Wind Ensemble Will Honor Ithacan Frank Battisti

The Ithaca College Wind Ensemble will perform a free program of 20th-century works --- including the world premiere of a piece honoring the 70th birthday of wind music legend Frank Battisti --- on Tuesday, October 15. Conducted by Stephen Peterson, the performance will begin at 8:15 p.m. in Ford Hall.

Battisti, an Ithaca native who graduated from Ithaca College in 1953, has had a distinguished career as a band leader, clinician, writer, technical theorist, and musical adjudicator for competitions. He took the helm of the Ithaca High School band after his graduation and brought it into national prominence, creating a model for band pedagogy that is the subject of his book, The Twentieth Century American Wind Band/Ensemble.

Battisti received a master's degree in music from the College in 1964 and, after a brief stint at Baldwin Wallace College, joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music. He recently retired from that institution as conductor emeritus. He is past president of the College Band Directors National Association, and his articles on the wind ensemble, music education, and wind literature have been published in many national and international journals. In 1981 Ithaca College awarded him an honorary doctor of music degree.

To honor Battisti on his 70th birthday, music educators from some 20 colleges and universities, including Ithaca College, the University of Michigan, and Harvard University, have commissioned four works. The first of these compositions, Serenade for 12 Instruments by composer and New England Conservatory faculty member Michael Weinstein, will be premiered at this concert.

The program will also include "Chester" by William Schuman, "Chester Leaps In" by Steven Bryant, Paul Hindemith's Symphony in B-flat, and John Harbison's "Three City Blocks." In addition, School of Music horn professor Alex Shuhan will be the featured soloist in James Beckel Jr.'s "The Glass Bead Game."

The Ithaca College Wind Ensemble is the School of Music's premier wind group. Last year the ensemble performed at the College Band Directors National Association convention. Stephen Peterson, the ensemble's director, was appointed director of bands at Ithaca College in 1998. An active conductor and clinician, he served as a music reviewer for Instrumentalist magazine.

Alex Shuhan has performed as soloist with many orchestras throughout the United States, including those in Dallas, Milwaukee, Rochester, and Syracuse. He now performs with the Ithaca Brass, Ithaca Wind Quintet, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and other ensembles.