This News Story is more than 4 years old. Links and contact information may have changed.

UPEI Wind Symphony remembers Sandy Hook Tragedy

“Into the Silent Land” features narration by 11-year-old Johanna Forbes of Charlottetown
| Music
Portraits of a young girl and a man with a trombone
Narrator Joanna Forbes and solist Dr. Dale Sorensen

The UPEI Wind Symphony will present its final recital of the fall semester on November 21 at 7:30 pm at the Confederation Centre of the Arts’ Homburg Theatre. 

Under the direction of Dr. Karem J. Simon, the UPEI Wind Symphony will present “Into the Silent Land” as the centrepiece of its programming. This profoundly emotional work reflects on the December 14, 2012 tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, where 20 children and 6 educators were killed by a gunman. Written by American Steve Danyew, who attended this school for grades 3 to 5, “Into the Silent Land” is both a funeral march and a lament. It communicates the grief felt by the families of lost ones. Danyew incorporates an excerpt from Christina Rossetti’s poem “Remember,” which will be narrated by Johanna Forbes, an eleven-year old Grade 6 student from Spring Park Elementary School in Charlottetown.

Among other works will be Gustav Holst’s “First Suite in E flat”, one of the signature works of the wind band repertoire. Oscar’s Navarro's piece, “The Fly,” will also be performed. It is a highly descriptive and entertaining work. The soloist for this recital is Dr. Dale Sorensen, UPEI’s new brass professor. He will also be featured in Guilmant’s “Morceau Symphonique”, which exploits the tonal, technical, and expressive elements of the trombone.

The UPEI Wind Symphony has received very favorable reviews from all three of its presentations of this program this fall in Summerside, PEI, and in Halifax and New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. 

Admission is $15 for adults; $10 for students. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Confederation Centre Box Office, online at boxoffice.confederationcentre.com, or by phone at 1-800-565-0278.

Media Contact

Communications Officer
Marketing and Communications
902-620-5117

Relevant Links