Scot Symphonic Band Pays Tribute to Stuart Ling in Final Concert of the Season

Wooster's longtime director of bands to be remembered Friday night in McGaw Chapel

Senior members of The College of Wooster's Scot Symphonic Band will perform for the final time in concert on Friday night in McGaw Chapel.

WOOSTER, Ohio - The Scot Symphonic Band will pay tribute to Stuart Ling, The College of Wooster's longtime director of bands who passed away in March, at its final concert of the season on Friday, May 2. The performance, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. in newly refurbished McGaw Chapel (340 E. University St.).

The program will open with Jack Gallagher's original work "March" from Diversions: Triptych for Symphonic Band. Gallagher, the Olive Williams Kettering Professor of Music at Wooster, completed the work during a research leave in 1984. It was commissioned by the Cornell University Wind Ensemble and premiered in 1986 at Cornell's Bailey Hall.

Also on the program is Haydn Wood's Mannin Veen: Dear Isle of Man, which will be conducted by Ned Brooks, assistant director of bands at Wooster. Originally written for band, the tone poem is based on four Manx (Isle of Man) folk tunes.

In addition, the band will play Gordon Jacob's "Early One Morning" from Old Wine in New Bottles, Michael Gandolfi's Vientos y Tangos, Reinhold Glière's "Russian Sailors' Dance" from The Red Poppy, and Donald Grantham's Southern Harmony. The band's pipers, drummers, and dancers will also be featured in a series of traditional songs from Scotland.

Wooster will recognize 10 seniors who will be performing for the final time on Friday, including Kara Phipps (Roanoke, Va.), Clint Steinbrunner (St. Henry, Ohio), and Aislinn Manning (Lyndonville, N.Y.) from the flute section. They will be joined by bassoonist Fay Hughes (Cherry Hill, N.J.), bass clarinetist Matt Snively (Smithville, Ohio), percussionist Nikki Houdek (Parker, Colo.) as well as Ben Strecker (Marietta, Ohio) on horn. Rounding out the list of seniors are bagpiper Joe Egar (Aurora, Ohio), drummer Elle Bremer (Chicago), and dancer Rachel Federer (Eastlake, Ohio).

Additional information is available by phone (330-263-2419) or e-mail (dswartz@wooster.edu).