Toes were tapping and birds were chirping as the summer concert band performed outside Bracken Library Wednesday evening. The School of Music presented the summer concert band as part of the Summer Outdoor Concert Series.
The 60-member band consists of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as high school students and community members.
More than 100 spectators crowded the steps of the library to listen to the band perform nine pieces. The selected pieces were upbeat and familiar.
"We play stuff that pretty much everyone can recognize," said Lesley Cline, senior music education major.
Wednesday's selections included songs from the hit Broadway shows "The Producers" and "Mamma Mia!" Other pieces included a Broadway medley and "Haskell's Rascals," which featured a lively snare drum trio.
Becky Laskar, a junior at DePauw University, came to the concert to support her friend Alex Snyder, an oboe player.
"This was really neat to see," Laskar said. "I don't think my school does anything like this."
Summer outdoor concerts date back to the 1920s, said Joseph Scagnoli, summer concert band director and associate director of the School of Music.
"It's a summer school tradition," he said.
The emphasis of the summer concerts is a change from the formal concerts during the school year to a more relaxed and informal environment.
"The atmosphere is completely different," Scagnoli said. The change is not only because it is outdoors, but also in the styles of music performed and the attire worn to the performance.
"Folks are expecting to be entertained," Scagnoli said. "We try to entertain instead of educate."
Matthew Rooney participated in the summer band to prepare himself for his freshman year in the fall.
"It's my first summer (in the band), but definitely not the last," Rooney said.
Rooney is planning to major in music and said the summer band is an opportunity to get to know people and become familiar with the Ball State music program.
Sarah Krep, a graduate and French horn player, is participating in the summer band for the fifth year.
"It's a relaxing time," Krep said. "It's not every day you can come outside to a concert."
Next Wednesday the summer series will continue with the jazz ensemble performing at 5:30 p.m. at the Bracken Library Plaza. The music will continue in Pruis Hall at 8 p.m. as the Ball State Summer Symphony performs.
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