The Adams Wind Ensemble assembled themselves last Thursday night in Leon Memorial Hall. They assembled in memory of past musicians, to pay homage to past composers, to pay tribute to those former students who once danced with the winds. It was an intimate gather of diversity, where harmony reverberated through the airwaves. Such glaring differences, observable even to the untrained eye, yet peace permeated through all who were present. Even to the untrained ear, only music could be heard.
Such harmony and diversity within the Wind Ensemble – From percussions and piccolo to trombones, tubas and trumpets, a spectrum of sounds were synthesized. Saxophones, both alto and tenor… clarinets, and those with bass, got the heart beat booming. You could hear it in the horn, the guitar; the euphonium then completed the euphoria of melodic fellowship. Each note as unique as the musicians who played them… Each instrument held a secret symphony of songs, serenading their stories as surrogates for the lives who held them. Such harmony… such diversity.
There was nothing silent nor secretive that evening in Leon Hall. The space was alive with emotion, as the Adams Wind Ensemble assembled themselves into something more than the sum of their parts. Like a poetic composition, conductor Dr. Donald Miller composed an evening of elevated energies. Originating within the core of each musician, resonating within the depths of each instrument, the inspiration they generated extended out to enrapture the audience in its entirety. The applause, though prolonged and sincere, was modest in comparison to the explosion of synapses in the minds of those exposed to such… harmony and diversity.
“Our instruments are our shields” – A sentiment I’m sure is shared by the Ensemble as a whole, but was expressed by trumpeter John Colson. If their instrument be their shield, then their song be their sword, and mighty be the way they wield their weapons. The Adams State Wind Ensemble – these unsung heroes sing their passions loudly. Burning brightly, they are the light amidst the darkness. They are those who give all and ask for none, who sacrifice without a thought of gain. In a world of apathy and indifference, they desire to produce music and inspire emotion. They provide moments of reflection, in which the world becomes more than the sum of its parts.
In those quiet moments before each performance piece begins, each musician reflects. They search internally, for the muse that moves through them eternally. They synthesize hyperbole, channeling boldly exaggerated statements of noise, into soothing sounds that vibrate at just the right frequency. Last Thursday evening, as Summertime by George Gershwin began to place, I knew I was in the right place. Those who inspire me are inspirations to me, and the Adams Wind Ensemble inspired me. I was inspired to make music, but my instrument is my pen, so I wrote Poetry. Such harmony… such diversity.
Hail, Adams Wind Ensemble, unsung heroes of the San Luis Valley. We thank you for what you provide us – Inspiration in a world of apathy and indifference. May your muse never grow silent, may your shine never grow dim.
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