Tennessee Tech Symphony Band to perform at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center

The ensemble, conducted by Director of Bands Jeffrey Miller, will join the Assembly Saxophone Quartet—a group of professional musicians that includes Matthew Younglove, associate director of Tech’s School of Music—and the Antioch High School Symphony Band for the ticketed event celebrating the music of composer Katahj Copley.

“It’s very exciting for our students to get to perform on a stage as significant as the Schermerhorn in Nashville,” said Younglove. “And it’s doubly special that we have been able to forge this kind of major artistic collaboration between Tennessee Tech’s musicians, our quartet and these high school performers.”

At under 30 years old, Copley has quickly become an acclaimed and prolific composer, having written more than 100 works, including pieces for chamber ensembles, wind ensembles and orchestra.

Younglove described Copley’s compositional style as “a distinctive voice that blends contemporary classical writing with influences from gospel, jazz and popular music.”

The Assembly Saxophone Quartet and Tech’s band ensembles commissioned Copley to write a new concerto titled “Grosso Damn,” which will debut at the April 13 event. The concerto is inspired by the 17th-century Baroque painting “The Fall of the Damned.”

Younglove said the concert will also showcase other composers, including Tech’s own Griffin Candey, assistant professor of music theory and composition.

“It will be a full-length concert of multiple pieces, including a new work by Dr. Candey,” Younglove said. “It is truly a collaboration of so many aspects of what we do here at Tennessee Tech.”

The concert follows what is expected to be a busy weekend for Miller and Tech’s Symphony Band. The ensemble will also perform at the 67th annual Tennessee Music Education Association conference on Saturday, April 11 - the only collegiate large ensemble selected to do so. Miller and Mark Cramer, associate professor of clarinet, are also slated to serve as conference speakers.

"Our students have spent many hours preparing for this special performance," added Miller. "The concert features an exciting combination of standard and new works that reflect the creativity and collaboration shaping today’s wind band repertoire."

The Symphony Band’s concert at the Schermerhorn, along with the ensemble’s work with Copley and the Assembly Saxophone Quartet, is supported by multiple arts initiatives, including funding from the Tennessee Arts Commission and Tech’s Center Stage program.