Ohio Northern University’s Freed Center for the Performing Arts presents Band-o-Rama on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 4 p.m.
The Ohio Northern University Marching Band (ONUMB) celebrates another successful season with an exciting performance featuring selections from their 2014 program “Animation 2014.”
The “Star of the Northwest” will perform music from several animated motion pictures. The program opens with “The Circle of Life” from the “The Lion King” and quickly transitions to Tchaikovsky’s “Russian Dance” from “Fantasia.” The show also will include “Let It Go” from the movie “Frozen,” “Go the Distance” from the movie “Hercules,” and Pharrell Williams’ smash hit “Happy” from “Despicable Me 2.” The soloists are Kenneth Biddle (trumpet), a fifth-year pharmacy major from Wooster, Ohio, and Kevin Aring (trumpet), a sophomore mathematics major from Avon, Ohio.
The ONUMB offers something totally different this year. Their second show, “The Piano Man,” combines classical piano and marching band. Christian “CJ” Livengood, a third-year pharmacy major from Norwalk, Ohio, will perform Frédéric Chopin’s “Polonaise in A Flat Major,” and Emily Pax, a third-year pharmacy major from Piqua, Ohio, will perform Chopin’s “Fantaisie-Impromptu in C Sharp Minor” with the Northern Marching Band. The program also includes Billy Joel’s “The Piano Man.”
The Beatles’ American invasion started in February 1964. The ONUMB will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their arrival by performing some of their most popular songs. “Penny Lane” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” will be featured. The highlight of the afternoon will certainly be a soul-stirring rendition of “Let It Be.”
The band is led by field conductors Ryan Briley, a junior music performance major from Lima, Ohio; Kaitlin McKibben, a senior music education major from Waynesboro, Va.; and Kaitlin Wilson, a fourth-year pharmacy major from Bellefontaine, Ohio. Lindsey Sneary, a junior biology major from Bluffton, Ohio, is the guard captain, and Tyler Overy, a sophomore middle childhood education major from New London, Ohio, is the feature twirler. The drumline captain is Brayden Dunn, a second-year pharmacy major from Zanesville, Ohio. Dr. Michele Schrader directs the auxiliaries, and the band is under the direction of Dr. Charles Bates.
During the next few weeks, the Northern Marching Band will be preparing for a Thanksgiving Day performance at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
Tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for seniors and non-ONU students, $5 for ONU students and children, and $10 for ONU faculty and staff. The Freed Center box office is open Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Phone orders are accepted with American Express, MasterCard, VISA or Discover by calling 419-772-1900. Tickets also are available online at www.freedcenter.com
