The University of Central Missouri Department of Music, in conjunction with the Performing Arts Series, will present the annual UCM President’s Gala on Tuesday, April 25th.

The President's Gala will begin at 7:30 p.m. The concert is hosted by UCM President Charles Ambrose and Mrs. Kris Ambrose. The concert is the traditional way the university wraps up a performance season.

David Aaberg will direct The Jazz Ensemble I, to open the program with Sammy Nestico’s “The Blues Machine,” featuring soloists Richard Tucker, Jr. on alto saxophone, Matthew Manning on trombone, and Andrew Hamilton on piano. The group also will perform “Michelangelo” by Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, arranged by Fred Sturm, featuring soloists Ben Forshee on trumpet and Grant Klinksick on guitar.

According to a press release from UCM, the New Technologies Ensemble, directed by Eric Honour, will perform on a variety of digital controllers, using WiFi-networked synchronization, with a “choose-your-own-adventure” musical score by Honour titled “Fluid Moving Fire.”

Alan Zabriskie will direct the Concert Choir, to perform three spirituals “I’m Gonna Sing ‘Til The Spirit Moves,” “This Little Light of Mine,” and “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” by composer and arranger Moses Hogan, followed by UCM Opera Theatre’s rendition of Aaron Copeland’s “The Promise of Living” from “The Tender Land.”

Following intermission, the UCM Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of John Rutland, will perform the overture from Franz Von Suppe’s operetta “Light Cavalry,” described as a story of young love, military intrigue, and a ballet company mockingly called the Light Cavalry.

The concert will close with the UCM Wind Ensemble performing a commissioned work by John Frantzen, “Where Rivers Bend,” which the press release states, is a journey through life and the seasons on the winding, river under the direction of Scott Lubaroff.

The UCM President's Gala is free and will take place in Hendricks Hall.

Free tickets for the President’s Gala are available online at ucmpas.com. Tickets are also available at the Performing Arts Series box office, one hour prior to the show.

University of Central Missouri
Kurt Parsons
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