FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNIVERSITY WIND ENSEMBLE TO PERFORM PREMIERE OF WORK BY VISITING AUSTRIAN COMPOSER

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., Nov. 15, 2002 – The Southeast Symphonic Wind Ensemble will present its second concert of the season Dec. 5, featuring the American premiere of a work by Austrian composer, Alois Wimmer.

The concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Academic Auditorium.

Wimmer, who holds degrees with distinction from the Mozarteum Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Salzburg, has received numerous awards and prizes for his compositions. He has composed works for Wind Orchestra (Band), Symphonic Orchestra, and Choir, as well as a variety of pieces for solo instruments and chamber music.

Wimmer will visit Cape Girardeau and the Southeast campus during the week of Dec. 2-6 for the performance of his composition entitled “Venedig,” a three-movement work based upon his impressions of the city of Venice, Italy. He also will work with students in the Southeast Department of Music and present a workshop on his compositions for area musicians.

Also included on the Dec. 5 concert will be a new fanfare dedicated to former Missouri Secretary of State James C. Kirkpatrick, “Fantasies on a Theme of Haydn” by American composer Norman Dello Joio, and John Philip Sousa’s “Free Lance March.” Senior music major and conducting student Tyson Wunderlich of Altenburg, Mo., will serve as guest conductor on Mozart’s “Serenade in C Minor.”

The numerous invitations the Southeast Symphonic Wind Ensemble has received to perform at state and regional conference are indicative of the respect this group has received both for quality of performance and innovative programming. The group has presented eight work premieres and more than a dozen American premiers of works for the contemporary wind band and has performed for both the Missouri Music Educators and the College Band Directors National Association. The group also has been featured on several compact discs, the latest of which is a new release entitled “Southeast Symphonic Wind Ensemble LIVE.”

Parking for the concert will be available in the Dempster lots with shuttle bus service to Academic. Handicapped parking is available behind Academic Auditorium, with street-level elevator access.

General admission is $6. Tickets for senior citizens are $5, and student tickets are $4. University faculty and student tickets are $5. For more information, call (573) 651-2141.