By Sally Neel
Mountain Light Music
Music will fill the air at Keyah Grande on Friday, Aug. 6, at 7 p.m. as the Mountain Light Music presents “A Night at the Movies.”
If you have never heard the sound of brass instruments echoing off of the mountains, you are in for an amazing treat. An ensemble of 16 professional and student trombone players will regale us with the exciting themes of epoch movies such as “Ben Hur,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Superman” and more.
College students will join professional players for a week on Cade Mountain for the Mountain Light Music Festival, a time for study, music making and exploration of the beautiful wilderness surrounding the San Juan Mountains. The week will conclude with the exciting Keyah Grande concert.
The resumes of the staff of professional musicians is impressive.
Dr. Jonathan Whitaker joined the faculty of the University of Alabama in the fall of 2009. Whitaker’s students have been tremendously successful in national and international solo competitions as well as being placed in some of the nation’s top summer music festivals.
Dr. Steve Wilson is chair of the Department of Music and Professor of Trombone at the University of Texas at El Paso. Wilson received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Texas at El Paso and holds both a master’s degree and a doctor of musical arts degree in trombone performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Brent Phillips, founder of Mountain Light Music, is professor of trombone at Baylor University. Prior to his position at Baylor, Phillips was assistant principal trombone of “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band in Washington, D.C., and is currently principal trombone of the Abilene Philharmonic and the Waco Symphony Orchestra in Waco, Texas.
Jacob Small is a music educator and trombonist from Houston, Texas. He received a bachelor of music from Baylor University in May 2014 and a master of music at Southern Methodist University May 2016.
Christian Paarup is a trombonist and teacher living and working in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. He has performed with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Opera, San Antonio Symphony, Tulsa Symphony, Dallas Winds, Abilene Philharmonic and is a founding member of Fort Worth Brass, a chamber ensemble comprised of leading brass musicians in North Texas.
The concert will be performed outdoors, so bring a wrap to keep yourself comfortable after the sun sets. Buses will be available at the parking area to transport patrons to the performance venue. Wine and beer will be available for sale.
Tickets are $35 and are available at the Chamber of Commerce downtown, Lantern Dancer, Choke Cherry Tree, Airport Storage and online at mountainlightmusicfrestival.com.
We want to keep our patrons and musicians safe during this time of pandemic. If you are vaccinated, masks are optional. However, if you have opted not to take the vaccine, masks are respectfully required.
