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CORVALLIS - Oregon State University's Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Concert Band will present their final concert of the school year, "Songs and Dances," on Friday, June 3, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in LaSells Stewart Center.

Tickets, available at the door, will cost $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. OSU students with their school ID will be admitted free.

The concert will showcase the broad variety of classical and contemporary music scored for band and wind ensembles. There will be chamber music, folk dances, music from a Broadway musical and a popular movie, a familiar folk tune, and more.

G. "Mancho" Gonzalez, director of the wind ensemble, says he hopes to entertain the audience with a program that goes beyond the typical band concert.

Last term, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble's concert featured something different - a vocal solo by OSU mezzo-soprano, Megan Sand. This concert will feature a special appearance by the OSU Percussion Ensemble and performances by two small chamber groups, a woodwind quintet and a brass quintet, performing from the balcony of the auditorium.

"I like to think of different ways to utilize the venue," Gonzalez said. "It's interesting for the audience, and gives the auditorium a more intimate feeling."

Gonzalez says the featured piece for the concert will be "Four Dances from West Side Story," composed by Leonard Bernstein.

"Bernstein is the quintessential favorite of modern bands and conductors, and West Side Story is the modern-day Romeo and Juliet," he said. "Audiences love it."

In honor of the release of the new Star Wars movie, the Concert Band, under the direction of Robert Brudvig, will conclude the concert with a medley of songs titled, "The Empire Strikes." It includes parts of "The Star Wars Theme," "Darth Vader's Theme," "Yoda's Theme," "Hans Solo and the Princess" and "May the Force Be With You."

For more information, call the music department at 541-737-4061.