Featured Image: Professor John Oelrich conducts the instrumentalists in the Harriet Fulton Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 15, in Martin, TN.
(Photo Credit / Ethan Tanner)

The UT Martin Wind Ensemble presented a wide array of intriguing pieces for its first concert of the year at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

The concert consisted of three different sections dedicated to the University Band, the Wind Ensemble and the Symphonic Band. While there wasn’t a specific title for the concert, a majority of the songs addressed mental health and its struggles.

“You’ll notice the name Randall Standridge on this program three times because he’s done a really nice job of shining a light and…creating a musical space for all of us to have conversations about mental health and awareness,” said Professor John Oelrich, the conductor.

The night began on a positive note with Affirmation by Randall Standridge, which focused on the acceptance of those who are marginalized and excluded. This piece exuded an upbeat, triumphant tune, creating a happy atmosphere as the band soared seamlessly through its full run.

The next piece was another Standridge piece, Choose Joy, conducted by graduate teaching assistant James McGregor. This piece sounded even more triumphant than the previous one, embodying the joyous feelings that arise within an individual.

“This piece is just really special. It’s very uplifting. It’s really just about choosing to be happy,” McGregor said.

McGregor conducted the piece masterfully as the band played excerpts of the familiar Hallelujah chorus, displaying energy and grace with every motion of his body until the band struck its final note.

The wind ensemble performed the next two pieces. The first was Haunted  Objects by John Mackey, a piece based on Japanese folklore of tsukumogami. It describes how household objects develop their own spirits. This song began abruptly, with aggressive repetitive rhythms that transitioned into a quieter, more mysterious composition, which inconsistently changed in volume and speed.

It was then followed by Only Light by Aaron Perrine, which was based on the idea of a cancer diagnosis bringing darkness even when there was “only light.” This piece had a slow, quiet start before taking on a more menacing tune to match the feelings that some may have when they find out they have been diagnosed with the wretched disease. The arrangement conveyed a melancholy yet powerful feeling throughout its performance, yet ended quietly and peacefully.

The symphonic band performed the final piece. As another Standridge piece, unBroken, took a darker tone than its predecessors. This song represented a decline in mental health as the song progressed. The piece began with a relatively happy melody, representing a man’s happiness with his family, before the tune grew more aggressive and distorted, demonstrating how his mental health changed for the worse. The dramatic shifts in tune made unBroken the highlight of the concert, leaving the audience in awed silence several seconds after it ended, before thunderous applause broke out across the theater at the realization.

The wind ensemble will have another concert closer to the end of the fall 2025 semester.

You can view the concert below.