Winter Band Concert to Feature Students' Musical and Artistic Prowess

DUBUQUE, Iowa - The University of Dubuque's Concert Band and Jazz Band will present a Winter Band Concert at 7:00 p.m. Friday, February 20, 2026, in John and Alice Butler Hall, Heritage Center.

The Winter Band Concert will include music from a variety of genres and time periods as well as timeless jazz standards such as "Alligator Alley," "All the Things I'm Not," "Bewitched," and "Blue Train."

The Concert Band portion of the concert will highlight connections to Iowa like those found in "Drawing Mars." After Richard "Dick" Koos (C'57) graduated from UD as a mathematics and economics double major, he worked for NASA from 1960 until his retirement in 1998. Koos' story inspired the selection of "Drawing Mars" for the concert.

A unique collaboration between the Department of Fine and Performing Arts and the Department of Digital Art and Design will showcase students' musical and artistic prowess during the performance of "Drawing Mars." Composer Michael Markowski's evocative music will be paired with visual art created by students in the fall 2025 2D Animation course. Students choreographed and produced a sequence of animated objects for "Drawing Mars" after carefully examining the music and movement of sound composed by Markowski. The result is a combination of digitally produced shapes and space research images taken from space research programs like the Hubble Space Telescope.

"The collaboration, experimentation, and problem-solving by students involved on the project is central to the purpose and passion for creatives in digital design and animation," said Jean Holdener, PhD, co-head of the Department of Digital Art and Design and assistant professor of digital art and design.

The Winter Band Concert will be under the direction of Nolan Hauta, DMA, director of concert bands and associate professor of instrumental music, and Evan Glickman, DMA, director of jazz and athletic bands and assistant professor of music.

The Winter Band Concert is free and open to the public. No ticket is required.