Inspired by “Dies Irae,” a Latin hymnal death chant detailing the apocalypse, “Red Cape Tango” is a musical piece written by Michael Daugherty to represent Superman’s battle to the death with Doomsday. 

According to Daugherty’s website, this “dance of death” is conceived as a tango, which begins in soft, solemn melody and becomes increasingly loud and erratic with emphatic sounds of crash cymbals, brake drums and timpani drums as the suspense builds in the dramatic altercation. 

This was the opening piece performed by Southeastern’s Wind Symphony on Friday, Dec. 5 in Pottle Auditorium as part of the annual High School Honor Band Festival. 

The festival is held each year with the goal of recruiting musically talented high school students to the university’s music department. 

“This concert is always on the Friday night of the festival,” said conductor of the Wind Symphony Glen Hemberger. “It’s a way for us to show off our ensemble. We have 140 high school students here, and it’s a way to show what our department has to offer.”

The Wind Symphony concerts usually present compositions to match a specific theme. However, a large variety of pieces were performed to display the many colors of wind instruments as well as the range of talent within the music department. 

While “Red Cape Tango” was more intense and dramatic, pieces such as “Song for Lyndsay” by Andrew Boysen Jr., displayed the more beautiful, romantic side of wind instruments. 

John Mackey’s “Kingfishers Catch Fire” was the final piece. This piece exuberantly depicts kingfishers, brilliantly colored birds said to give the impression of bursting into flames when flying in sunlight. Because of their shy natures, kingfishers are rarely seen by people, but when they do emerge, the sight is breathtaking. It was the beauty of these birds flying into the sunlight that Mackey was trying to portray in this piece. 

“We like to do something flashy at the end, and we like to show off prettier pieces,” said Hemberger. “We always try to present a variety of pieces.” 

Though the Wind Symphony was primarily meant to impress musically talented high school students, the performance attracted an audience as varied as the pieces performed. Current students, faculty and community members attended the performance in support of the music department. 

“I really love wind symphonies,” said Cheyenne Moore, freshman vocal performance major. “I always go to the performances, and I even try to plan my schedule around them. You don’t miss wind symphonies. It’s just not an option.”