online at www.clemson.edu/Brooks and through the Box Office at 864-656-7787 from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.