FSU Wind Ensemble to Present Concert Melodius Thunk! May 3

Apr 17, 2026 8:00 AM

Frostburg State University's Department of Music, Theater and Dance presents a concert program performed by the FSU Wind Ensemble, Melodius Thunk! on Sunday, May 3, at 3 p.m. in the Woodward D. Pealer Recital Hall. The concert will feature the music of Kalijah Dunton, Dana Wilson, Phillip Sparke, David Beidenbender and Benjamin Horne.

The title of the concert program is a direct play on the name of famous jazz pianist, Thelonious Monk. The wife of Thelonius Monk, Nellie Smith, would refer to him as Melodious Thunk to describe his approach to playing the piano. Composer David Beidenbender has brought to life the spirit of Thelonius Monk in his composition, Melodius Thunk, with its angular rhythms, use of space and jazz-like bass lines, it is piece that will surely grab your attention.

Music department faculty emeritus at Ithaca College Dana Wilson has a compositional approach that is a wonderful union of tradition and contemporary. His fanfare, Shortcut Home, brings together the traditions of the classic fanfare and a jazz approach to harmony and rhythm. As the title suggests, this short composition seems to avoid providing the listener with any sense of “home” until the final C-major chord of the entire piece. As short as the composition is, the music travels through seventeen time-signature changes in its mere 94-measures, providing the listener with plenty of musical landscape to take in.

Phillip Sparke is well known as a composer of challenging repertoire for euphonium soloists, and his Harlequin, for solo euphonium and band, does not disappoint. FSU is proud to feature as the euphonium soloist alumnus Alex Frye ’25 as the guest soloist.

Letters by Kalijah Dunton depict emotional loss from the perspective of the composer. A single melody is developed and transformed over the course of the composition, visiting the stages of grief ultimately bringing us to a sense of peace and promise.

Spiritual Symphony by Benjamin Horne is the winner of the National Band Association William D. Revelli Composition Contest from 2025. Since its premiere by the Michigan State University wind ensemble, this work has been on dozens of concert programs around the country. The symphonic work features a collection of African American spirituals set for the wind band including, “Follow The Drinking Gourd”, “Peg Leg Joe”, “Motherless Child”, “Deep River”, “My Lord, What A Morning”, and “Go Tell It On The Mountain”. The composition takes on a journey from the perspective of the enslaved and the secret language of the underground railroad. Horne’s music allows us to feel the sense of escape, freedom, desperation, hope, and ultimately, the sense of a new life ahead.

Purchase tickets online at tickets.frostburg.edu; at the University Box Office, Lane University Center 203 (Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.– 4 p.m.), 301-687-3137; or at the door. Pricing is adults $20 cash/$21.09 credit/debit card; seniors, military, youth (13-18) and FSU ID: $10 cash/$10.69 credit/debit card; and free for children 12 and under.

For more information, visit events.frostburg.edu or contact the FSU Department of Music, Theatre and Dance at 301-687-4109 or music@frostburg.edu.