Weekend of Great Concerts

This is concert season, so there are a lot of options this time of year.  Last night Bekah and I traveled to Weatherford to hear the SWOSU Wind Symphony.  It was an impressive concert.  They played Grainger's "The Gum-Suckers" March, which is one of my favorites.  They performed two fairly new works as well.  Paul Dooley's "Masks and Machines" was fantastic, and its climatic ending was especially striking.  Steven Bryant's "Ecstatic Waters" was not like anything I have ever heard.  It combined computerized sounds with live performance, and it involved an especially wide dynamic range.  We enjoyed it!

Tonight we're attending the final University of Oklahoma Wind Symphony concert conducted by Dr. William Wakefield.  (Dr. Wakefield is retiring from OU.  He has been there for over 30 years.)  It will, no doubt, be a moving concert.  They will be playing works by Maslanka and Grainger. 

Sunday the Southwestern Christian University choir performs at 3pm.  I'm looking forward to hearing Dr. LaCombe's group.  They always sound great.  Monday night the SCU jazz ensemble performs a fusion jazz concert at 7pm.  Our guest artist is trumpet player/composer John Shell.  I cannot believe this year is almost over!