USU Alumni Band Concerts Marching Along On the Quad

 As the concert season for Utah State University’s Alumni Band marches toward its conclusion, there’s no better way to celebrate the outdoor series than to dedicate an entire program to one of the most distinctive music forms — the march.
          
USU’s Alumni Band will dedicate its next concert to a program made up almost entirely of marches — concert marches, street marches, circus marches and marches from other countries. The concert is Sunday, June 25, and begins at 7 p.m. on the east side of Old Main on the USU Quad. The traditional outdoor concert is free and open to the public.
          
Conductor for the evening is USU’s Director of Bands Thomas P. Rohrer. The program is narrated by Alumni Band Director and music department faculty member Nicholas Morrison.
          
“Dr. Rohrer first presented this program with the USU Wind Orchestra last year as ‘March into November,’ and, once I heard it, I immediately invited him to present this show to our summer audience,” said Morrison. “Of course, the Quad is a perfect location for this kind of program, and kids of all ages will love the tunes.”
          
Rohrer is director of bands in USU’s Department of Music, as well as director of music education. He conducts the Wind Orchestra and the Aggie Marching Band as part of his leadership of a diverse collegiate band program and teacher training curriculum.  Having established an international reputation as a conductor and clinician, he is music director and conductor of the Salt Lake [Utah] Symphonic Winds (which performed at the 2006 MENC National Conference). He consistently receives high praise from colleagues and composers for meticulous preparation and insightful interpretation. A supporter of new music for winds and percussion, in the past five years he has conducted more than ten premieres and has composed several original works for various ensembles. He has twice earned honors as a winner of the Dallas Wind Symphony’s composition competition.
          
Rohrer has degrees in music education and wind conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and earned his doctorate in music education from Florida State University.
          
The intermission feature for the week’s performance features the Alumni Band clarinet section performing special arrangements by Eric Nelson, clarinetist with the Lightwood Duo.
          
The final Alumni Band performance of the 2010 season is Aug. 1 on the Quad at 7 p.m.