June 10, Donald Hunsberger conducting in Takemitsu Memorial Hall -- Second Suite in F for Military Band (Gustavus Theodore von Holst, 1874-1934), Fantasy Variations (Donald Grantham, born in Oklahoma in 1947), Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra (Henri Tomasi, 1901-1971; transcribed by Mamoru Nakata) featuring Nobuya Sugawa; "Star Wars" Trilogy Suite (John Towner Williams, born in New York in 1932; arranged by Donald Hunsberger), "Catfish Row" Suite (George Gershwin, 1898-1937; arranged by Donald Hunsberger)
The Eastman Wind Ensemble under Donald Hunsberger presented 13 concerts during three weeks in Japan. The goodwill tour was an educational experience for the 48 players chosen from the Eastman School of Music's finest to compose the ensemble for the current academic term. For the 48-year-old wind ensemble it was the sixth appearance of the past decade. For most of the undergraduate and graduate students though, all men and women in their 20s, it was their first visit to Japan.
Its worldwide renown tends to obscure the fact that the Eastman School of Music is one of the professional academic units of the University of Rochester, a quiet, midsize city located in upstate New York. The school thrived for a quarter century under the brilliant leadership of Robert Freeman, arguably the most highly respected educator of any music school in America, who stressed that the curriculum provide his students with a well-rounded, interdisciplinary education.