Elias Gillespie (left), director of bands, and composer Kimberly Archer (right) work with Wind Ensemble students on Archer’s music ahead of the “Variations on America” concert. (Photo provided)
November 12, 2026
SIU Wind Ensemble pairs music and wine for ‘Variations on America’
CARBONDALE, Ill. — A night out in Carbondale doesn’t have to cost a thing. The Southern Illinois University Carbondale Wind Ensemble presents “Variations on America,” a free concert open to the public, at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 in Shryock Auditorium.
The program features music by five composers with different perspectives on American life. Elias Gillespie, assistant lecturer and director of bands, conducts the ensemble. Brittainy Spears, assistant lecturer and coordinator of music education in the School of Music, joins as guest conductor.
Before the music starts, Alto Vineyards pours complimentary samples for guests 21 and older at the 6:15 p.m. pre-concert talk. The talk is free and needs no RSVP. The wine tasting requires an online reservation.
Inside the program
Gillespie said the program “grew out of questions about what it means to live together as Americans and what responsibilities we have to one another.”
The evening begins with Kimberly Archer’s “Fanfare Politeia,” which draws on ancient Greek concepts of citizenship and government “to introduce democracy as something people build together,” Gillespie said. Archer, a distinguished research professor of music composition and theory at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, composed the fanfare for Joe Biden’s 2021 presidential inauguration. The U.S. Marine Band, known as “The President’s Own,” commissioned the work.
Next are Benjamin Horne’s “Deep River” and Florence Price’s “Adoration,” arranged by David Miller. Gillespie described both works as “expressions of faith and longing within Black American musical traditions” that invite listeners “to consider how the ideals of freedom and belonging have been experienced differently.”
Charles Ives’ “Variations on America” adds contrast through several stylistic interpretations of a familiar melody. The concert concludes with David Maslanka’s “Give Us This Day.” Maslanka was one of Archer’s composition teachers. Gillespie said the piece looks “toward what comes next” and “what we can do today to make a better future possible.”
Learning through music
Wind Ensemble students recently had the opportunity to study Archer’s music with the composer herself. Gillespie said that working directly with her gave them the chance to “ask questions, hear her perspective and explore the decisions in the score together.”
It’s a perspective students can draw on as they share her music with a live audience. “I’m excited for them to have that experience and bring it into the performance,” Gillespie said.
The lessons don’t stop with Archer. Gillespie said the program’s variety is important for students’ development. Moving between composers from different backgrounds means adapting to music that “requires very different approaches to listening and playing” and thinking beyond the notes themselves.
“We want them to consider whose stories they are sharing and how understanding those stories can inform their musical decisions,” he said.
For the ensemble’s future music educators, Gillespie said, the concert is also a chance “to think about the experiences they will create for their own students through the music they choose.”
For more information, contact SIU Bands at bands@siu.edu or 618-536-8742. To request disability accommodations, call 618-453-5738.