SIU Symphonic Band members in a recent rehearsal before the Wednesday, Feb. 25, performance of “AMERICANA” at Shryock Auditorium. (Photo by Russell Bailey)
February 20, 2026
SIU Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band to showcase ‘AMERICANA’ Feb. 25
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Nearly 80 Southern Illinois University Carbondale students will kick off the spring semester with a tribute to the nation’s 250th anniversary when they present “AMERICANA” on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
The free, public performance begins at 7 p.m. in Shryock Auditorium.
SIU’s Wind Ensemble is comprised of 32 student members, ranging from first-year undergraduate students who are music majors, music minors, graduate students pursuing their Master of Music degree and non-music majors. The SIU Symphonic Band is made up of 45 students who are mostly non-music majors.
Christopher Morehouse, professor of conducting, director of bands and SIU Wind Ensemble conductor in the SIU School of Music, said the symphonic band will perform first, followed by the wind ensemble. George Brozak, associate director of bands and director of athletic bands, will direct the symphonic band, with Karlena Tucker, a School of Music graduate conducting assistant, conducting one of the symphonic band pieces.
The performance will feature:
SIU Symphonic Band
- Clare Grundman’s “Kentucky 1800.” Based on the tunes of three American folk songs —“The Promised Land,” “Cindy,” and “I'm Sad and I'm Lonely.” The melodies are reminiscent of the years the pioneers were forging westward. The work is a band masterpiece which has long since become a favorite with audiences, Brozak said.
- Morton Lauridsen’s “Contre Qui, Rose.” Originally a choral piece, later transcribed by H. Robert Reynolds, the two collaborated on the piece as colleagues at the University of Southern California. The work is influenced by a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke. Tucker will conduct that piece.
- Clare Grundman’s “The Blue and the Gray.” Features a balanced and skillful setting of famous Civil War songs including “Marching Through Georgia,” “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” “Battle Cry of Freedom,” and others.
- Edwin Franko Goldman’s “On the Mall.” Goldman founded the New York Military Band, later known as the Goldman Band. His works are known for their pleasant and catchy tunes, and “On the Mall,” is his most famous march.
SIU Wind Ensemble
- Joan Tower’s “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, No. 1,” originally inspired by Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.” Morehouse said in Tower’s words, the song honors “women who take risks and who are adventurous,” and dedicated to well-known conductor Marin Alsop.
- An arrangement of Charles Ives’s “A Son of a Gambolier” from his song collection “114 Songs.” The song includes an expansive, tongue-in-cheek postlude, which Ives entitles “Kazoo Chorus.”
- Aaron Copland’s “The Red Pony Film Suite.” Copland composed six film scores. This orchestral suite for band is based on John Steinbeck's 1937 novella of the same name, Morehouse said, adding the music “captures the spirit of the American West, similarly to his well-known ballet scores “Billy the Kid” and “Rodeo.”