SEMO’s Department of Music celebrates high school and college musical talent at Revelry!

The SEMO Department of Music presented a winter concert on Feb. 25 at Bedell Performance Hall on River Campus.

The concert entitled “Revelry!” had two parts, the first being music performed by the University Concert Band, including music such as Rick Kirby’s An American Fanfare and David Gillingham’s At Morning’s First Light.

The Director of Bands Dr. Jim Daughters was the conductor for the evening. He picked music that was “celebratory in nature” to feature at the concert. The performance was not only a celebration of the music but also a way for students to showcase their talents in front of an audience.

“I just love performing with students,” Daughters said. “I do love the audience reaction that students get when they do a great job and inspire an audience.”

Freshman BFA musical theater major Emma Dugan also enjoyed performing in front of an audience.

“Getting to play for everyone, that’s always the fun part,” Dugan said. “We worked so hard to practice all this music and now we get to play it.”

Junior instrumental music education major Isaac Thorn was another student who got to display his talents. He was featured as a student conductor for a portion of the concert, his first time doing so.

The students were not only from SEMO. Many of the performers were from local High Schools, as well as some graduated students.

Freshman education major Jada Gordon played the French horn at the concert and remarked on playing with high school students.

“It was very different,” Gordon said. “It was kind of a challenge, but I’m glad working with better players and being able to expand my range of music.”

The second part of the concert was performed by the Southeast Wind Symphony, featuring Kenneth Hesketh’s Masque and James David’s Flying Jewels.

Revelry! was the final performance of the 2025 Robert Gifford Band Festival. Daughters reflected on the importance of these live music events at the university.

“Music represents who we are as people,” Daughters said. “It’s the fabric of our community and the university being a hub for those sorts of things and for live events in the community, it’s important that we keep doing that.”