PAC, Hodgson School season kick off with Golden Age Band

The UGA Performing Arts Center and the Hugh Hodgson School of Music jointly kick off the performance season next week on August 25 with a collaborative musical journey through American band music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries:

The concert, which is the joint kickoff to the School of Music’s Thursday Scholarship Series and the UGA Performing Arts Center’s (PAC) season, assembles a rare group under the baton of George Foreman, director of the PAC.

“UGA faculty members will be joined by our best students,” said Foreman. “This makes for a fully professional quality 25-piece ensemble.”

The instrumentation of the band will mirror the kind used by American bands of the late 19th and early 20th centuries: piccolo, clarinets, cornets, alto horns, trombones, euphonium, tubas and percussion. Special guests from the Hodgson School include faculty members Cynthia Johnston Turner, guest conductor; Philip Smith and Brandon Craswell, cornet soloists; Joshua Bynum, trombone soloist; and Stephanie Tingler, soprano soloist. 

“The concert will include the types of works that made up a typical Golden Age program, including marches, overtures, works featuring soloists on various instruments and novelty numbers,” said Foreman.

The program features music by a who’s-who of the Golden Age of American bands with names like John Philip Sousa, Edwin Franko Goldman, Herbert L. Clarke, and Arthur Pryor.

An innovative programming concept featuring our outstanding faculty and student performers, the Golden Age Band is wonderful bridge between generations as well as between the Hugh and the PAC. What an amazing experience to be a part of such an ensemble! Second to that is being among the audience for such a rare performance, and we only have a few more days to wait. Get your tickets here.