The University at Little Rock Wind Ensemble has a new director this year, okay well this director is not so new to the WE because truth be told, he was tasked to start the whole shebang in 2006 and had directed it for four years before another band director was hired for the position.
That very first year he started with four people and ended up with ten. Back then the concerts were once a semester and the pieces played were at a lower level in degree of difficulty.
The director I am referring to is Dr. Michael P. Underwood.
Dr. Underwood was gracious to grant me an interview to reflect on the most recent WE concert which was on October 6, 2022 and to talk about the one coming up next month on November 17th. But before getting into all that jazz, he filled me in on his background. Underwood who is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin was hired by UALR as a Music Theory Instructor in 2006 and if you do the math, that has him here for 17 years now. After releasing the reigns of the WE in 2010, he went on to direct the UALR jazz band. He has also been a member (trombonist) of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra since 2003.
In addition to his twenty years with the ASO, he not too long ago had the experience of directing a band filled with Chinese musicians in China in 2019 after working with them for 75-80 minutes with the help of an interpreter of course. When informed this summer that he would be tasked once again to direct the WE this school year, although sad to see the former band instructor go he was glad to be given the opportunity again. This semester there are 36 musicians in the wind ensemble.
If you would have attended the wind ensemble concert in the Stella Boyle Concert Hall on October 6th at the Fine Arts Building on campus at UALR, you would have seen on the screen on stage as you walked in and sat down, pictures that represented mid-century modern art of the 50’s and 60’s (a fad that saturated the market at that time) featured in the interior of houses that has made a huge come back according to Dr. Underwood.
When reflecting on that concert he stated that he felt like it went really well. He described the WE to be filled with students who wanted to be good and successful. Dr. Underwood went on to say that “the energy the band gave was tremendous and the attention to detail was top level”. The first of the four pieces that were played that evening was ABC Wide World of Sports. Although this was an unusual piece to be played it is familiar to a lot of people.
The reason he gave for choosing this piece was because it was written for wind ensemble and percussion and he wanted to honor that.
The Delta composed by an African American named William Grant Still was a three- movement piece that Underwood was pleased to present because it was an opportunity to address the need for diversity, equity and inclusion. Another composition that was played by the WE called “Pageant”, Underwood said he had never heard performed.
This piece a composed by Vincent Persichetti who was in Dr. Underwood’s opinion one of the greatest composers in the 20th century, who not only was a child prodigy but had published his first opus at the age of 14. “It was a great challenge for us which required lots of listening and musicianship”. He loved the colors in the piece and the fact that it had a lot of trombone parts in it which being a trombonist himself made it extra special to conduct.
Dr. Underwood ended the concert with a piece called “The Booster” recollecting a piece that was played by the jazz band last semester call “Soul Vaccination”. If you missed this concert there is another one coming up soon on November 17th that you can catch at 6:30pm. This concert will feature the UALR choir and vocalist Hannah Blacklaw singing a cha-cha called “The Sway” accompanied by the UALR Jazz Band. Another piece that is being prepared in the band room right now for the Oct. 6th concert is the “English Folk Song” which Underwood describes as active and energetic.
This upcoming concert will be a recruiting event as it will be on the same date that “Music Major for a Day” will be held. Be sure to make plans to come check out the UALR Wind Ensemble and be ready to be astounded and amazed as they strike up the band!
By Val Bell
