Origins of the Modern Wind Ensemble

If you are an opera lover or a Mozart fan, we would like to invite you to a special lecture by a visiting artist from Dublin Ireland. Dr. William Halpin, the former Head of Conservatory, a conductor, and senior lecturer in flute at the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) Conservatory of Music and Drama,will present “The Wind Band in Mozart’s Opera Orchestra: Origins of the Modern Wind Ensemble” on Wednesday Oct. 9, 2013 at 2:00 PM in the Alumni Recital Hall on the Redfern Arts Center. Sponsored by the Class of 39 International Lecturer Grant and the KSC student chapter of the National Association for Music Education(NAfME), this presentation is open to the public at no charge.

Dr. Halpin received his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Connecticut. Along with his extensive experience as a conductor of instrumental ensembles, Dr. Halpin has also worked in the world of opera. In 1999 he was assistant conductor to Franz Paul Decker for the very successful concert performance of Ravel’s opera L’Enfant et le Sortileges in Dublin’s National Concert Hall, and in 2003 he was one of the main inspirations behind DIT’s very successful Night at the Opera series at the same site. In the first two concerts of the series he conducted and staged highlights from Magic Flute, Marriage of Figaro, Carmen, and Rigoletto. This was followed in 2005 with Barber of Seville. In October 2008 he was conductor for the DIT production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, the Conservatory’s first full-scale opera production in 25 years.

This semester Dr. Halpin is sharing his knowledge of Mozart and opera on a tour of colleges and universities in the United States. Invited by the College Band Directors National Association, he will be visiting a number of schools including Keene State College and Yale University. We hope you will take this opportunity to hear this lecture by an expert of international stature.