Looking for something to do on campus before Saturday’s game? The department of music’s annual Family Weekend concert is a great way to get into the Racer spirit.
The Fall Fanfare Concert showcases many of Murray State’s ensembles and choirs. Ash Stemke, committee chair for the event, said Fall Fanfare is a collage concert consisting of one piece from each performing group. The performances range from instrumental groups, like jazz band and wind ensemble, to vocal groups, like the chamber choir and mixed a cappella group, EQ Blu.
“In general, we plan for the music to be upbeat, lively, crowd-pleasing fun, so that’s what you should expect a lot of in this particular concert,” Stemke said. “It’s a really good showcase of all this department has to offer.”
The concert will start with “The Star Spangled Banner,” performed by the trombone choir and the Murray State ROTC. Stemke said some highlights to expect are “My Girl” performed by the double reed ensemble, “Higher Ground” and “Vehicles” performed by the jazz bands and “New Century Dawn” performed by the wind ensemble. It will wrap up with the Murray State Alma Mater and fight song led by Racer Band.
“We have a lot of students who perform in multiple ensembles, so they have to actually move between groups during other pieces that are going on,” Stemke said. “So there’ll be a lot of activity during the concert as opposed to just sitting still the whole time.”
Diamond Edwards, senior music education major, plays in the wind ensemble and Racer Band. She said music students start practicing their pieces for this Murray State tradition at the beginning of the semester.
“One of my favorite (Family Weekend traditions) is when the Racer Band runs in at the end of Fall Fanfare,” Edwards said. “It’s so fun to be in the crowd and to bring our fun energy to the event.”
The Fall Fanfare Concert will be held at 3 p.m., Saturday in Lovett Auditorium. Admission is $10 per person, with proceeds going to student scholarships for the music department. Tickets are available for purchase online and at the door.
