Last week on September 13th, the School of Music presented their 8th Annual School of Music Showcase, a concert to benefit student scholarships. The event also recognized this year’s Outstanding Alumni Award recipients: choral conductor JoAnn Rediger (PDF) and harpist Grace Bauson who will performed on the concert. There were over 500 performers and it was a successful concert. Thank you to all who attended for your support of student scholarships!

Howard Lee is a second year Masters student in conducting and he wrote about his experience performing in the showcase for the second year.

Last Friday, for about 2 hours in Sursa Hall, there was constant movement in and around the building, from students lining up to go on stage while another group exited, to the stage crew tearing down and setting up a new set up for following piece in a matter of a few minutes! One could say that it was hectic, but this controlled chaos that was full of this bubbling energy was what made this year’s School of Music Showcase another success! What the audience saw on stage was a spectacular array of performances by over 10 ensembles with one seamless transition after another.

This was my second Showcase that I was able to perform in and even though the weeks leading up to the event are extremely busy for all parties involved, I can’t say that there is a better way to open the year of music! The diversity of music that is presented at this concert is absolutely incredible. It not only takes you on this ride through centuries of musical masterpieces, but also renews this sense of unity and connection to Ball State with the Statesmen and the Marching Band closing the concert with The Cardinal Call and Alma Mater. This showstopper pairing always has the audience on their feet at the end and I can’t think of a better way to bookend an incredible evening and kick off another year of amazing music making!

Thank you Howard Lee for sharing with us your experience! The Showcase is just the start of many wonderful events this school year. Check out the School of Music calendar for more events!