Centennial Salute unveiled at concert April 22

SAN MARCOS, TEXAS — A musical selection composed especially for Southwest Texas State University’s Centennial celebration will be performed for the first time at the SWT Wind Ensemble concert April 22 at 8 p.m. in Evans Auditorium.

Composed by Russell Riepe, Centennial Salute was written especially for the Wind Ensemble with inspiration from the lyrics taken from the traditional college song Gaudeamus Igitur (Let Us Raise Our Glasses).

Riepe is resident music composer, coordinator of the music composition program and director of graduate music studies at SWT. He is currently the director of the Texas Mysterium for Modern Music.

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, Riepe studied with Nadia Boulanger. He was the recipient of the Howard Hanson Prize for his work Symphonic Fantasy.

A member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Riepe’s published works include articles, musical arrangements and original compositions that are internationally performed and recorded.

The Centennial Salute will be sung by members of University Chorale, the University Singers and the Women’s Choirs, directed by John Paul Johnson, and the Men’s Choir, directed by Robert Whalin.

The Wind Ensemble will also perform Celebration on Chautauqua Hill, also written in celebration of SWT’s Centennial by SWT alumnus Stephen Emmons. Other selections on the program include Dance Movements by Philip Sparke, Introduction to Act III of Lohengrin by Richard Wagner, and Kaddish by Francis McBeth, conducted by SWT student conductor Patricia Whitton.

Tickets for the concert are $2 general admission, $1 for students. For more information, call the Music Department at (512) 245-2651.