The Rowan University Wind Ensemble shares the stage with Hub New Music for a thrilling performance of Gala Flagello’s “The Bird-While” (a concerto for solo flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and symphonic winds). The piece is titled after and based on Keith Taylor’s poem “Acolytes in the Bird-While,” which explores the flora and fauna of Michigan and the struggle to persist in the face of climate change. Flagello writes: “I aimed to write a concerto for an unconventional group of instruments that demonstrates their virtuosity while providing a platform for awareness of and education around environmental and climate justice. Each movement derives its title from Taylor’s poem, drawing attention to pivotal lines in the poem’s narrative.”

ACOLYTES OF THE BIRD-WHILE

by Keith Taylor

We have lingered in that space
granted by a woodpecker
before it disappears on the far side
of a dying elm. We have held
our collective breath as a warbler—
redstart, prothonotary, or golden-winged—
brushes across our shoulders. We have prayed
to avian gods we don’t believe in
that piping plovers may avoid
windows, cats and windmills,
will survive habitat loss,
climate change, and oil spills,
to allow us that one
immeasurable moment at sunset
when we count their glowing bills
among our fragile, vanishing gifts.

Hub New Music artists and composer Gala Flagello will be in residence with the Rowan University Department of Music April 16-18, 2024. Also on the April 18 Wind Ensemble concert program: Canzona by Peter Mennin, Children’s March by Percy Grainger, Blue Shades by Frank Ticheli, and La Fiesta Mexicana by H. Owen Reed.

CLICK FOR CONCERT DETAILS AND TICKET RESERVATIONS

Cheetahs, whales, beetles, bats, mice, kangaroos… This family-friendly concert celebrates animals big and small! Audiences from age 5 to 95 will enjoy learning about some amazing creatures and also being introduced to many classical music instruments. Featuring poetry and music by Dan Brown (bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code), Wild Symphony will be performed by the Rowan University Wind Ensemble (Joseph Higgins, conductor) and narrated by actor Matt Dallal. The music is accompanied by projected images from the vibrantly illustrated New York Times bestselling children’s book of the same title, which has been translated in more than 20 countries worldwide. This concert is co-presented with the Marie Rader Series and is part of a special double-feature with The Puppet Cycle: Small World Stories, original short plays starring contemporary artist-made marionettes on Phantom Limb Company's solar-powered mobile stage. With an environmental focus, "Frown Town" and "Elephantasia" find hope with a side of the surreal in the shadow of uncertainty. Tickets purchased for this event include entry to both The Puppet Cycle and Wild Symphony.

2pm The Puppet Cycle | 3pm Wild Symphony | 4pm The Puppet Cycle Reprise

CLICK FOR TICKET INFORMATION

Celebrate EARTH DAY with an unforgettable outdoor “concert.” Attendees will be guided along a nature trail on Rowan University’s campus as musicians perform live from various points on the path. This event features the Rowan University String Ensemble, Saxophone Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and more… The nature walk culminates with a performance of The Puppet Cycle: Small World Stories, original short plays starring contemporary artist-made marionettes on Phantom Limb Company's solar-powered mobile stage.

Attendees should meet at the large owl statue on Meditation Walk (near Science/Savitz Halls), which is where the guided tour will begin. The event is free; Rowan students are asked to please preregister in Proflink.

THE WEATHER LOOKS GREAT - SEE YOU AT 2PM FOR OUR NATURE WALK!

CONCERT PROGRAM: CLICK HERE

For two hours on the afternoon of Friday, April 21, musicians will perform pop-up “concerts” throughout the campus of Rowan University. By “Earth Busking,” these instrumentalists will temporarily reshape the aural environment of their surroundings. The purpose of this project is to raise awareness and money for sustainability initiatives on campus and in the community.

2023 donations will be in support of Re:Wild Your Campus - Rowan, providing students with tools to work with groundskeepers, develop campaign strategies, and provide alternatives in order to transition their campuses to organic land maintenance and ultimately re-wild and revolutionize landcare and create safer spaces for all.

We are also busking in solidarity with Rowan’s Smell Studio, whose students will be planting native aromatic plants in April, including trillium, an endangered wildflower in our region. Get outside and enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of our beautiful campus environment.

A Sound Planet Youth Ambassador is someone who wants to make a difference with their music. This ambassador workshop for high school students will explore how professional artists and scholars around the world are fighting climate change and the biodiversity crisis through performance and advocacy. Attendees will be provided with resources and a peer network to build creative sustainability projects in their own communities. The evening will culminate with a brief group performance of two works: Cait Nishimura’s Beneath the Canopy and Frank Duarte’s Song for Mother Gaia (arr. Bove), so - if you are an instrumentalist - please bring your instrument. Formal concert attire is not expected. Participants should please dress comfortably in nice clothing (no jeans, no t-shirts).

The event is free; preregistration is required: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

If you are a music educator and would like to bring a group of students, then you may instead send a roster directly to Artistic Director Joseph Higgins: higgins@rowan.edu