Symphonic Winds’ final spring semester concert to feature ‘Things I (Kind of) Know’

Symphonic Winds will close out its spring concert series by performing a selection of music that Duval Salvant, MC director of bands, 'kind of' knows.

All band directors have selections of music that they know by heart. Then there are compositions that they are familiar with but haven’t had the opportunity to perform.

Arrangements in the latter category will form the basis of Symphonic Winds’ final concert of the spring semester when Duval Salvant, MC director of bands, leads Mississippi College’s wind ensemble in “Things I (Kind of) Know,” scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 13, in Swor Auditorium in Nelson Hall. There is no charge to attend and the public is invited.

Salvant said the idea for the concert arose from the band’s triumphant tour earlier in the spring.

“I was so focused on the tour concert that, when it was over, I had trouble getting inspired,” he said. “Then I thought, why not play music I don’t know? Music I’ve never performed as a musician or as a conductor, and I’ve never taught as a director.”

Salvant searched the catalogs of composers he knew for music he hadn’t heard.

“I know pieces by them and their style, but I haven’t heard all of the pieces that they’ve done,” he said.

He also sought sets of musical pieces in arrangements or scores he had only partially performed. What he discovered was a treasure trove of music that is sure to delight audiences.

One of the arrangements Symphonic Winds is scheduled to perform – “Elements,” a Petite Symphony by Brian Balmages – is a multi-movement piece featuring four movements: “Air,” “Water,” “Earth” and “Fire.” During his first year as a director, Salvant played piano for the first two movements, but never listened to the last two.

“I thought, ‘Why not do the whole thing?’” Salvant said.

He was teaching another piece on the program, “Come Sweet Death” by Johann Sebastian Bach, arranged by Alfred Reed, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and never got to perform it.

“This concert is helping to complete some unfinished work,” he said.

The program will also include “Kirkpatrick Fanfare” by Andrew Boysen Jr.; “Joy Revisited” by Frank Ticheli; and “Military Escort in 5 Ways” by Henry Fillmore. The Mackie Award recipient – the student who Symphonic Winds performers voted the most helpful and influential during this band season – will be announced during the concert.

Salvant said conducting and directing pieces he hasn’t performed doubles his work – he has to learn them first before teaching them – but the potential payoff is worth the effort.

“If we just play the old standards that I enjoy, the students aren’t going to like playing them and the audience isn’t going to like hearing it. I like to make sure that students are engaged, the audience is engaged and I’m engaged.

“The students’ favorite is the last movement of ‘Elements.’ We end the concert with ‘Fire,’ a big, boastful piece. It’s a powerful ending.”

He said the final Symphonic Winds performance should be indicative of the ensemble’s successful spring season.

“Periodically, every band director will walk off a stage and say to themselves, ‘I think that was one of our best concerts ever,’” he said. “That has happened to me every single time Symphonic Winds has performed. Our last concert on tour in February was the best this ensemble has played in a long time.

“I pushed myself to make sure that this concert can keep up with that one, because people are going to expect a lot this time. If we can keep the audience engaged, the students will always perform.”

For more information about Symphonic Winds or the final spring concert, email Salvant at dbsalvant@mc.edu.