“For this year’s first on-campus performance, the Kutztown University Wind Ensemble highlights music that is related to festivities or celebrations,” says Daniel Neuenschwander, Kutztown University Director of Bands.

Kutztown University Wind Ensemble presents “A Cause for Celebration,” 7:30 p.m. March 7, Schaeffer Auditorium, Kutztown University.

The concert opens with Dmitri Shostakovich’s popular “Festive Overture,” arranged by Donald Hunsberger, followed by Emmy Award-winning composer Julie Giroux’s “One Life Beautiful.”

“Birthday Fantasia” is an original work by Dr. John Metcalf, Professor Emeritus of Music, composed for the Kutztown University (KU) 150th anniversary in the 2015 - 2016 academic year. The piece makes use of music vignettes from “Happy Birthday”; the KU fight song, “Go Bears Go,” and the KU “Alma Mater.”

“Variants on a Mediaeval Tune” by Pulitzer Prize- and Emmy Award-winning composer Norman Dello Joio follows.

The concert closes with John Philip Sousa’s “George Washington Bicentennial March” to commemorate the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth.

Kutztown University Wind Ensemble, “A Cause for Celebration,” 7:30 p.m. March 7, Schaeffer Auditorium, Kutztown University, 15200 Kutztown Road, Kutztown. Free. Tickets not required.

“The Kutztown University Orchestra performs four large concerts and a Concerto Competition each year,” says Peter Isaacson, Kutztown University Orchestra Director and Assistant Professor of Violin, adding, “For this concert, we are quite pleased to present two concerto winners as well as a special collaborative performance with Hearts for Music.”

The Kutztown University Orchestra concert is at 7:30 p.m. March 13, Kutztown University.

Says Isaacson, “Each year, we hold a Concerto Competition with the winner featured during an orchestra performance. This year, our judges chose two winners, both pianists, who will perform during our March 13 concert.”

Kutztown University student Concerto winners are Gabriel Alexander Naranjo, performing “Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K466” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Brandon Ramos with George Gershwin’s popular “Rhapsody in Blue.”

The orchestra’s strings are featured in the John Krance arrangement of “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5” by composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Says Isaacson, “To show the inclusiveness of music, we present a special collaboration with participants from Hearts for Music (HOM) in performance of Franz Schubert’s ‘Magic Harp Overture.’”

A clinical and music therapist, President and Artistic Director Kitrael Chin founded HOM in Mantua, Ohio, in 2016 to provide opportunities for persons with special needs to “pursue their love for creating and performing music.”

“Music is a vehicle to bring together people with disabilities where there is no age limit, no disability restriction and no audition,” says Chin, adding, “We transform disabilities into abilities through music.”

HOM members, performing on acoustic, digital and adaptive instruments, will be integrated in instrument sections.

“Kutztown University is a place of openness and collaboration, dedicated to the cause of music on any level,” states Isaacson.

With a location in Schnecksville, Hearts for Music welcomes interested individuals to phone 610-767-6884 or email HFMPA@heartsformusic.org

Kutztown University Orchestra Concert, 7:30 p.m. March 13, Schaeffer Auditorium, Kutztown University, 15200 Kutztown Road, Kutztown. Free; Tickets not required.

“Classical View” is a column about classical music concerts, conductors and performers. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com