AUBURN - The Auburn University Marching Band will perform abroad for the first time in its 110-year history when it participates in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Limerick and Dublin, Ireland.

Approximately 200 band members, along with Director of Bands Rick Good; Marching Band Director Corey Spurlin; and Assistant Director of Bands Doug Rosener; and others, flew out of Atlanta March 13 for a five-day itinerary in Ireland that will include two days in Limerick and three days in Dublin.

On Sunday, March 16, the band will perform at the 36th Annual Limerick International St. Patrick’s Festival Band Parade in Limerick. On Monday, March 17, it will perform at the International St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the Guinness Brewery in Dublin. Also during the trip, band members will take tours to learn about Irish culture and history.

In April 2006, the Lord Mayor of Dublin contacted Good to invite the band to appear in the 2007 St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Due to a much-needed fundraising drive for new marching band uniforms, Good declined for 2007 but accepted for March 2008.

“That was a tough decision to make at the time, but it was the right one,” said Good. “I am just so honored that we could make this special international educational experience happen for all those involved.”

The parade route in Dublin is 2.8 km, or 1.7 miles, and takes approximately one and a half hours to complete. Special guests of the parade include The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Paddy Bourke; and the CEO of St. Patrick’s Festival, Donal Shiels.

For photos of the band preparing and marching in the parades, visit http://ocm.auburn.edu/ireland.

December 2 - 4, 2007

The Auburn University Singers will entertain audiences with popular and Broadway show music at their annual fall show Dec. 2, 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and Dec. 4, 5:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., at AU's Telfair Peet Theatre. Under the direction of Dale Farmer, the show choir will use costumes and choreography to present songs such as "Everybody Rejoice!" from the musical "The Wiz"; "The Impossible Dream" from the Broadway musical "Man of LaMancha"; "Accidentally in Love" from the movie "Shrek 2"; and a medley from current Broadway musicals. In addition, individuals and small groups will perform contemporary styles of music such as country and inspirational. Celebrating its 36th anniversary this year, the choral entertainment ensemble originated in 1972 and is composed of 38 singers and nine instrumentalists. The AU Singers have performed for television, schools, churches, and professional and civic organizations in hundreds of locales worldwide from the Auburn campus to Warsaw, Poland. Members of the group come from across the country and major in many academic disciplines. Tickets are $10 and can be reserved by calling the choral office at 844-4194, or purchased at 117 Goodwin Hall 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

November 29, 2007

The Auburn University symphonic band and wind ensemble will perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. November 29, in the Telfair Peet Theatre. The symphonic band, a select group of 65 musicians, is the premier performing student organization in the Auburn University band program. The concert offers a unique variety of musical styles including contemporary as well as traditional works. Conductor of the symphonic band and wind ensemble is Rick Good, director of bands and associate professor of music at Auburn. The wind ensemble will perform Alfred Reed's "Ballade," featuring alto sax soloist Jimmy Johnson, a graduate student in psychology from Huntsville. The wind ensemble will conclude its portion of the concert with Mark Hindsley's transcription of Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tutti Overture." The symphonic band will begin the program with Ron Nelson's "Fanfare for a Celebration" followed by Vaclav Nelyhbel's "Symphonic Movement." Nelyhbel wrote several large-scale works for band, but the composer described symphonic movement as "my first composition for band written completely on a symphonic level." This single movement work continues to be one of Nelyhbel's most popular among band conductors. Dedicated to John P. Paynter and the Northwestern University Band, the work remains an integral aspect of the band repertoire. The public is invited to attend. There is no admission charge for the concert.

November 13, 2007

The Auburn University Community Orchestra and music director Howard Goldstein have announced that guest artist Dong-Oo Lee of Ulsan University, Korea, will perform Haydn's C major Cello Concerto at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Opelika Performing Arts Center. Admission is free. Lee holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and the Kharkov Conservatory, Russia. He has performed extensively in Korea, the United States and Europe. The concert also includes Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture and Beethoven's Symphony No. 2. For more information, call the AU Department of Music at 844-4165.

November 4, 2007

The AU fall choral concert will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, November 4, at Auburn United Methodist Church, 220 East Magnolia. The concert will feature performances by the Auburn University concert choir, women's chorus and men's chorus. The concert is free and open to the public.

November 2, 2007

Doug Rosener, assistant director of bands at Auburn and director of the AU Music Department's Steel Drum Band, has composed a percussion ensemble piece, "Uriel," that will be showcased during the Percussive Arts Society International Convention on Nov. 2 in Columbus, Ohio.

The Oak Mountain High School percussion ensemble will premiere Rosener's composition at the international convention. The high school band from Birmingham was selcted to perform through a taped competitive audition. "Uriel" is being edited for publication and will be relesased at the convention.

The composition, which is 10 minutes long and contains three movements, depicts through music the various attributes and characteristics of the biblical Archangel Uriel, who is often referred to as the Great Archangel of the Earth.

Rosener, an AU faculty member since 2005, holds a bacholer's degree in music education from Penn State University, a master of music degree from the University of North Texas and a doctorate in percussion performance from the University of Colorado.

He has performed with many professional orchestras, including the Altoona Symphony, the Boulder Philharmonic, the Sinfonia of Colorado, the Colorado Ballet Company Orchestra, and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra.

Rosener has recorded with the North Texas Wind Symphony and the North Texas Chamber Players and has been a regular drummer with several professional musical theater companies.

The convention will include more that 150 events on 12 stages, featuring many of the world's best musicians on drum-set, orchestral percussion, keyboard, world percussion, marching and more. The PASIC Indoor Marching Percussion Festival will be Nov. 1-2, with high school and collegiate drumlines and solo performers vying for top honors.

AU Report, October 15, 2007

December 12-17, 2007

Professor William Powell of the AU Department of Music will be a guest conductor Dec. 12-16 for the 2007 Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. He was guest conductor for the same event in 2006. The Candlelight Processional occurs each year in the America Gardens Theatre at Epcot beginning the Friday after Thanksgiving and running through Dec. 29. Powell will lead a mass choir joined by a 50-piece live orchestra and a celebrity narrator to tell the story of Christmas in words and music. At Auburn University, Powell conducts the concert choir, gospel choir and men's chorus, and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in conducting, choral techniques, choral arranging and distance education courses in music.

October 14, 2007

A guest artist faculty recital by Duo Montagnard will take place at AU's Goodwin Music Building recital hall at 2 p.m. Sunday, October 14. The concert is free and open to the public. Duo Montagnard was formed in 2002 and has performed over 80 concerts in 20 states, Canada, Slovenia, and Greece. Festival performances include the Chautauqua Institution, the Hartwick College Summer Music Festival, and the Alexandria Guitar Festival. Recent commissions include pieces by John Anthony Lennon, George Daravelis, and Charles Stolte. Upcoming performances include tours to the United Kingdom and the Midwest. Joseph Murphy has been the saxophone professor at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania since 1987. He has also been director of bands, department chair, and taught a variety of courses. Matthew Slotkin is the director of guitar studies at Mansfield University and has taught guitar and chamber music at the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y., and in the Eastman School of Music's Community Education Division.