USU Alumni Band August 6: Low Earth Orbit and All That Jazz

The Utah State University Alumni Band’s last performance of the summer is Sunday, August 6, on the Quad, at 7 p.m. This summer marks the band’s 54th season and 24th season with Nicholas Morrison, music director of the Alumni Band and executive associate dean in the Caine College of the Arts. Each of the band members donates their time and talent and the band would not be able to exist without them.

This Sunday’s performance is in conjunction with the USU Small Satellite Conference. Pat Patterson, conference chair, will speak and introduce the community to what goes on at the conference. Patterson is currently the director of advanced concepts at USU’s Space Dynamics Laboratory.

Christian Earl, director of bands at Fairfield Junior High School in Kaysville and associate conductor of the Salt Lake Symphonic Winds, will join the Alumni Band as guest conductor on “Star Wars Medley” by Williams/Burden.

“Chris is one of Utah’s finest public school conductors,” Morrison said. “We are so fortunate that he is a regular member of the clarinet section and joining us as conductor for the last concert of the season.”  

Following Alumni Band tradition, professor emeritus Larry Smith will perform with his daughter, vocalist Monica Fronk, in the last concert of the summer.

“Back when I was in college, Dr. Dalby asked me to write a piece for my wife to sing with the Alumni Band,” Smith said. “That was the start of the performances. When my wife stopped singing, my daughter, Monica, started. That was in 1992 and I’ve written two arrangements for her to perform with the band every year since then.”

This year, Smith and Fronk will perform “East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)” and “Blue Moon,” a special nod to our closest natural satellites.

Craig Jessop, dean of the Caine College of the Arts, will conduct USU’s Alma Mater song to close out the Alumni Band 2017 season.

“I think it’s important, particularly during this Year of the Arts, that we use the arts as a vehicle for communication about the great things that go on at USU,” Morrison said. “These concerts give us a chance to do that.”

Alumni Band performances begin at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Concerts are held on the USU Quad. In case of inclement weather, this performance will be cancelled.

For more information, call 435-797-8022 or go online to cca.usu.edu.          

Writer and contact: Whitney Schulte, whitney.schulte@usu.edu, 435-797-9203