SU Brass Ensemble announces 2009 spring, summer lineup

SU Brass Ensemble announces 2009 spring, summer lineupMay 01, 2009Rob Enslinrmenslin@syr.edu

The Syracuse University Brass Ensemble (SUBE), led by Music Director James T. Spencer, has announced its annual lineup of spring and summer concerts. Performances are Saturday, May 16, at 7 p.m. at The United Church of Fayetteville, 310 E. Genesee St., Fayetteville; Saturday, June 6, at 2 p.m. at Founder’s Day, on Genesee Street in downtown Auburn; and Saturday, July 4, at 6 p.m. at the New York State Fairgrounds Arena, 581 State Fair Blvd., Syracuse, with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra (SSO). All concerts are free and open to the public, with the exception of the Fayetteville performance, which accepts donations at the door.

SUBE is also scheduled to perform at joint Commencement exercises for SU and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry on Sunday, May 10, and for Le Moyne College Commencement on Sunday, May 17.

Spencer, longtime SUBE music director and chief arranger, says these concerts are popular with audiences and musicians alike. “What I like most about this lineup is the variety. There’s something for virtually everyone,” says Spencer, who also serves as a Meredith Professor and professor of chemistry at SU. “Plus, almost every piece is a classic in its own right.”

Selections include popular marches (“Stars and Stripes Forever” and “Strike Up the Band”), jazz standards (“On Green Dolphin Street”), Hollywood favorites (“The Lion King,” “Mission Impossible” and “Jurassic Park”), and light classics by Mozart, Gilbert and Sullivan, and P.D.Q. Bach.

Spencer is particularly excited about SUBE’s annual performance with the SSO and its Founder’s Day debut in Auburn, where Sarah Palin, Alaska governor and former Republican vice presidential candidate, is rumored to be planning to attend. “Although there is much speculation about her attendance, it still isn’t confirmed,” says Spencer. Auburn was home to U.S. Secretary of State William Seward, who, in 1867, negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia.

SUBE is an award-winning, 35-piece ensemble administered by SU’s College of Arts and Sciences. The group comprises area SU students, staff and faculty members, and alumni who perform no fewer than 15 concerts a year. SUBE recordings are regularly featured on WCNY-FM (91.3 FM) and are scheduled for syndication on American Public Media’s “Performance Today.” More information about SUBE is available at http://subrass.com/main.html.