![\"Julia](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-13-08-weekend-of-music-1.jpg\")
Are your Friday night plans sounding bleak? How about Saturday? Maybe you don\u2019t have a car and are frantically trying to figure out something special to do with your girlfriend for Valentine\u2019s Day. Or maybe you\u2019re a love-lorn Grover looking for something to distract you from all the recently engaged couples strolling about campus. Whatever the case, Grove City\u2019s musical ensembles have got you covered. The college\u2019s symphonic concert band and wind ensemble are hosting a concert at 7:30 p.m. tonight, and the jazz band is hosting the GCC Jazz Festival tomorrow at 7:30 p.m., both in Ketler Auditorium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Symphonic Concert Band and Wind Ensemble<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The symphonic concert band and wind ensemble have been preparing for tonight\u2019s performance since the semester started. In just a few short weeks, they\u2019ve put together eight selections sure to impress and entertain their audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis was a fairly quick turnaround in terms of prepping this concert. The students have worked diligently to prepare this music in a relatively short amount of time, and I have really enjoyed watching them learn this material. Both ensembles are tremendous collectively and as individual members. I am so happy for them,\u201d Dr. Andrew Erb, director of the concert band and wind ensemble, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The symphonic concert band will begin the concert playing the first four selections. The concert\u2019s opening piece, \u201cIgnition\u201d by Todd Stalter, is a fast-paced and energetic selection sure to get the audience excited for what\u2019s to come. They\u2019ll then move on to \u201cHow Sweet the Sound,\u201d a piece based on the familiar hymn \u201cAmazing Grace.\u201d The audience should also look forward to hearing \u201cEl Capitan\u201d by John Philip Sousa and the symphonic band\u2019s final piece by Randall Standridge entitled \u201cGloriam.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat piece (Gloriam) is a lot of fun for both musicians and audience. It uses quite a bit of mixed meter, syncopation and interesting rhythms,\u201d Erb said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the concert band concludes, the wind ensemble will take the stage, opening with \u201cAmerican Overture\u201d by Joseph Wilcox Jenkins. Their next two pieces are \u201cSimple Gifts\u201d by Frank Ticheli and \u201cRush,\u201d a selection composed by Pittsburgh native Sam Hazo. Their final piece, \u201cGrant Them Eternal Rest\u201d by Andrew Boysen Jr., is a meaningful dedication to the victims of the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is a multi-movement, highly emotional and touching piece of music. We hope it moves our audience the way it has moved us,\u201d Erb said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you can\u2019t catch this evening\u2019s concert, the wind ensemble will be performing March 20 at the college\u2019s Celebrate 150th concert at Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, and you\u2019ll have another chance to hear both groups on April 24 during Family Weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GCC Jazz Festival<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grovers have much to look forward to at the GCC Jazz Festival, which showcases performances by Highland High School\u2019s jazz ensemble and the college\u2019s own jazz band, featuring pieces written by renowned saxophonist and jazz arranger Mike Tomaro, the festival\u2019s special guest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with being an accomplished saxophonist, Tomaro is a composer and educator. In 1997, he became the director of Duquesne University\u2019s jazz studies program, a position he continued to serve in until his retirement. He was a member of the Army Blues Jazz Ensemble for 17 years, and during that time, he composed many of the selections in the group\u2019s repertoire. Tomaro also has various other achievements from performing with many other jazz artists and ensembles. Grove City\u2019s jazz band had the opportunity to learn from him at an improvisation workshop this past Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trombonist David LaBarbera expressed his gratitude for learning to play Tomaro\u2019s arrangements and then having the chance to work with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have always found it exciting to play compositions or arrangements by a person I have actually met because the music feels much more personal, and this adds value and import to the performance. Consequently, I was thrilled to hear that we would be playing Tomaro\u2019s arrangements alongside him in concert. On Tuesday, the jazz ensemble had the opportunity to rehearse with Tomaro, and I was blown away by his incredible saxophone playing, especially his improvised solos,\u201d LaBarbera said. \u201cHis presence brings energy to the band and enhances the quality of our music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The college will also host workshops for Highland High School students, and the school\u2019s jazz ensemble will perform the first portion of the concert on Saturday night. Next, Grove City\u2019s ensemble will play several selections arranged by Tomaro, including \u201cI\u2019ll Remember April,\u201d \u201cWillow Weep for Me,\u201d \u201cWhat Is Hip?\u201d and \u201cWon\u2019t You Be My Neighbor?\u201d The arrangements will feature solos from Tomaro himself and a solo played by LaBarbera in \u201cWon\u2019t You Be My Neighbor?\u201d The band will also play \u201cNot Another November,\u201d composed by the college\u2019s own director of jazz ensembles, Dr. Joseph Hasper, and featuring a trumpet solo by Liam Cummings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMike and I picked these tunes because they each have something new to say. If you know the songs already (who doesn\u2019t remember Mr. Rogers singing \u2018Won\u2019t You Be My Neighbor?\u2019), you\u2019ll hear some new twists and musical surprises in the way Tomaro treats the melody. Even if you don\u2019t know the songs, the sound and energy of 17 musicians all playing this energetic, vibrant music is something everyone can enjoy,\u201d Hasper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs composers of rangers, we put lots of time into this music, and it is gratifying to hear bands perform it,\u201d Tomaro said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ro said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After spending the fall semester learning between 45 and 50 songs for the Ballroom Club\u2019s Winter Ball, the jazz band began practicing for Saturday\u2019s concert in January, meaning they faced a tight timeline to prepare for the performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think the students are taking it in stride, just doing the work and each week\u2019s progress to build into bigger and bigger accomplishments. We\u2019re playing some very difficult music this week, without a lot of time to prepare, so that puts some pressure on students, but they\u2019ve accepted the challenge. For me, it required setting a strict timeline for rehearsals and making sure we met each rehearsal\u2019s goals,\u201d Hasper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHearing the full and finished sound for the first time was incredibly satisfying and a perfect fulfillment of our anticipation!\u201d Cummings said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your Saturday evening is already booked, there are several more opportunities to see the jazz band perform throughout the semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The band will play at 6:15 p.m. on April 18 at Lux Mea before the student films debut, and they will hold a concert for Family Weekend at 1:30 p.m. on April 25 in Ketler Auditorium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Love (and jazz) are in the air<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[209],"tags":[19,72,45],"class_list":["post-1287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-community","tag-emily-fox","tag-issue-2026-02-13"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-13-08-weekend-of-music-1.jpg",1119,1280,false],"thumbnail":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-13-08-weekend-of-music-1.jpg",131,150,false],"medium":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-13-08-weekend-of-music-1.jpg",262,300,false],"medium_large":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-13-08-weekend-of-music-1.jpg",768,878,false],"large":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-13-08-weekend-of-music-1.jpg",895,1024,false],"1536x1536":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-13-08-weekend-of-music-1.jpg",1119,1280,false],"2048x2048":["\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-13-08-weekend-of-music-1.jpg",1119,1280,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ian Schartner","author_link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/author\/schartnerij23\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Love (and jazz) are in the air","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1287"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1765,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1287\/revisions\/1765"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/2026-02-13-08-weekend-of-music-2.jpg\")