Ohio Wesleyan Symphonic Wind Ensemble Analysis

The Ohio Wesleyan Symphonic Wind Ensemble performed on Sunday, November 13th at 3:15pm in University Hall’s Gray Chapel. The audience was mostly non-student in casual dress. Attendance was high, which showed promise for the upcoming performance. President Rock Jones was in attendance, as well as many other faculty members. The stage setup was typical for a wind ensemble, in terms of placements of various sections. I was glad to see that all of the typical instruments, varying from tuba to piccolo, were being played. In the band, there were students and professors. The thing that stood out to me the most was the use of a string bass. The first performance was by Luis Cardoso, entitled Mandragora. The sound of the song was full with excellent dynamics. The feeling of the song was strong with a march-like beat, with strong woodwind presence giving it also a smooth sound. It makes sense that there was a heavy use of saxophone in particular, because Cardoso is a well-known saxophonist. The piece used imitative polyphony, but mostly stuck to homophony. Overall, the song was uplifting, especially due to the use of bells and crescendos. There was a main theme throughout which, according to the program, was representative

There were four differing islands that were portrayed in the song. The first is ominous, with chords from the low wood winds and brass, progressing toward grandiose brass melodies; the program calls this “Lonely Island.” The next island, which is called “Ascension Island,” has adventurous melodies featured by the brass and woodwinds pursuing each other. “Takuu,” an island who was depicted mysteriously, had spiraling melodies in the woodwinds and a bass that shed a trepidatious light. Finally, “Brava” sounded triumphantly, with a driving percussion and dotted sixteenth note rhythms. This piece returned to the ensemble’s full strength, and was performed with