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My roommate and in our sets before the concert started.

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Taken before the performers took their seats, the hall is a very grandioso setting. Absolutely stunning in person.

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The UNT Wind Symphony paid tribute to David Maslanka by performing his 8th symphony, as he had passed away in early August. Maslanka called it, "Symphony No. 8: Unending Stream of Life". Starting very subtle, the piece grew quickly into massive brass and full ensemble moments.

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Illinois State University Wind Symphony Stephen K. Steele, conductor World Premiere Live Concert Recording

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Like many of his pieces, Maslanka has a constant battle in this work between dark and light ideas. As Maslanka says in his program note, "This music is a celebration of life. It is about new life, continuity from the past to the future, great hope, great faith, joy, ecstatic vision, and fierce determination." Maslanka is a very spiritual man, as most of his music is based on spiritual ideas, whether that be Christianity, Buddhism, or life in its purest and darkest forms.

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As David Maslanka is one of my favorite composers, and having performed 2 of his pieces before, I was very excited and anticipated hearing this piece. His works, whether it be live or a recording, really are just mind-blowing and goose bump-enabling. I was personally just pushed to the edge of my seat at the mastery and skill these musicians had on their instruments and the music itself. I expected and got nothing less than a virtuoso performance from the North Texas Wind Symphony.

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A personal favorite, I was so very happy and excited to see that the UNT Wind Symphony was playing this piece. My high school band actually played this when I was an 8th grader, and I remember going and hearing them perform it.

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Provided to YouTube by NAXOS of America Blue Shades · North Texas Wind Symphony Composer's Collection: Frank Ticheli ℗ 2006 GIA WindWorks Released on: 2006-01-01 Conductor: Eugene Migliaro Corporon Ensemble: North Texas Wind Symphony Composer: Frank Ticheli Auto-generated by YouTube.

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Performers take their seats and the audience applauds the ensemble as they make their way on stage.

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Blue Shades is a very light-hearted, fun, jazzy piece fit for any experienced wind ensemble. Set at a fast tempo, Blue Shades expands on many different ideas using different rhythms such as 8th notes, 16th notes, and triplets. Ticheli writes, "As its title suggests, the work alludes to the Blues, and a jazz feeling is prevalent; however, it is not literally a Blues piece. There is not a single 12-bar blues progression to be found, and except for a few isolated sections, the eighth-note is not swung." The North Texas Wind Symphony recorded Blue Shades in the late 90's, and it remains one of the best recordings of the work available.

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As soon as the conductor lifted her baton, my heart started racing. I've heard Blue Shades in recordings many times but as long as it's been around, I've never heard it live. This performance of the work was absolutely stellar, a bit under tempo, but stellar nonetheless. The clarinet soloist, who was very small in stature, (she had to put her feet on her clarinet case because her feet couldn't touch the floor!), absolutely made up what she lacked in height, with skill. She was absolutely perfect on Blue Shades' very demanding solo. This performance had me excited for each coming measure after the next.