By: Grant Vance ~Staff Writer~

The 2014 Xavier University Fall Music Festival began on Oct. 27 as a kickoff to the Xavier musical season. This annual Fall Music Festival will be held over the course of the week, showcasing many of Xavier’s wide variety of ensemble music groups, including the Chamber Orchestra and Symphonic Winds.
The festival will be an open opportunity for the music department to showcase its talents this semester, ushering in a different atmosphere for spectators and musicians alike. The first concert of the series was from the Chamber Orchestra, performing in Bellarmine Chapel. Xavier’s Chamber Orchestra is best known for its variety of string adaptations, ranging from traditional to contemporary styles.

The group is comprised of members from all different areas of expertise, of music majors and non-music majors alike, and even including Xavier alumni and members of the Cincinnati community.
Director of the Chamber Orchestra is Manami White. The concert following the Chamber Orchestra’s performance will be from Xavier’s wind ensemble group, Symphonic Winds performing at Mt. Healthy High School on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Symphonic Winds uses a stylized artistic approach to music to blend an aesthetically-oriented performance, featuring music from all over the world.

Director of Symphonic Winds Jim Daughters said the creative approach the ensemble is using
for the festival, describing their visual and innovative take on music. An exceptionally innovative piece is Symphonic Wind’s performance of Steven Riech’s “Clapping Hands,” in which the band takes a piece written for two percussionists and performs it with 36 people creating a visually pleasing piece using only the ensemble member’s hands as instruments.

The last of the concerts for the Fall Music Festival is the Fall Choral Concert, “A Lifetime of Spring.” The Fall Choral Concert will be held on Oct. 29 in Bellarmine Chapel and will display the choir’s ability to use music as a way of coping with the vast amount of different facets of life. The Fall Music Festival contains many musical events for all those in attendance with a variety
of different performances on the plate.

The festival hopes to display Xavier’s various musical groups integrating performances from
instrumental to vocal. Be sure to check out the various musical performances occuring throught the week.