Winner of the 2018 “Kappa Kappa Psi Concerto Competition” Brandon Gordon, top, performs alongside the Southeastern Wind Symphony at the symphony’s last concert of the season. Zachary Araki/The Lion's Roar

The Southeastern Wind Symphony played with a few guest conductors for the last concert of the season.

The symphony performed “A Tribute to Karel Husa” at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts on Thursday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m.

“It was great, really proud of the work that the students put together,” said Interim Director of Bands Derek Stoughton. “We were a little nervous at the beginning, but we eventually put it all together, and they put on one heck of a concert.”

Graduate student in music Tara Hymel arranged and conducted three of Astor Piazzolla’s six “Tango Etudes.” 

“I decided to take three of them and arrange them for a wind ensemble,” said Hymel. “So, I kept the original solo line, displaced it through all the different instruments as needed, and then I wrote the supportive harmony and all the percussion that went behind it.”

As the winner of the 2018 “Kappa Kappa Psi Concerto Competition,” freshman music major Brandon Gordon soloed alongside the symphony, which was conducted by of Instructor of Clarinet Victor Drescher.

“It was a real exciting experience,” said Gordon. “I was pretty nervous at the beginning. I rehearsed a lot and practiced, and once I started playing, it just felt normal like I was at home.”

The concert paid tribute to the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Music winner and composer Karel Husa with the closing selection.

“The culminating piece of course was ‘Music for Prague 1968,’” said Stoughton. “The symbolism behind that work is something I really wanted the students to experience.”

For Hymel, the experience was “like a dream come true.” She discussed her interest in conducting.

“When I took the conducting class in my undergraduate degree, it sparked an interest, and I really enjoyed it,” said Hymel. “So, when I graduated and I was offered an assistantship to come back into the conducting program, of course I took it because I love Southeastern. It’s just something that I love.”

Gordon shared what he enjoys about music.

“Music is able to draw many emotions out of people, and I like being able to evoke emotions from people just by my playing and being able to feel something through my music,” said Gordon. 

Hymel explained her passion for music.

“I believe that everybody is given a gift in life, and I know that my gift was music,” said Hymel. “Whether that is performing solo or teaching or conducting, whatever that is, my gift was music, and that is what I do in my life. It’s what I’ve dedicated my entire life to. I’ve studied piano since I was four years old, and then I started with flute. The possibilities are endless with music, and that’s what I love about it.”

Stoughton looked back over the symphony’s concert season.

“We performed a wide variety of repertoire from music all the way back to the 1780s all the way up to 2016 was the latest piece,” said Stoughton. “We covered repertoire over 300 years, many different genres of music from tangos to light-hearted fun children’s music to serious music, ‘Music for Prague.’ So, I’m very proud of them. It’s been a great year.”

Junior music major Jordan Bergeron shared his thoughts on the season.

“The season was rough, a lot of drama, a lot of ups and downs, but we pulled through in the end, and that’s what really matters,” said Bergeron.