Winter 2025 Concert Band Session

2025 UMBAA Concert Band Dates: 

REHEARSALS

Thursdays 7:30 - 9:30pm

Skyline HS Band Room (SHS)

Winter Session
1/23/25 - 4/3/25
4/10/25 6:45 - 8:45PM

CONCERT: Free and Open to the Public - Saline HS Auditorium

Winter - Sunday April 13th, 2025 - 3pm

1:30 p.m. arrive
1:50 dress rehearsal - time approx: starts as soon as we are set up
2:30 house opens
3:00 concert

Repertoire

A Festival Prelude - Alfred Reed
Festivo - Nelhybel
Stillwater - Dunton
Overture for Winds - Carter
Loch Lomond - Ticheli
Chorale and Shaker Dance II - Zdechlik
Soundtrack Highlights from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - John Williams/arr. Michael Brown
The Victors - Elbel

We are excited to welcome Christi Blahnik and Rachel Zephir as our Co-Directors for Winter 2025.

Christi Blahnik is obtaining her Master's Degree in Wind Conducting at the University of Michigan. Before pursuing her graduate studies, she served as the Director of Bands at The Performing Arts Signature Academy at Damonte Ranch High School in Reno, NV. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Blahnik served as the Director of Bands and Choirs at Douglas High School. During her eight years of teaching, Ms. Blahnik contributed to the teaching community through her service as the Northern Zone Audition Coordinator, WCSD Honor Band Chair, WCSD Band Benchmark Curriculum Committee Co-Chair, NMEA All-State Band Chair, and Vice-President of the Nevada Music Educators Association, the latter of whom awarded Ms. Blahnik the 2018 NMEA New Music Educator of the Year Award. She is also active as an adjudicator, clinician, presenter, and performer. Ms. Blahnik has participated in several Wind Conducting Workshops as a Conducting Fellow with notable conductors including Loras Schissel, Robert Page, Emily Threinen, Craig Kirchhoff, Mallory Thompson, Robert Halseth, Reed Chamberlin, Rodney Dorsey, Jamie Nix, Don McKinney, Matt Dockendorf, Eugene Corporon, Andrew Trachsel, and Daniel Cook. Ms. Blahnik holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education and a Bachelor of Music Degree in Clarinet Performance from Duquesne University.

Rachel Zephir is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Band Conducting from the University of Michigan where she studies with Jason Fettig, formerly the conductor of The President’s Own. Prior to that, she served as the Director of Bands at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt Maryland. At Roosevelt, she directed four Concert Bands, Pep Band, Jazz Ensemble, and oversees the chamber music program. During her tenure the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band were selected to perform at the Maryland Music Educators State Conference in 2017, the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Eastern Regional Conference at Yale University in 2018, and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) National Band Directors Consortium Conference in Atlanta, Georgia in March of 2019. The Wind Ensemble Chamber Winds were selected to perform at The Midwest Clinic in December of 2019. Rachel also spent three years teaching with The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s El Sistema based program OrchKids. At OrchKids, she was the Brass Department Chair, and taught Musicianship and Ear Training classes. Rachel was the Music Director of the Westminster Symphony Orchestra; a combined effort between McDaniel College and Carroll Community College in Westminster Maryland. She was an adjunct faculty member at both McDaniel College and Carroll Community College teaching studio trumpet and the Brass Ensemble. Rachel is currently the Music Director of the Rockville Brass Band. The ensemble has been invited to perform at major brass band venues such as the Gettysburg Brass Band Festival, the Dublin (OH) Festival of Brass, the Mid Atlantic Brass Band Festival at Rowan University, and most recently the 2024 Pershing’s Own Tuba Euphonium Conference. In December 2022, she was selected as a conducting fellow for the Reynolds Conducting Institute at the 76th Midwest Clinic featuring clinicians H. Robert Reynolds and Michael Haithcock. Rachel is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music. She has degrees in Trumpet, Music Education, and Wind Conducting. She also recently completed a Master of Music in Music Education from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

To cover some of the expenses of the Concert Band there is a participation fee of $40 per session. The participation fee will be collected when you register online at the link above.

Please pass the word onto your alumni friends that may not be on our e-mail list. It is easier to plan if we have a good head count and know what part you would like to play sooner rather than later.

Who are we?

Our UMBAA Concert Band holds ~10 rehearsals culminating in a concert each session. Our group runs two sessions each year: fall and winter. Since the first session in the spring of 2009, our members have grown in musicianship, some having dusted off their instruments for the first time in years and have once again set up a chair and stand in the basement to practice daily. Others play in multiple community bands. The Concert Band plays everything from traditional concert band repertoire to pieces less familiar to many members. Why? Simple. The piece did not exist when they last played in a concert band!

Want to Join?

If you are interested in becoming a member of the UMBAA Concert Band, we would love to have you join us! Our band welcomes players of all levels and abilities. Players must be UMBAA Members in Good Standing ($20/annually). A $40/session participation fee will be collected when you register online at the link above.

If you have any questions, please send an email to UMBAAconcertband@umich.edu.

Go Blue and Yuba!

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