Arthur Foulkes
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
Instead of a monument made of stone or bronze, musicians at Indiana State University plan to commemorate the memory of 9/11 with living music.
“Reflection and Hope,” a concert hosted by the ISU School of Music, will take place Sunday at 4 p.m. in Tilson Auditorium. On the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the goal of the concert is to pay homage to that day and also to look to the future with hope, organizers said.
“This should be the best attended concert of the year,” said Roby G. George, director of bands at ISU. “This will be a special event.”
The concert will take the unusual step of including the ISU Concert Choir, the University Symphony Orchestra and the University Wind Orchestra. Bringing all three entities together for a single concert is difficulty logistically, but worth the effort to mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11, said Gordon Couch, a graduate assistant in the band department.
The concert, which will also feature a simultaneous slide show of 9/11-related images, is an opportunity for the entire community to come together and remember that day, said Scott Buchanan, director of choral activities at ISU. His choral students will present music written to commemorate Sept. 11, 2001, including a moving piece written for the dedication of the “Spire of Hope” at St. Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The spire was dedicated on the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Anna Buck, a junior studying music education, will sing a solo during the concert and says she mostly remembers the American unity she saw as a 10-year-old girl immediately after the attacks. During a rehearsal on Wednesday, her voice beautifully expressed the deep range of emotions evoked by 9/11.
Tyler Lemen is another music student studying vocals who is involved in the concert. He was 12 when the World Trade Center was destroyed and said he remembers seeing his teachers at his Evansville school responding to the news.
“They were actually crying,” he recalled.
While the choral parts of the concert will feature music written since Sept. 11, 2001, the Wind Orchestra will play “Lincoln Portrait” by Aaron Copland, one of the best known American composers of music for orchestra.
“It’s pretty powerful stuff,” George said.
The University Symphony Orchestra will perform “Symphony No. 3 – Movement II” by Henyrk Gorecki, featuring soloist Colleen Davis.
The concert, which is expected to last a little more than 90 minutes, will conclude with the choir and the band performing Carmen Dragon’s “America, The Beautiful.”
Tickets will be available at the door. Adults tickets are $10. Tickets for students in grades K-12 are $5 and ISU students will be admitted free with a valid student ID. Advance tickets are available through the ISU School of Music.
