April 21: FMU Concert Band Concert

FMU Concert Band Concert

Tuesday, 21 April 2015, 7:30 pm Performing Arts Center, Downtown FlorenceFMU Concert Band 

Kelly Jokisch, conductor

FMU Spring Band Concert

The FMU Concert Band will present their spring program “A Few of Our Favorite Things” 7:30pm on April 21 at the FMU Performing Arts Center.  The spring selections are all favorite pieces chosen by members of the group.  The 65-member concert band, directed by Kelly Jokisch, is composed of a combination of FMU student and community musicians.  The concert will also feature band students from Mullins High School who participate in the Marine Corps JROTC Military Instrumental Ensemble under Senior Marine Instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Chuck DePreker, USMC Retired.

All students who show an ID and children are free; all remaining tickets are $5 each.  Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office (843-661-4444), visiting the Box Office M-F from 12-5pm or purchased at the door the night of the concert.  To keep up-to-date with Francis Marion's Cultural Events, please visit:  http://departments.fmarion.edu/finearts

We are always seeking additional participants; if you play a band instrument or know someone looking for a place to play, please contact us. Information can be found at Music - Instrumental Program or email Kelly Jokisch at kjokisch@fmarion.edu.

February 10: FMU's Winter Band Concert

FMU Winter Band Concert; Tuesday, February 10, 2015 7:30 p.m., at the FMU Performing Arts Center. 

The 62-member concert band is composed of a combination of FMU student and community musicians.  The ensemble will present a program of classic and contemporary music for concert band on February 10.

All students who show an ID and children are free; all remaining tickets are $5 each.  Tickets must be purchased by calling the Box Office (843-661-4444) or visiting the Box Office M-F from 12-5pm. Tickets may be purchased at the door the night of the concert.  To keep up-to-date with Francis Marion's Cultural Events please visit:  http://departments.fmarion.edu/finearts

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.