The Westminster College Wind Ensemble will present its Young Conductors Concert Friday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Orr Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public.

Under the direction of Dr. R. Tad Greig, Westminster associate professor of music and director of bands, the concert will feature three student conductors.

This year's student conductors are:

Christopher Granger, a senior music education major from Warren, will conduct the ensemble in "Prelude, Siciliano and Rondo" by Malcolm Arnold, arranged by John Paynter.

Granger is a member of the Titan Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Theta Chi fraternity, Mu Phi Epsilon music honorary, Pennsylvania Collegiate Music Educators Association (PCMEA), Westminster Historic Organ Program, and Student Westminster Admissions Team. He is the accompanist for the Westminster Concert Choir and Chamber Singers and serves as organist and choirmaster at Forest Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Brendan Keiper, a junior music education major from Hubbard, Ohio, will conduct "American Overture for Band" by Joseph Wilcox Jenkins.

Keiper is a member of Westminster's Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Titan Marching Band, Orchestra, Theta Chi fraternity, and PCMEA. He appeared in Theatre Westminster's Guys and Dolls and was a member of the pit orchestras for Chapel Drama and Opera Westminster.

Erin Thompson, a senior music education major from Imperial, will direct "God of Our Fathers" by Claude T. Smith.

Thompson is active in Westminster's Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Titan Marching Band, Flute Choir, Chamber Winds, Student Woodwind Quintet, Concert Choir, Chapel Drama, and Opera Westminster. She is past president of the Marching and Symphonic Bands and field commander for the Marching Band. She participated in the 2009 Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band and the National Intercollegiate Band and is one of three student conductors selected to direct the Wind Ensemble in its Young Conductors Concert. Thompson holds offices in several campus organizations, is the assistant marching band director at Beaver Area High School, and teaches private lessons through the West Allegheny School District.

Additional selections on the program include Frigyes Hidas' "Concerto No. 2 for Oboe and Wind Ensemble," featuring senior music and Christian education major Jennie Smith on the oboe; Frances McBeth's arrangement of Howard Hanson's Symphony No. 2 "Romantic;" David R. Gillingham's "Be Thou My Vision;" and "Vigils Keep" by Julie Giroux.

Smith is principal oboist in Westminster's Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Orchestra, Chamber Winds, and Student Woodwind Quintet. She has played with the Greenville Symphony, Westminster Chapel Drama, Theatre Westminster, and Opera Westminster. She participated in the 2008 and 2009 Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band and was principal oboist in the 2009 CBDNA National Small College Intercollegiate Band. A Vance and Young Presbyterians Scholar, Smith is a member of Titan Traverse and Gospel Choir and is a Christian education intern at Harlansburg Presbyterian Church.

Westminster's Young Conductors Competition was established by Greig to provide a heightened experiential opportunity for selected students to learn the intricacy of rehearsal technique and to develop performance presence as a conductor. Candidates audition before a panel of experienced conductors, using the Wind Ensemble to conduct specific excerpts. A maximum of three conductors are chosen, each of whom is responsible for a complete lesson plan for each rehearsal, the preparation of their score, and reflection of their rehearsal and conducting technique with Greig.

Greig, who has been with Westminster since 1995, earned an undergraduate degree from Grove City College, master's from Youngstown State University, and Ph. D. from Kent State University.

Contact Greig at (724) 946-7279 or e-mail greigrt@westminster.edu for more information.

Wind Ensemble