The Josephine B. Abney Cultural Center Auditorium will come to life at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 12, when Lander University's Wind Ensemble takes the stage for its first concert of the season.
It will be the 10th such concert for principal trumpet player Gregg Hinton, a junior music education major from Laurens, who also plays with Lander's Brass Ensemble and pep band.
The 29-year-old Hinton has been playing trumpet, he said, since he was "11 or 12." He was invited to join the Laurens District 55 High School Marching Band when he was only in the eighth grade, and once performed the national anthem before 30,000 people at an Atlanta Braves game.
He looks forward to a career as a middle school or high school music teacher after graduation, but he will continue to perform as well.
"I want my students to respect me as a player," he said. "If they do, they'll be more likely to respect me as a teacher."
Lander assistant professor of music Dr. Reed P. Gallo is beginning his third year as director of the wind ensemble. He said he has seen continued improvement in the musical abilities of those in the group.
"We have a small music program, but we're performing works that other institutions our size have trouble with," he said.
A case in point is Howard Hanson's "Chorale and Alleluia," to be included in the upcoming concert. Gallo described it as a "complex piece, very taxing and physically demanding for the players."
He singled out "Chorale and Alleluia" and another offering, Morley Calvert's "Suite from the Monteregian Hills" as "two pieces that really strike a chord with me."
Works by composers Frank Ticheli and Alan Hovhanness will also be featured.
Lander's Wind Ensemble is open to music majors, music minors, non-majors, adjunct music professors, other university professors, local band directors and community members, Gallo said.
"It's a good outlet for these musicians," he added.
The concert is free and open to the public. For information, call Lander's College of Arts and Humanities at 864-388-8323. Information about other upcoming Lander fine arts events is available on the university's website, www.lander.edu.