On Sunday at 7 p.m., the Brandeis University Wind Ensemble, led by Prof. Thomas Souza (MUS), dazzled its audience with classic American-style music. The music was upbeat, exciting and had the audience tapping their feet and nodding their heads the entire time.

The pieces represented different parts of American culture and history from Cajun to Native American music. The concert thus created a picture of American music not similar to the stereotypical Fourth of July parade-themed tunes but a compilation of music from all the different cultures across America. People of all generations attended the concert-seniors who may have danced to some of these classic American songs in their youth, as well as students, interested in learning about America's musical traditions.

The program, in keeping with the theme of the concert, was extremely patriotic, emblazoned with stars and red stripes on a blue background. The ensemble was made up of both students and adults playing mostly winds, but there was also a percussion section, a piano and an upright bass. About 50 people attended.

The concert started off with a fast, loud and rhythmic piece called "Havendance," composed by David Holsinger. As the program mentioned, Holsinger actually wrote the piece for his eight-year-old daughter, Haven, to dance to. However, he has noted that "if Haven had to dance to this piece today, her shoes would probably smoke" due to the extremely fast tempo and numerous amount of notes. During the piece there was an intense and direct communication between different sections of the ensemble as each took turns playing sectional solos. The piece ended with a dramatic build-up of tension and an abrupt finish.

The next piece, "Songs of Earth, Water, Fire and Sky," was a compilation of different dances, each representing a different Native American tribe. As the conductor said, the piece represents the authentic, ceremonial dances of the Native Americans across the United States. The piece was rhythmic and had a celebratory feel. The percussion section used shakers, drums and bells to emulate traditional tribal instruments. At one point in the piece, the entire ensemble stopped playing and the members stomped their feet once simultaneously. This small gesture was an interesting addition to the instrumental playing and served to remind the audience that this piece was constructed of tribal dances.

The next piece of the concert, composed by Robert Russell Bennett, was entitled "Suite of Old American Dances." The piece included five different 20th century, American ballroom dances: "Cakewalk," "Schottische," "Western One-Step," "Wallflower Waltz" and "Rag." Souza noted that compared to the previous piece, this work focused less on the authenticity of the dances but on the stylistic aspects. The pieces were catchy, upbeat and had a joyful feel.

According to the program, "Cakewalk" was a social dance in the 20th century-during social gatherings, many couples would start dancing and one by one they would be eliminated and the last couple standing would receive a cake as a prize. The only anomaly to the upbeat and fast dances was "Wallflower Waltz," which was a slower, steadier and quieter piece.

The concert ended with "Cajun Folk Songs" by Frank Ticheli. According to the program, Cajun music has become "increasingly commercialized and Americanized throughout the twentieth century," and this piece is an attempt to restore Cajun music back to its authentic roots. The "Cajun Folk Songs" were beautiful-crescendos and decrescendos were used effectively, creating waves of sound. Not knowing much about Cajun music, it is hard to say if the piece succeeded in bringing authenticity back to Cajun music, but the music was definitely unique-it was like nothing I had heard before.

This concert was a great success. It captured the heart and soul of classic American music and brought people together for a joyful night of entertainment. Next semester, the Wind Ensemble's concert will be jazz-themed, which, based on the success of this semester's concert, should be 'wildly groovy.'