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TEXAS EVENTS
Austin
WOMEN: A Women’s Symposium is being held through
March 28 at the UT Texas Union, located between 22nd
and 23rd streets off Guadalupe. The week of seminars will
focus on the changing role of women in education, busi
ness and politics. Prominent women in local, state and
national arenas will speak.
Dallas
POMPEII: The Pompeii AD 79 exhibit ended last Tuesday
at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. However, the museum
staff will be busy in April restoring the eight galleries used
to house the exhibit, and a permanent collection will be
installed by the opening date of May 2. Until then, the
pre-Columbian and African Galleries will be open, along
with the museum shop. Hours are Tuesday through
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.;
closed Monday. For more information call 214-426-2553.
Fort Worth
SYMPHONY: The Fort Worth Symphony Pops Concert
will take place March 31 at the Kennedy Theater, 1111
Houston, and will feature Doc Severinsen and his trumpet.
The show is at 8 p.m., and ticket prices are $4-$10.
Houston
HOUSTON FESTIVAL: The first Houston Festival: Main
Street Plus, which began last Friday in downtown Hous
ton, will conclude this weekend. Entertainment is pres
ented to the public free at five outdoor stages. The festival
includes reminders of Texas cultural heritage, plus both
open and juried arts and crafts sales.
San Antonio
INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES: The institute pres
ents the history of the state through oral and visual
methods, and brings some historical events to life through
special demonstrations. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesdays through Sundays for planned or just relaxed
tours. Admission is free. The institute is located on the
southeast corner of Hemisfair Plaza downtown, at the in
tersection of Durango Street and Interstate 37.
Elsewhere
ROUND TOP: The 12th Annual Winedale Spring Festival
and Fourth Texas Crafts Exhibition will be held April 6-8
on the grounds of the Winedale Historical Center, off FM
2714 in Round Top. The festival will include traditional
music on the grounds, such as blues, Irish fiddling, gospel
singing and bluegrass. The East Texas String Ensemble
of Nacogdoches will also perform. There will be demon
strations of spinning, weaving, blacksmithing, soapmak
ing, fireplace cooking and various crafts. Crafts for sale
will include pottery, wood and metal works, silver, stained
glass, jewelry and others. A ticket for the entire weekend
is $2 for adults and 50 cents for children. For more infor
mation call 731-278-3530.
ANDERSON: The Anderson Trek will be held April 7 and
8 in and around the town, which is in Grimes County. It will
consist of guided tours of homes built during the Republic
of Texas days (1836-1845), a street dance, western
parade, arts and crafts booths and other displays. The trek
will be held from 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturday, 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information call John
Gudelman at 845-6551.
BRENHAM: The Washington County Heritage Society
Tour and Antique Show will be held March 31 and April 1
in and around Brenham. Nine homes and four churches
will be included in the tour to provide examples of the
various architectural styles used in the area throughout
the 19th century. The homes range from a classic “dog-
run” log .house built in 1824 (shown below) to Greek re
vival and Victorian-style mansions, and have been fur
nished with standard furniture of the period. Tour hours
are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Adult tickets are $5 for the
entire tour or $1.50 for a particular house. Children are
admitted free. For more information call 713-836-3695.
ORGANIZATIONS
Texas A&M Symphonic Band
In spite of the fact that there is no school of music at Texas A&M
University, there are many musical groups on campus that offer
students and faculty a chance to continue their interests in music.
The Texas A&M Symphonic Band is one of them.
The band was first organized in the spring of 1974 after Major
Joe McMullen, associate director of the Texas Aggie Band, was
asked if he would be interested in starting such a band and being its
director.
He agreed to do so, and today Texas A&M has a 70-piece sym
phonic band which McMullen said he directs “for fun and enjoy
ment.”
“There was a desire for a symphonic band long before I came,”
he said. “I think there was a positive feeling on campus for one.”
When the band first began five years ago, McMullen said he
auditioned about 65 people and seated 58. The band now seats 70
people, and last fall held between 140 and 150 auditions for posi
tions.
To more clearly emphasize the amount of growth experienced,
McMullen said he listened to 28 flutists trying out for one position
this year. The band currently has two bassoon positions from four
auditions, whereas in the past McMullen was lucky to audition even
two bassoon players.
He said it is the band’s policy to audition everyone in the fall who
was interested in playing. Enough people are then chosen to com
plete the 70-piece band, and those who do not make it are put on a
waiting list.
Texas A&M faculty and staff members may also play in the Sym
phonic Band and are not required to audition as the students are,
McMullen said. He added that there are four playing in the band
now.
The band is limited to only 70 members because most music
written for symphonic bands is restricted to this size, he explained.
“You get a better balance and more compact sound with a
smaller ensemble/' McMullen said.
The band plays a variety of music.
“We try to play the full spectrum of concert music — marches,
overtures, operatic selections, broadway musicals, international
selections, and Latin American rhythms,” he said. In a campus
performance last December, the Symphonic Band devoted its
entire program to the music of German composer Richard Wagner.
“It is not very often that a band will do one composer through a
whole concert,” McMullen said. But Wagner’s music varied enough
from piece to piece to allow a band to do this without boring the
audience.
“We’ve also done informal concerts in the MSC lounge, out by
the Rudder fountain and for the married student housing adjacent
to Hensel Park in the evening,” said Jim Mercalf, a graduate stu
dent working on a doctorate in education administration.
The band has traveled across the state and the rest of the cout-
nry recently.
“In 1977, we had an opportunity to represent Texas A&M at the
Texas Music Educators’ Association in San Antonio,” said McMul
len. The band was one of only three college bands that were cho
sen to play.
“We were the first and only group from Texas A&M to be repre
sented at the Texas Music Educators’ Association since its 50
years in existence,” he said.
This year the band was invited to New Orleans to play for the
American Association of School Administrators’ Convention.
“We got a standing ovation,” said Sara Feldman, a finance major
and band president. She said she thinks the New Orleans concert
was the most significant event they had ever played for.
“I think a lot of students look at the Symphonic Band as an outlet
from a strict academic curriculum,” said Rosemarie Rose, a jour
nalism major who is vice-president of the band. “I think the caliber
of the music has improved over the three years I’ve been a
member. The opportunities have improved, also.”
“The group changes every year, but it’s a lot of fun,” said
Feldman. “It’s something I enjoy doing with a group of people.”
Metcalf said that “the character of the band changes each year
without any sacrifice in the quality.”
“Considering that Texas A&M has no school of music, we do
maintain some groups (choral and instrumental) as fine as those of
any other university,” Metcalf said.
The Symphonic Band practices weekly on Tuesday and Thurs
day afternoons from 12:30 to 1:45 in the Adams Band Building.
“We’re always happy to have visitors,” said McMullen.
Plans for the rest of the semester include a concert on Apr. 12 at
A&M Consolidated High School and and “old-fashioned concert in
the park” Apr. 19 at the married housing next to Hensel Park.
BOOKS
Bestsellers
FICTION
1. War and Remembrance
— Herman Wouk
2. Overload — Arthur Hailey
3. Chesapeake — James A.
Michener
4. SS-GE — Len Deighton
5. The Stories of John
Cheever — John
Cheever
6. Evergreen — Belva Plain
7. Hanta Yo — Ruth Beebe
8. Dubin’s Lives — Bernard
Malamud
9. Second Generation —
Howard Fast
10. Dress Gray — Lucian
K. Truscott IV
NONFICTION
1. Lauren Bacall: By Myself
— Lauren Bacall
2. The Complete Scarsdale
Medical Diet — Herman
R. Tarnower and Samm
Sinclair Baker
3. Mommie Dearest —
Christina Crawford
4. How To Prosper During
the Coming Bad Years —
Howard J. Ruff
5. A Distant Mirror — Bar
bara Tuchman
6. American Caesar —
William Manchester
7. Linda Goodman’s Love
Signs — Linda Goodman
8. Sophia: Her Own Story —
Sophia Loren
9. Nurse — Peggy Anderson
10. In Search of History
— Theodore White