FMU Concert Band presents a Musical Journey through the Solar System

 The fall concert for the FMU Concert Band, A Musical Journey through the Solar System will feature selections from Holst’s “The Planets” and accompanying visuals from the FMU Honors Astronomy Class.  FMU’s band director, Kelly Jokisch, has put together a concert which will connect music and visual graphics.  The idea came out of a love of one piece from Gustav Holst’s Suite.  Jokisch said “Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity” was one of the first pieces she heard a professional orchestra perform while she was in middle school. “It wasn't just the brass fanfare passages that captivated me as a trumpet player, but also the lush, beautiful hymn.”

The 67-member concert band is composed of a combination of FMU student and community musicians.  For the fall concert, the band has teamed up with FMU Physics & Astronomy Assistant Professor, Dr. Ginger Bryngelson.  Bryngelson is currently teaching an honors special topics course in astronomy.  In this course, students explore the diversity of the universe, and how scientists have come to understand it.  Her students are developing presentations on various planets.  These same students are then preparing visuals which will accompany the band’s performance.  Some of the images you will see in their displays may be some they have taken themselves.  Bryngelson states, “Though their majors are very different, these students are all very enthusiastic about astronomy, and it has been great to see their different takes on the assignment.  They've each brought some unique ideas to the table.”

FMU Honors was created some thirty years ago to attract, retain and reward the area's highest-achieving students.  It is now a community of about 200 motivated, creative and inquisitive students collaborating with some of our best faculty to create an enhanced undergraduate experience.   FMU Honors offers a specialized curriculum consisting of seminar-style symposia and special topics courses, social and co-curricular activities, community living and study abroad opportunities.   It continues to reflect FMU’s commitment to personalized instruction, a low faculty-to-student ratio and civic involvement. 

“The Musical Journey through the Solar System is precisely the sort of thing an Honors director would hope for,” said Director of FMU Honors, Dr. Jon Tuttle, “It integrates disciplines--astronomy, music, visual arts--that most people would assume are incompatible.  The whole notion behind FMU Honors special topics courses is just this sort of thing: to teach beyond the normal or predictable curriculum, to engage both hemispheres, to make learning different.”

Ken Hudson, Lighting Supervisor at the FMU Performing Arts Center, is already working behind the scenes to bring the visual pieces together on stage.  “With a project like this we combine the technologies of scientific exploration and theatrical production with the artistry of musical production to share the natural beauty of our cosmic neighborhood,” said Hudson.

The FMU Fall Band Concert promises to be a unique audio and visual experience in an outstanding facility.  “Ginger Bryngelson and Kelly Jokisch are extraordinarily creative colleagues and generous with their expertise,” said Tuttle, “and I’m very excited to see and hear what they and their students have done.”

FMU Fall Band Concert – A Musical Journey through the Solar System; Tuesday, October 21, 2014 7:30 p.m., at the FMU Performing Arts Center.

Tickets for the Fall FMU Band Concert are free to all middle and high school students who show an ID and those younger.  All remaining tickets are $5 each and may be purchased at the door the night of the concert.  Tickets may also be purchased in advance by calling the FMU Performing Arts Center Box Office (843-661-4444) or visiting the Box Office Monday through Friday from 12-5 p.m.  The Box Office is also open 90 minutes before any Presenting Series event, Florence Symphony Orchestra concert, or Department of Fine Arts performance.  The first 100 tickets are free to FMU students who present valid FMU ID's at the Box Office.  For this concert,  Tickets are not available online.  To keep up-to-date with Francis Marion's Cultural Events please visit:  http://departments.fmarion.edu/finearts.