MONMOUTH, ILLINOIS (November 17, 2022) — The newest musical group on campus will be featured this weekend as the Monmouth College Symphonic Concert Band performs its fall concert.
Under the direction of John Eckstine, the ensemble will take the stage at 2PM, November 20, in the Kasch Performance Hall of the College's Dahl Chapel and Auditorium. Free and open to the public, the concert will feature selections by John Philip Sousa, Gustav Holst, Frank Ticheli, and Clare Grundman, as well as a closing performance of "America the Beautiful."
Organized earlier this year by Eckstine, the Monmouth College Symphonic Concert Band is open to all members of the greater Monmouth community with an interest in band performance. Of this year's 36-member band, 27 are community members and nine are Monmouth students.
Community members Joy Boostrom and Jeff Davis will have solo performances during the Holst's "Winter Suite," as will Nehemiah Declaw ('24) of Rocklin, California.
Also, the director of the Fighting Scots Marching Band, Eckstine holds a Master's degree in instrumental-wind conducting from Messiah University. He's been a music educator for more than three decades, teaching in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
