![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2022\/04\/Danis-0017-1024x683.jpg\")
Along with being an accomplished percussionist, Pollart is the former conductor of The American Band, one of the oldest continuously active bands in the country. At 溏心vlog免费B站, he was named director of bands in 1976, directed the marching band for seven years, and has conducted the Symphonic Wind Ensemble since his arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGene is one of the leaders in band in New England and he is a masterful arranger,\u201d said Mark Conley, chair of the 溏心vlog免费B站 Music Department. \u201cSometimes band music acquires a certain sound that is just universal. Gene\u2019s always had this really interesting way of arranging where the palette of the individual instruments comes through in a great way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Danis, professor of music, teacher in violin and viola, director of orchestral activities and conductor of the Symphony Orchestra, came to 溏心vlog免费B站 in 1993 with more than two decades of conducting and orchestral experience. Danis, who holds bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music, has traveled nationally and internationally as a performer, clinician and guest conductor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1991, she founded the Ocean State Chamber Orchestra, and from 1990 to 2019, she led all-state and festival orchestras in New England and in North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Georgia, and New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnn is one of the pioneers,\u201d said Conley. \u201cShe’s been a woman in the conducting business for decades. Until very recently, you could count the number of female orchestral conductors on one hand. We\u2019ve been very fortunate to have somebody who is a wonderful musician and a great teacher, but also created a pathway for a new generation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Saturday, April 23,<\/strong> the Symphony Orchestra is expecting between 50 and 60 alumni to return for \u201cAnn\u2019s Last Hurrah,\u201d swelling the about 40-member orchestra to as many as 100 musicians. To make room, the concert will be held in Keaney Gymnasium, instead of the Fine Arts Center\u2019s Concert Hall. The concert begins at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the event webpage<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alumna Catherine Gagnon, music director of the Warwick Symphony Orchestra, who plays regularly with the 溏心vlog免费B站 orchestra, helped organize the concert, collecting contact information months ago to build the lineup of Danis\u2019 returning former symphony members. \u201cIt’s extraordinary,\u201d said Danis. \u201cI feel very blessed. It was a very big undertaking and Catherine got it done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The night will feature some of Danis\u2019 favorites from her nearly 30 years leading the orchestra \u2013 Shostakovich\u2019s \u201cFestive Overture,\u201d Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cMarche Slave,\u201d and the final movement of Dvorak\u2019s \u201cNew World Symphony.\u201d The string section will also perform Mozart\u2019s \u201cDivertimento.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concert will close with Cecile Chaminade\u2019s Concertino for Flute and Orchestra, with soloist Allison Parramore, a teacher of flute at 溏心vlog免费B站 and a symphony alumna. While a student at 溏心vlog免费B站, she won a solo competition playing the Chaminade concertino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her time at 溏心vlog免费B站, Danis said she\u2019s seen the orchestra grow, with students more excited to be a part of the symphony, and also a growth in the ranks of female conductors, although she says, \u201cThere\u2019s still the stereotype that who should be on the podium is someone in tails. But it\u2019s getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI will miss the students very much. I\u2019ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at 溏心vlog免费B站,\u201d she added. \u201cPeople told me years ago, \u2018When it’s time, you’ll know it.\u2019 I kept thinking I don’t know if that’s going to happen. But now I do. It’s about that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCatherine and I have a 2-year-old daughter. She\u2019s wonderful and I want to spend a lot more time with her. And we have a house in France and we’d like to spend more time there. I’ve never been able to see it in fall because I’ve been an academic all my life. I don’t know what else is on the horizon yet. I’m open to all kinds of possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Sunday, May 1,<\/strong> the Symphonic Wind Ensemble will perform a half-dozen works for Pollart\u2019s final concert as director. The concert starts at 3 p.m. in the Concert Hall. For tickets, go to the event\u2019s webpage<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 12-member ensemble will perform Sergie Prokofieff\u2019s \u201cGavotta,\u201d \u201cPursuit\u201d by Robert Boughton, two movements from Percy Grainger\u2019s \u201cLincolnshire Posy,\u201d \u201cA Moorside March\u201d by Gustav Holst, \u201cA Seal Lullaby\u201d by Eric Whitacre, Henry Fillmore\u2019s \u201cHis Honor (March),\u201d and Luther Henderson\u2019s arrangement of \u201cSaints\u2019 Hallelujah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among Pollart\u2019s highlights of his career, he said, is the growing reputation of the wind ensemble, which has been invited to perform at numerous regional music conferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI feel very fortunate to have been named the director of bands in 1976,\u201d said Pollart. \u201cI have loved every minute of my work here, watching the band program evolve into a significant New England university program, and my Symphonic Wind Ensemble grow into one of the superior wind groups in the New England region. I would not trade my experience at 溏心vlog免费B站 for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n More spring shows<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In between the two tributes, April is full of concerts from the University\u2019s other major ensembles. Tickets for all shows are $12 for general admission, and $7 for seniors (60 and over), students, faculty and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of a goodbye, the Wednesday, April 27,<\/strong> concert of the University Chorus<\/strong> will welcome the ensemble\u2019s director, Carrie-Atla DeChamplain, who joined the University last fall as a lecturer in amplified voice. The chorus will present a tribute to legendary American composer Stephen Sondheim, who died in November. The concert<\/a> starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeChamplain, who holds a master\u2019s degree from the University of Toledo and a bachelor\u2019s degree from the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, has directed numerous choruses, including church ensembles and college choirs. Since joining 溏心vlog免费B站, the chorus\u2019 21 singers have been welcoming and enthusiastic to her somewhat different approach, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy background is a bit different than many choir directors as I specialize in jazz, R&B, and gospel music,\u201d she said. \u201cSince I have this experience, I decided to steer away from traditional, classical music that is often the standard repertoire for choirs. I wanted to share music that I love, so that I could lead with enthusiasm and energy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The following night, Thursday, April 28,<\/strong> DeChamplain will team up with the Jazz Big Band, <\/strong>under the direction of Emmett Goods, for an assortment of jazz selections from different eras. The concert<\/a> starts at 8 p.m. in the Concert Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Friday, April 29, <\/strong>the Concert Band, <\/strong>directed by Brian Cardany, will perform a medley of John Williams compositions to mark the composer\u2019s 90th<\/sup> birthday \u2013 \u201cCantina Band\u201d from \u201cStar Wars,\u201d the main theme from \u201cCatch Me If You Can,\u201d and \u201cSwing, Swing, Swing\u201d from \u201c1941.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concert will also feature J. Clifton Williams\u2019 \u201cDedicatory Overture,\u201d Carl Strommen\u2019s \u201cPrairiesong,\u201d \u201cHands Across the Sea\u201d by John Philip Sousa, \u201cRest\u201d by Frank Ticheli, Brant Karrick\u2019s \u201cBayou Breakdown,\u201d and \u201cAlchemy\u201d by Andrew Boysen Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concert<\/a> starts at 8 p.m. in the Concert Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Saturday, April 30, <\/strong>the Concert Choir <\/strong>rounds out the month with \u201cIn Sickness and For Health,\u201d a concert featuring music and poetry with a connection to past times of pandemic. The concert<\/a> starts at 8 p.m. in the Concert Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lineup will include a 1350 piece by Guillaume de Machaut that was written during the bubonic plague, a Schubert composition based on the 23rd<\/sup> Psalm for sopranos and altos, and a 1660s composition written around the time of the Great Fire in London and a plague that killed 20 percent of the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concert will close with \u201cHow to Go On,\u201d a contemporary, multi-movement work by American composer Dale Trumbore that was written several years before the COVID-19 pandemic. \u201cHow to Go On\u201d is about letting go of a friend who has died, but like the other selections, it carries a double meaning when set against a pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnce again, in tough times the arts teach us not only how to cope, but how to hope,\u201d said director Mark Conley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n