January 25, 2024 – The Santa Fe College (SF) Concert Band will entertain with some of America’s most popular tunes in the annual “Winds Go Pop!” concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, in the Lyceum in Building E at the Northwest Campus, 3000 NW 83 Street, Gainesville.
Admission is free but tickets are required and may be obtained from the SF Box Office at 352-395-4181 or online at showpass.com/winds-go-pop-2.
“The program is full of music that the audience will recognize,” said SF Associate Professor of Music and Band Director David L. Smith, who will conduct the student musicians. “The 13 students in the Concert Band will be playing tunes that range from popular dance grooves to some of the most memorable music from movie history.”
Highlights of the program include selections from “West Side Story,” with music by Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein’s score for this 1957 musical—which blends jazz, Latin rhythms and operatic performance techniques—is often considered to be his definitive musical composition. Bernstein is the subject of the recently released motion picture “Maestro.”
“Music by the great Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin and John Williams is also on the program,” Smith added. “We have some returning students in the band this year along with some new faces. These musicians are experienced and professional and they’re excited to be performing for you.”
The SF student musicians will perform two additional concerts in the 2024 spring term, “Jazz Up Spring” on March 15 and “Winds and Classics” on April 4.
“We encourage you to come out to support our ensemble performances,” Smith urged. “Don’t miss the uplifting experience of hearing these young people make music together!”
Smith is a trombonist who has a Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies (Performance) from the University of South Florida and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Jazz-Performance from the University of Colorado Boulder. He has performed with legendary jazz trombonist George Buster Cooper of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and other leading jazz artists in New York including Wycliffe Gordon, Marcus Roberts, Jason Marsalis and Vincent Gardner.
“Winds Go Pop!” is organized and sponsored by the Santa Fe College Fine Arts and Entertainment Technology Department.
For more information about the concert and the SF bands, call Smith at 352-395-5313. For information about tickets, call the SF Box Office at 352-395-4181.