The Rowan University Bands’ first annual Collage Concert brought together three of RU’s bands to blend contemporary and classic music. The Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and Pride of the Profs Marching Band all came together to showcase their hard work, presenting eight selections and one rambunctious slice of a halftime show. 

The concert began with words from the Conductor of the Rowan University Concert Band Megan Cooney. Cooney described how the opening ensemble, the Concert Band, would be playing some pieces more standard to a symphonic band. 

“While here at Rowan, Dr. Higgins and I often program music that is more modern and contemporary… it’s also sometimes nice to just revisit where everything began,” said Cooney.

Audiences were along for this trip back to the advent of symphonic band, as they played five pieces spanning emotion and feel, from the springy, bright opener, Ralph Vaughn Williams’ “Sea Songs,” to the solemnity of “The Three Ravens” arranged by Percy Grainger.

The Concert band also played a piece called National Emblem, composed by E.E. Bagley and guest conducted by Rowan’s own Director of Bands Dr. Joseph Higgins, which can best be described as a 20th-century remix of marching music and the National Anthem.

After the Concert Band was the Wind Ensemble. This group was unique in that it was quite amorphous. For the opening piece, Conductor Dr. Joseph Higgins moved towards the center of the room to direct a horn section standing in the back of the room between rows of auditorium seats. This group played the overture from Dancing in the Dark.

Next, Dr. Higgins returned to the traditional podium on stage to conduct a small ensemble that played Konzertstuck No. 1 by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. This group was notable, because the solo clarinetists, Jeffrey Bedford and Noah Kouhoupt, won the music department concerto competition. Winners get to perform their concerto the following semester. 

At this point, Dr. Higgins took a moment to discuss the purpose behind the Collage Concert. 

“It’s brilliant to all perform here in the same show. The idea, also, in addition to being cool for us, is that parents and friends of a student who is in one of these groups can hear what the whole program is up to,” said Higgins. 

The result of this thinking was evident. The Collage Concert boasted a sizable audience, with people trickling in still throughout the night. 

Next, the entire Wind Ensemble took to the stage to play their one last piece, John Williams’ Adventures on Earth from “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” a nostalgic conclusion to this section of the concert, and a great musical segue to the next band.

Last but not least was the Pride of the Profs Marching Band, performing parts of their 2024 halftime show, “Feel’n Good.” The joy of their delivery was palpable, as the pit started with their ethereal opening number at the front of the theater. 

Next, the drumline came on stage, and lastly, the rest of the nearly 170-man band flooded in from the side doors of Pfleeger Concert Hall, filling the auditorium and enveloping audience members in sound.

This production lived up to its name, with the band performing specially arranged segments of songs like NSync’s “Bye Bye Bye” and Gloria Estefan’s “Conga.” 

The night concluded with the Marching Band giving a spirited performance of the school song, before leaving audience members to disperse.

Xavier Norwood, a sophomore jazz major and a trumpet player in the Wind Ensemble spoke about how his favorite part of playing this concert was seeing people’s reaction to the brass ensemble’s “Bjork Fanfare.”

“Oh, one thousand percent. Because it’s definitely a great way for people to branch out and see many different ensembles… and to get more people to come to the concerts,” said Norwood when asked if it’s important to have combined concerts like the Collage Concert.

He discussed with me how earlier in the week, on Sunday, he had the chance to perform in concert with the Concert Choir, and how that was a great experience for him because he had never gotten to see them perform before. This reinforced the idea that a combined concert, such as the RU Bands Collage Concert, is a net benefit to students and those who come to see them. 

Overall, the Collage Concert was a great chance to see the hard work that some of the bands here at Rowan have been putting in, all in one place, and we can expect to see more combined concerts in the future.

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