On Friday November 13th, 2009 the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts hosted Michigan Tech’s Superior Wind Symphony and the Jeffers High School Band. The Jeffers High School Band, directed by Emily Raffaelli, started the show with “Black Tower,” and “Si Trocadero.” They also played familiar crowd pleasers “Danny Boy,” “Symphony in E Minor” by Dvorak, and “Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera.
Superior Wind Symphony, conducted by Nicholas Enz, played after a brief intermission. They played “Tico Tico,” “Prelude, Opus 34, No. 14,” and “Incantation and Dance.” Then renowned guitarist and Michigan Tech Alumnus Pat Valencia joined them on stage. Pat’s classical guitar playing was the feature of “Sunburst.” He then played electric guitar in “Chaos Theory.” This song featured a five minute solo from Pat. “Superior Winds should be honored to feature such skillful guitar playing. Pat Valencia is the man,” said Josh Mayo, Recording Engineer. Pat provides Suzuki Classical Guitar instruction and has a studio on the campus of Finlandia University.
Jeffers High School Band joined Superior Winds on stage to finish the night with two more songs. They played “Malaguena,” a Latin song whose melody can be heard in the “Zorro” soundtrack. The combined bands ended with the John Philip Sousa classic “Semper Fidelis,” which Emily Raffaelli conducted. The performance received a warm reception from an enthusiastic crowd, and was a great way to kick off the weekend.