To recruit more students from the Edmond area, Oklahoma Christian University’s symphonic band will perform with Oklahoma Christian Academy (OCA) during the high school’s fall concert tonight at 7 p.m. in the school’s auditorium.
According to Oklahoma Christian’s director of instrumental ensembles, Eric Colgrove, the collaboration will take the place of the band’s short tour to Texas or Kansas in the spring.
“It is my hope we can piggyback on some local schools’ concerts, just getting the word out about what we have at OC and maybe recruit some local students,” Colgrove said. “There is a pretty close relationship with OCA here, as we send a lot of students for student teaching and practicums. I have also worked with their band a few times, and Scott Filleman, their director, is an OC alumnus and an adjunct teacher here, teaching our steel drum ensemble.”
Colgrove, who has been with the Oklahoma Christian band since the summer of 2017, said he is looking forward to both bands collaborating on a piece called “Shipwrecked,” which will be conducted as a combined ensemble. Both bands will also perform 3-4 pieces of their own.
“Any opportunity to see music is important,” Colgrove said. “OCA is a really great recruiting area for us as it is a very logical next step for those students to come to OC, so there are potentially some students there we can have a very big impact on at our local Christian college. The parents also want to see what potential groups of kids their students might eventually be a part of.”
Senior and president of Oklahoma Christian’s symphonic band Logan Banister said he encourages students to attend events held by the musical department because it is much more rewarding and encouraging to perform for a large group of people, especially one made up of his peers.
“These kinds of performances are great for us because they give us additional community exposure and help us make connections with students who might already be interested in OC,” Banister said. “Whether it is this concert or any of our ensembles’ concerts throughout the year, we really appreciate students coming out to listen.”
For students interested in being a part of the band or another of Oklahoma Christian’s musical programs, Colgrove said the department offers students of all majors the opportunity to continue their musical skills past high school.
“Formerly, I was a high school director and it always pained me to see students I worked with for many years stop developing their skills and talents when they went off to college,” Colgrove said. “Those are special skills no one else really has and I would like to see everyone who has that training being able to continue on. OC has a special program in that not even half of our students are music majors, so we are usually able to work around schedules and allow students to maintain those musical skills without added pressures that might pull them away from their own majors.”
According to Banister, he feels Oklahoma Christian’s music department is one of its best assets, as the ensembles are a way to have fun, build community and produce a high-quality musical product.
“I am a music major, so I have been playing in OC’s bands my entire time here,” Banister said. “I cannot say enough about the opportunities the music department has afforded me. I have gotten to travel the world, play several professional shows and learn so many things that have prepared me to do whatever I want to do with music in the future. Even for someone studying something completely unrelated to music, I think being involved with these groups can be a really rewarding part of the college experience.”
Upcoming events for the band include its concert Nov. 6, the orchestra’s concert Nov. 15 and Oklahoma Christian hosting the Oklahoma City Honor Orchestra Nov. 9 and 10.
“We need to make a bigger splash in our local community about what we have going on here at OC,” Colgrove said. “Any chance we have to get out into the public and showcase what we have I think is important, and hopefully it will turn into more recruiting for our program in the future.”
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