The WSU Symphony Orchestra presents an all-American concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12 in Miller Concert Hall at Duerksen Fine Arts Center. Faculty composer David MacDonald’s “What. On Earth. Was That” will be featured; Kate Compton, assistant professor of acting in the School of Performing Arts, will narrate. Dr. Mark Laycock, Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction, will lead the program.
MacDonald teaches music composition, theory and technology at Wichita State and is senior contributor to “Scoring Notes,” an online publication and podcast covering music notation and related technologies. Compton has worked extensively on both stage and screen, garnering over two decades of professional experience in Los Angeles and Chicago combined.
The orchestra will also perform John Williams’ “American Journey,” music from a collaborative project with Steven Spielberg that marked the turn of the twenty-first century, as well as “Acadian Songs and Dances,” from Virgil Thomson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning score to Robert Flaherty’s documentary film “Louisiana Story.” Reese Bergman, a senior majoring in music education with a minor in chemistry, will conduct Joan Tower’s “Made in America.”
General admission ticket prices are $14 for adults; $11 for seniors, military service members and WSU faculty/staff; and $7 for students/children. Tickets are available at the WSU Fine Arts Box Office by calling 316-978-3233 or visiting the Fine Arts Box Office website.