The annual spring concert of the NIU Steelband, All-University Steelband, and CSA Steelband features guest vocalists, musicians, the DeKalb High School Steelband, the DeKalb High School Treble Symphonic Choir, Banda NIU, Dance Dimensions Company and more. The concert will be held in Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the NIU Music Building, Sunday, April 10 at 3 p.m. Tickets are available online at niumusic.universitytickets.com and are $5 for adults, $3 for non-NIU students and NIU students are free with a pre-reserved ticket.
The NIU Steelband is directed by Liam Teague, NIU Presidential Research, Scholarship and Artistry Professor, Professor of Music and Head of Steelpan Studies. Yuko Asada, co-directs the NIU Steelband and is the director of the Community School of the Arts (CSA) Steelband. The All-University Steelband is co-directed by graduate assistants Joshua Bedeau and Jalen Charles.
The program includes Reggie Thomas, NIU Professor of Music and Head of Jazz Studies on bass and his wife Mardra Thomas on vocals joining Teague for an arrangement of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s My Funny Valentine.
The NIU Steelband will perform Dreams, written by Teague and dedicated to the legacy of the late Clifford Alexis, who co-founded the Steelband in 1985 with Al O’Connor.
They will be joined by the DeKalb High School Steelband to perform Asada’s arrangement of Bruno Mars’ Leave the Door Open, and by the DeKalb High School Treble Symphonic Choir on Cradle Hymn, adapted by Bedeau and dedicated to the memory of Les Trilla a longtime supporter and benefactor of the steelband.
William Goldenberg, Distinguished Teaching Professor and Head of Keyboard Studies at NIU will perform with the NIU Steelband on Mozart’s Concerto in d minor for piano and orchestra, a piece that will be conducted by Thomas Bough, NIU Professor of Music, Conductor of Wind Symphony and Head of Athletic Bands.
The NIU Steelband will also perform a Roberto De Leon arrangement of Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol’s Caravan, and the DHS Steelband will also perform Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop The Feeling and Matthew Schneider’s arrangement of Arturo Sandoval’s Mambo Caliente. The School of Music’s newest ensemble Banda NIU will perform De Leon’s arrangement of Banda El Recodo de Don Cruz Lizarraga’s El Toro Mambo. Banda is the most popular subgenre of Mexican music and features brass, clarinets, percussion and singers. Banda NIU is directed by Christopher Scanlon, Assistant Professor of Music.
In a piece conducted by Asada and arranged by NIU alum Abe Breiling, the NIU Steelband will play Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor “Moonlight” as the Dimensions Dance Academy performs.
The world premiere performance of Landscapes, written by Dr. James Gourlay will feature Gourlay on tuba and Teague on steelpan.
The All-University Steelband will perform Daft Punk’s Get Lucky and the CSA Steelband will perform Dr. Ray Holman’s O’ Trinidad, arranged by Asada.
The DeKalb High School Steelband is directed by Steve Lundin. The DeKalb High School Treble Symphonic Choir is directed by Travis Erickson. Miranda Cortes is the director of Dimensions Dance Academy.
NIU Steelband, All-University Steelband, CSA Steelband
Sunday, April 10, 3 p.m.
Boutell Memorial Concert Hall, NIU Music Building
Tickets: Adults $5, Non-NIU Students $3, NIU Students FREE
