Alumni band continues with outdoor concert

Utah State University’s Alumni Band continues its outdoor concert tradition with a family-friendly event Sunday, July 15, at 7 p.m. The concert is held on the USU Quad, just east of Old Main. The concert is free.

This is the second outdoor concert of the summer for the band, and it is an excellent time to introduce audience members, especially the younger set, to concerts, said Nicholas Morrison, Alumni Band director and conductor.

“Our outdoor concerts allow young families to attend a causal cultural event,” Morrison said. “There are very few concerts that admit children under the age of six and even fewer concerts that are free. We welcome families, especially those with young children who might not feel completely comfortable at a formal, indoor concert.”

Morrison said he and other members of the ensemble are in the music business because they attended concerts as young people.

“I am a music educator today because I went to a band concert as a young boy,” Morrison said. “I was hooked.”

With the outdoor setting, Morrison invites families to bring lawn chairs or blankets, along with snacks and drinks to the event.

“During our first outdoor concert July 1, I could see that there were children conducting along with me,” Morrison said. “That’s fun.”

The concert will include the band’s regular mix of selections, including a patriotic selection, a slower, contemplative number and the usual smattering of marches and a big overture at the beginning of the program.

The evening includes two guest soloists, clarinetists Cheryl Blackley and Eric Nelson. They will play the “Concert Piece” for two clarinets by Felix Mendelssohn.

“This is a fun, technical, tour-de-force piece,” Morrison said. “It is tuneful and melodic. If members of the audience remember and enjoyed the ‘Concertino’ selection from our first concert, they’ll enjoy this one as well.”

The evening’s Intermission Feature puts the Steve Call Jazz Trio in the spotlight. Call is the band’s principal tuba player. He is a faculty member at BYU and is a fine jazz musician, Morrison said. The trio features Call on brass instruments and piano, Joshua Payne on guitar and banjo and Dave Wilbur on bass and vocals.

For those who have not attended an Alumni Band concert at USU, Morrison said the pieces are all short. Morrison also offers comments and introductions, often letting the audience in on what they will hear in the performance.

“This really is an easy concert experience,” Morrison said.

With apologies for the oversight at the first outdoor concert, arrangements for restroom facilities have been made. Restrooms will be open during the concert in the Animal Science building located on the north side of the Quad.

The band’s final concert of the season will be July 29 and is also an outdoor event.