The Brock University Wind Ensemble is getting ready to breathe new life into an eclectic mix of classics on stage at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre.

On Tuesday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m., the ensemble will take to the stage in Partridge Hall.

The group combines of the best of beloved genres in a style that brings audiences together — young and old, classical connoisseurs and roots enthusiasts, jazz aficionados and bluegrass buffs.

The theme Rhythm of the Night centres on Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and fuses jazz, classical and roots music to create a dynamic, genre-bending concert experience.

Under the baton of conductor Zoltan Kalman, the ensemble features the talents of 60 musicians drawn from Brock University, high schools within the Niagara Region and the broader music community. This concert includes Kelly Hindrichs, Peter Macdonald, Mary-Anne Pearson, David Pearson, and Graham Young from Hamilton’s Symphony on the Bay, as well as Joanne Romanow from the Burlington Concert Band.

High school students from the Niagara Region include: Makayla Todd and Todd Morgan from Laura Secord SS (St. Catharines), and Lindsey Cook from E. L. Crossley SS (Pelham).

The evening program features masterworks of the past and present, including  “Manzoni Requiem” by Giuseppe Verdi; “The Year of the Dragon” by Philip Sparke; “Slava!” by Leonard Bernstein; “Sevens” by Samuel Hazo; “Songs of Sailor and Sea” by Robert Smith; “The Bandwagon” by Philip Sparke; “Loch Lomond” by Frank Ticheli; “Suite from Indiana Jones” and from Star Wars, “The Marches” by John Williams; and “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin.

“The ensemble is thrilled to play in Partridge Hall, a state-of-the-art performance venue at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre! We’re proud to present a repertoire jam-packed with dynamic and contagious rhythm that will surely take your breath away,” Kalman says.                              

Such performances from the Department of Music are a key part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ mandate in building connections between the community and Brock University.      

Tickets are $8 general admission, $5 eyeGo high school program (+HST), and are free to current MIWSFPA students with valid student ID. Purchase tickets through the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office: 905-688-0722; online: http://firstontariopac.ca; e-mail: boxoffice@firstontariopac.ca ; or at the door.