Shepherd University’s Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, under the direction of Dr. Scott Hippensteel, will perform a concert featuring wind band music on Friday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. in the Frank Center. Free with admission, a pre-concert lecture will describe the works at 7:30 p.m.

Selections from the Symphonic Band will include “Military Escort” by Henry Fillmore; “Mandalen Landscapes” by Philipe Sparke; “Tundra” by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo; “Salvation is Created” by Pavel Tschesnokoff; “Nitro” by Frank Ticheli and a three-movement, descriptive work by Francis McBeth inspired by the epic poem “Beowulf: An Heroic Trilogy.” Selections from the Wind Ensemble will include “Mother Earth Fanfare” by David Maslanka; “First Suite in E-flat for Military Band” by Gustav Holst; “Colours” by Roger Cichy; “Fairest of the Fair” by John Philip Sousa; “Molly on the Shore” by Percy Grainger; “Hold This Boy And Listen” by Carter Pann; “An American in Paris” by George Gershwin; and the first movement of the “Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble” by David Maslanka featuring Jeremy Koch, saxophone instructor at Shepherd.

Based in the Washington, D. C., area, Koch is an active saxophonist, chamber musician and teacher. He has been a member of the United States Air Force Band since 1998 where he has been a featured concert soloist on national tours, and well as performed with artists such as Tony Bennett, Wynonna Judd, and Kool and the Gang. As a freelance saxophonist, Koch performs with the United States Air Force Saxophone Quartet, Reed5, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Prince William Symphony Orchestra, Serapis Ensemble, D.C. Syndicate and Great Noise Ensemble. Koch regularly presents clinics and recitals throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. In addition, he has presented saxophone clinics to the Universities of North Carolina, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana and North Dakota State University. Koch has premiered solo and saxophone quartet works at the World Saxophone Congress, North American Saxophone Alliance, International Saxophone Symposium, and the American Composers Forum. He can be heard with AUR on “America’s Millennium Tribute to Adolphe Sax, Volume III” performing John Howell Morrison’s “Light Possessing Darkness.” Koch formed the music duo Six Impossible Things to commission and encourage young composers. He received his bachelor of music performance from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and his master of music performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he performed with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia da Camera, Prairie Ensemble, and Estilo Chicago. Koch’s teachers include Debra Richtmeyer, Jonathan Helton, Michael Chesher, and Jean-Marie Londeix at Le Domaine Forget.

The Wind Ensemble is comprised of Shepherd music majors and a few select non-majors. The ensemble has been invited to perform around the world. In 2001, the group accepted an invitation from the Lord Mayor of Dublin to tour Ireland. In 2004, its recording of Barnes Symphony #3 garnered the ensemble an invitation to be a part of the 2005 season in Carnegie Hall. And in 2009, the Wind Ensemble attended a 10-day concert tour of Munich, Salzburg, Vienna and Prague. The Wind Ensemble will tour France and Monaco this May.

Admission and seating for the Wind Ensemble concert is on a first-come, first-served basis. The box office will open one hour prior to each performance. General admission is $10; $5 for faculty and staff, Shepherd alumni, senior citizens, and students 18 and under; and free to Shepherd students with Rambler ID and Friends of Music MAC Cardholders.

For more information, call 304-876-5555 or visit www.shepherd.edu/musicweb.