Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble February 7, 2009

The Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble, Eric Hewitt conductor, presents a free program entitled American Masters, featuring guest conductor Lieutenant Commander Brian Walden of the U.S. Naval Academy Band. The concert will feature a new work by the winner of the The Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition. Performance takes place Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. at Boston College High School’s Bulger Center for the Performing Arts, located at 150 Morrissey Blvd., Boston and offering free parking. For more information call The Boston Conservatory event line at (617) 912-9240 or visit www.bostonconservatory.edu/performances.

PROGRAM
WILLIAM SCHUMAN: George Washington Bridge
GUNTHER SCHULLER: Divertimento (On Winged Flight)
COPLAND: A Lincoln Portrait

Eric Hewitt
Conductor and saxophonist Eric Hewitt has presented critically acclaimed premieres by Luciano Berio, Gunther Schuller, Christian Lauba and dozens of young and up-and-coming composers. He has been a soloist with nine Boston area ensembles, including the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the FROMM Players at Harvard, and the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble. He has been featured as a soloist on tours to Japan, Venezuela and Cuba. Hewitt is a member of the Radnofsky Saxophone Quartet. He recorded the Donald Martino Saxophone Concerto in piano reduction (previously unreleased), working with Dr. Martino at the sessions, and has recorded the saxophone quartet music of Iannis Xenakis and Franco Donatoni. He was a member of the Ryles Jazz Orchestra from 2000- 2004 and performed with jazz legends such as Arturo Sandoval, John Faddis, Bob Brookmeyer, Ed Calle, George Garzone, Frank Vardarous, Jerry Bergonzi, Slide Hampton, George Russell, Marvin Stam and Phil Wilson. Hewitt is the conductor of The Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble and chair of the Woodwind Department. He is the founder and music director of White Rabbit, an avant-garde ensemble in residence at Harvard University, and the music director of the Charles River Wind Ensemble. Hewitt graduated from the New England Conservatory with degrees in saxophone and conducting, and he graduated from Boston College High School in 1997.

Brian O. Walden, Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy
A native of South Carolina, Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Brian O. Walden holds a bachelor of arts degree in music with a double major in religious studies, magna cum laude, from Saint Leo University, FL, and a master of music degree in wind ensemble conducting (Academic Honors) from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He studied orchestral conducting with Richard Hoenich, the former Assistant Conductor of the Montreal Symphony. A 2004 Fellow at the Conductors Institute of the University of South Carolina, LCDR Walden has also studied music at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Northern Illinois University, Old Dominion University, Newberry College and many other conducting clinics/workshops. He has guest conducted orchestras and wind ensembles and performed as a trumpet instrumentalist in more than 74 countries. He holds a graduate diploma in national security strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, RI, and is a graduate of the music basic course and enlisted bandleader course at the U.S. Navy's School of Music, where he subsequently served as head of the Concert Band Branch, head of the Jazz Ensemble Branch and as rehearsal techniques/conducting instructor.

About The Boston Conservatory
The Boston Conservatory trains exceptional young performing artists for careers that enrich and transform the human experience. Known for its intimate and supportive multidisciplinary environment, the Conservatory offers fully accredited graduate and undergraduate programs in music, dance and theater and presents more than 200 performances each year by students, faculty and guest artists. Since its founding in 1867, The Boston Conservatory has shared its talent and creativity with the city of Boston, the region and the nation, and continues to grow today as a vibrant community of artists and educators.

Official Website: http://www.bostonconservatory.edu