Composer helps band prepare for concert

May 19, 2009 03:40 am

—

WEST NEWBURY — The Pentucket Regional High School Spring Band and Chorus Concert will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.

Led by Pentucket's new music director, Anthony Beatrice, the concert will feature an interdisciplinary project titled "On the Merrimack," written by well-known composer and conductor Andrew Boysen Jr., assistant professor of music at the University of New Hampshire. Boysen held a clinic for the high school and middle school bands yesterday that was sponsored by grants from the Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury Cultural Councils.

To enrich the experience for more students, the middle school concert band will be joining the high school concert band in the performance of the piece on Thursday night.

"This might be the first time in the band's history that a composer of a piece the band is playing is coming in to work with the students," said Beatrice, who, as a Pentucket Class of 2002 graduate, was heavily involved in the district's music program during his years at Pentucket.

Pentucket photography teacher Marcia Nadeau-Tanner and visual arts teacher Ellen Hart, who chair the arts department, expanded the experience by taking their students on an early morning field trip today to capture images of the Merrimack River. These images will be storyboarded and projected during the band's performance of Boysen's composition at the concert.

With encouragement from Beatrice, Pentucket's Concert Band competed for the first time in 14 years, taking a Gold Medal at the Great East Music Festival in Palmer. The band performed three pieces and then had a clinic with retired Norwood music teacher Paul Alberta.

Visit www.pentucketmusic.com for more information or follow the band on Twitter at http://twitter.com/PentucketBand.