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CORVALLIS - The Oregon State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, conducted by David Becker, will present its winter concert on Sunday, March 2. The program begins at 3 p.m. at the LaSells Stewart Center, 26th Street and Western Boulevard on the OSU campus.

The theme of the concert is "Masque," introduced in the opening piece by British composer Kenneth Hesketh. It depicts the medieval masque as a form of revelry and the band will take listeners through a series of musical diversions with some unexpected twists and turns.

Becker, the OSU Department of Music's conductor-in-residence, will lead the 45-member ensemble, which is OSU's premiere wind and percussion group.

Guest conductors for the concert are Bradley G. Townsend, OSU's director of athletic bands, and Brett Randolph, a graduate teaching assistant in music education. Townsend will conduct the classic concert in the park showpiece, "The Blue Bells of Scotland" by Arthur Pryor. Jon Dysinger, a senior performance major, will be the featured euphonium soloist. Townsend will then take the band on a romp through "Noisy Wheels of Joy" by the young American composer Eric Whitacre.

Randolph will conduct Divertimento, a milestone work from the 1950s by Vincent Persichetti.

The 12-piece OSU Chamber Winds group will perform "Carnival," by Thomas Stone. Inspired by Stravinsky's Pulcinella - in which Stravinsky used masterpieces by 18th-century composers Domenico Gallo, Carlo Monza and Giovanni Pergolesi - Stone offers his own interpretation of these miniature classics. Performing in the ensemble are Abby Sperling, Lisa Bauer, Adam Parnell, Heather Bolstad, Tim Hatcher, Kim Mach, Dan Pike, Amanda Bluhm, Amy Kao, Jeff Torgerson, David Woedke and Becker.

Other works include "Folksongs For Band No. 3" by the Australian composer David Stanhope. Fans of Percy Grainger's music will recognize his style in these variations of British folk songs. Stanhope brings a fresh voice to the tunes Grainger used in some of his best-known band pieces. David Dillingham's "Be Thou My Vision," a heartfelt and inspiring composition based on the hymn tune "Sane," and a whimsical German march by Marcel Wengler, complete the program.

Tickets are available at the door for $7. Students are admitted free of charge.

For more information, call 541-737-4061.