The MSU College of Music will proudly celebrate more than a century-and-a-half of university student bands with a grand concert at the Cobb Great Hall of Wharton Center on Saturday, April 30, at 3 p.m. The highly-anticipated event will feature multiple MSU wind ensembles, world premiere works, guest musicians and faculty artists. Click here for tickets to this event. 

The 150th Anniversary Celebration of Bands will fill the Great Hall with resounding energy after the event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The powerful, multi-dimensional program features the MSU Concert Band, Symphony Band and Wind Symphony in performances of diverse works designed to showcase wind ensembles and celebrate their rich history. Program highlights include solo and duo performances by MSU Professor of Saxophone Joseph Lulloff and his son, College of Music alumnus Jordan Lulloff, world and wind premieres by Grammy-nominated composer and MSU Associate Professor of Composition Zhou Tian, and guest composers Aaron Perrine and Ivette Herryman-Rodriguez.  

“We are elated to be bringing such an immense program to the stage to celebrate the astonishing legacy of bands at MSU,” said event organizer, Director of Bands and MSU Chair of the Conducting Area Kevin Sedatole. “This concert is incredibly meaningful, both as a tribute to MSU’s musical history and a celebration of the revitalization of live, in-person performance after such a challenging time in our world. We are extremely thankful to our alumni, patrons and the greater community for their ongoing support.” 

Featured works by the Concert Band include Anti-Fanfare for Wind Ensemble Minus Brass by Andrew Blair, Stillwater for Wind Ensemble by Kelijah Dunton, and the world premiere of The Long Light After Time by Aaron Perrine.  

The Symphony Band will premiere En Mi, Familia by Ivette Herryman-Rodriguez, followed by Bells for Stokowski by Michael Daugherty. The Wind Symphony will open with Zoom by Scott Boerma, Scherzo Furioso by Jordan Gudefin (with soloists Joseph Lulloff and Jordan Lulloff), Colonial Song by Percy Grainger, and the world premiere of Sinfonia for Wind Ensemble by Zhou Tian.  

The Wind Symphony will wrap the evening with a fanfare of MSU-themed pieces including Fantasy on MSU Songs by James Curnow and J.R. Trimpe, and university classics MSU Shadows and Victory for MSU.  

The event will also be digitally broadcast on the MSU College of Music’s Livestream channel.

The 150th Anniversary Celebration of Bands is generously sponsored by Merritt Lutz.  

Reserved seating tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors (age 60 and older), and free for students with an ID or under 18. Information on this and other concerts, recitals and performances can be found on the MSU College of Music web site: www.music.msu.edu. Please note: As of March 6, the university will no longer require patrons to wear masks and show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test to attend events hosted by the College of Music. 
 

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Press materials

View or download the press release (PDF)
Contact Michael Sundermann, 517-353-2043, sunderm7@msu.edu 

Photography and graphic downloads


Event graphic courtesy MSU College of Music

Conductor, Kevin L. Sedatole leads members of the MSU Wind Symphony. Photo by Harley Seeley