The Alabama Symphonic Band will be playing their first of four concerts of the year this Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Moody concert hall; the concert is free and open to the public.

The Symphonic Band is a wind ensemble, much like an orchestra with added instruments such as trumpets and the like. Each musician plays more as a soloist within a large group, like a track and field athlete in the Olympics.

This band, under the instruction of Randall Coleman, the associate director of bands for the University of Alabama, and Adam Dalton will be performing pieces by legendary march composer John Phillip Sousa and Ryan George.

“It will appeal to everybody,” Adam Bearden, a trumpet player for the symphonic band, said.

Bearden, a junior majoring in music education, has been in the symphonic band for three years but has been playing the instrument for much longer, 10 years to be exact.

The band practices twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays, which is more than Allen Iverson does.

“It’s really something we can’t pull off,” Bearden said.

Performing for three years, he doesn’t get nervous, it’s much more anticipatory.

“I’m just ready to get out there and play music,” he said.

His favorite piece of the performance is either Sousa’s “Nobles of the Mystic Shrine” or “Hymn To The Infinite Sky” by Satoshi Yagisawa. Being a trumpet player, he enjoys Sousa because it is “Quintessential trumpet playing”.

“Melodies allow for bolder statements, but also softer, more melodical musical passages,” like the spiritual Yagisawa piece does.

Whatever they play, Bearden, along with the other band members, are confident under the guidance of Mr. Coleman.

“He is an excellent model for the music education majors in the ensemble,” he said.

IF YOU GO:

Where: Moody Music Building

When: October 19

Time: 7:30 P.M.

Cost: Free