The Purdue Fort Wayne School of Music is committed to bringing the highest forms of entertainment to the community with a variety of lectures, instruction, and concerts filling their calendar every month. One such event is a concert featuring the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, flutist Vivianne Belanger, composer Joel Puckett, and the Old Crown Brass Band.

This show takes place April 18 in PFW’s Auer Performance Hall and features works by composer-in-residence Joel Puckett, including his Grammy-nominated Shadow of Sirius, which will feature Belanger, professor of flute.

Currently one of the most performed composers in America, Puckett has been hailed as a “visionary” by The Washington Post and as “an astonishingly original voice” by The Philadelphia Inquirer. His music is consistently recognized by organizations such as the American Composers Forum, BMI, Chorus America, National Public Radio, and the American Bandmasters Association.

Belanger was born and raised in Quebec, Canada, and has held the positions of second flute with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and second flute/piccolo of the Drummondville Symphony Orchestra in Quebec since 2012. She has a Performance Certificate and a Master’s Degree in Performance from DePaul University.

Sharing the program with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble is Fort Wayne’s Old Crown Brass Band, a British-style brass brand that excludes clarinets and saxophones but includes other instruments like flugelhorns, the baritone, and tenor horns that are seldom seen in other bands. Members of the Old Crown Brass Band come from three states and include professional musicians from two major symphony orchestras, music educators, and music-industry professionals and a few amateurs.