NEWS
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Contact: Bruce Conley
Associate Director of College Relations
Phone: (605) 274-5526
Fax: (605) 274-4903
www.augie.edu
March 21, 2006
Augustana Band Presents 'A Sousa Spectacular!' in the Great Hall
SIOUX FALLS – The Augustana Band performs A Sousa Spectacular at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, in the Washington Pavilion’s Great Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.
The Band, under the direction of Dr. Bruce Ammann, will also perform at 12:30 p.m. for an audience of 500 middle school students from across the Sioux Empire.
Dr. Ammann, who will dress and play the role of John Philip Sousa, has been inspired to perform a Sousa-style concert because of his admiration for the American musical icon, and knowing Sousa’s music is extremely popular in the area.
Sousa (1854-1932) was known as the March King. At age 6 he began studying voice, violin, piano, flute, cornet, trombone, and alto horn. His father enlisted him in the Marines at age 13 as an apprentice after he attempted to run away and join a circus band. The last piece he conducted was Stars and Stripes Forever.
He led the greatest military bands in U.S. history. His music composed mostly of marches and patriotic tunes have been resonating throughout the country since the turn of the 20th century.
Master Sgt. Scott Shelsta, recently retired trombone soloist for the U.S. Army Band and a 1971 graduate of Augustana, returns to Sioux Falls as a concert soloist. He will play the role of Arthur Pryor, Sousa’s most well-known featured artist who played 10,000 solos with Sousa’s band.
Augustana senior Lindsay Ammann, who is planning a career in opera, is also a featured soloist playing a traditional Lady in White.
Opening the concert is the Augustana College Community Band . The 104-piece ensemble is made up of Augustana students and members of the community.
The origin of wind band music at Augustana College dates back to 1896, when a few students at Lutheran Normal School in Sioux Falls gathered for the purpose of organizing a band. The merger of Lutheran Normal School and Augustana College in 1918 strengthened the band in number and quality. A constitution was approved stating “the purpose of this organization shall be to create interest in band music, to furnish an opportunity for instruction on the various instruments, and to provide a means of entertainment.”
Today, the Augustana Band is recognized as one of the finest collegiate concert organizations in the Upper Midwest. The 69 members perform the best in original band repertoire and transcriptions of orchestral literature.