The University of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences houses four wind bands who give public performances throughout the academic year. Each of the four wind bands specializes in a cornerstone of musical classics and continues studying to advance their repertoires. The University of Alabama’s Symphonic Band has taken the past two months to improve their skills and will be performing them at a free concert for the student body on Monday.  

Who: The event is free to the public 

What: The University of Alabama Symphonic Band’s Fall Concert 

When: Oct. 3 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. 

Where: The event is located in 125 Concert Hall in Moody Music Hall  

The Symphonic Band is conducted by assistant band director Phillip White and consists of 75 student musicians. These students rehearse twice a week, and typically average ten rehearsals per concert; these rehearsals allow for perfection of the musicians’ repertoire of sets and songs as a cohesive group.  

The songs the Symphonic Band will be performing at the Fall Concert include “Flourish for Wind Band,” “Variations on a Korean Folk Song,” “Molly on the Shore,” “Amazing Grace” and “First Suite in Eb.”  

White specifies he chose these pieces for the wind band because they are “all the classics” since this music was historically performed by large bands in the 1900s.  

White said a majority of the songs have been chosen due to their relevance in the musical industry and are considered “cornerstones in our repertoires.”  

The piece “Flourish for Wind Band” will be directed by a guest conductor, Steve Simpson, the assistant director of athletic bands. 

Simpson has been a faculty member in The University of Alabama School of Music for 36 years, as well as an athletic band director for the past 20 years. 

The third song “Molly on the Shore” was written by Percy Grainger and was arranged by Chalon L. Ragsdale, a University of Alabama alum.  

White said alumni such as Ragsdale, who have gone on to accomplish remarkable things, serve as an inspiration for the student musicians pursuing that same goal. 

With promotion for musical education coming from experienced educators and alumni alike, the School of Music has also invited Tuscaloosa County High School to attend the concert.  

“We have some outstanding students that are playing some of the best music ever written,” White said.  

For more information, visit their website.