UH Symphonic Band embarks on 50th season

Members of the band at a summer concert on June 6, 2019.

This season marks the 50th anniversary of the University Heights Symphonic Band (UHSB), an all-volunteer wind ensemble sponsored by the city of University Heights.

This year the band is pleased to inaugurate its first year-round concert season, presenting concerts in Kulas Auditorium at John Carroll University (JCU) on Oct. 20, Dec. 5 and March 8. Additionally, the band will present a series of holiday and summer concerts around Greater Cleveland.

The band is under the leadership of Musical and Artistic Director Matthew Salvaggio, who also serves as music director of the Euclid Symphony Orchestra. Salvaggio is the co-founder of Orchestra 19, a 19th-century historical performance practice orchestra based in Cleveland. Since he became its third director in 2015, UHSB has grown considerably. It now numbers close to 60 musicians drawn from throughout the Heights and the region.

The band has made great musical strides. In addition to continuing its tradition of playing a wide range of selections, including film scores and popular music, the band regularly performs both classical and core wind band repertoire.

The Oct. 20 concert, for example, will feature Courtly Airs and Dances by Ron Nelson; Sheltering Sky by John Mackey; Rhapsody for Flute by Stephen Bulla, with flute solo by band member Robert Cotrell; Sea Songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams; and First Suite in E-flat by Gustav Holst. The concert, at JCU’s Kulas Auditorium, is free and open to the public, with a suggested $5 donation at the door.

UHSB is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and a member of the Association of Concert Bands. For more information about the band, a complete list of performances, and information about joining the band, visit www.universityheightsband.org

Mark Souther

Mark Souther plays trumpet in the University Heights Symphonic Band. He is a professor at Cleveland State University and lives in Cleveland Heights.

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Volume 12, Issue 10, Posted 10:38 AM, 10.01.2019