The University of Iowa School of Music will present a free concert by the UI Symphony Band and the UI Concert Band at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, in the Second Floor Ballroom of the Iowa Memorial Union.

The Concert Band, conducted by Hawkeye Marching Band Director Kevin Kastens, and featuring guest conductors Carl Rowles and Eric Bush, will perform A Festival Prelude by Alfred Reed, Shadow Rituals by Michael Markowski, Nessun Dorma by Giacomo Puccini (arr. Les Taylor), and Symphonic Dance #3 “Fiesta” by Clifton Williams. Amy Schendel, UI assistant professor of trumpet, will feature on the Puccini piece.

Richard Mark Heidel, director of UI bands, will conduct the Symphony Band in Italian in Algiers by Gioacchino Rossini (trans. Lucien Cailliet), Trauermusik by Richard Wagner (ed. Votta and Boyd), Flourishes and Meditations on a Renaissance Theme by Michael Gandolfi, A Movement for Rosa by Mark Camphouse (with Kevin Kessler as guest conductor), and The Gallant Seventh by John Philip Sousa (arr. Frederick Fennell).

Kastens is associate director of bands and director of the Hawkeye Marching Band. As a professor in the School of Music, he teaches marching band techniques, band arranging, and conducts the Concert Band.

Prior to his appointment at Iowa in July 1998, Kastens served for five years as the associate director of bands at the University of Missouri-Columbia and for six years as assistant director of bands at Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind. Kastens has had numerous articles published on various topics of instrumental music education, as well as musical works published by BRS Music and C.L. Barnhouse. He has served as a conductor/clinician for the Bands of America Summer National Workshops, the Smith-Walbridge Drum Major Clinics, and is a leader in the field of computer-assisted marching band drill design.

Heidel is director of bands in the School of Music, where he conducts the Symphony Band, teaches graduate courses in conducting and band literature, guides the graduate band conducting program, and oversees all aspects of the UI band program.

Ensembles under Heidel’s direction have performed at national, regional, and state conferences including those of the College Band Directors National Association, Music Educators National Conference, Iowa Bandmasters Association, Wisconsin Music Educators Association, Illinois Music Educators Association, and National Band Association-Wisconsin Chapter. He has also led concert tours to Ireland and England as well as throughout the Midwest.

The Concert and Symphony Bands, which are filled by audition, are open to all UI students. In addition to campus concerts, the Symphony Band also performs, on occasion, at state and national conventions.

The School of Music is part of the Division of Performing Arts in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to attend this concert, contact the UI School of Music in advance at 319-335-1603.

For a UI arts calendar and details about upcoming events visit the Arts Iowa website.