‘Happy Birthday, America!’: Trine wind ensemble celebrates USA at Feb. 22 concert

The Trine University Wind Ensemble’s first concert of the spring 2026 semester will celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, also known as the semi-quincentennial of the United States.

“Happy Birthday, America!” will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, in Ryan Concert Hall inside the T. Furth Center for Performing Arts.

Parking and admission are free, and audience members are encouraged to wear patriotic attire.

Music across US history

The concert will feature music from various time periods and composers from American history, ranging from the Revolutionary War to present day. In addition, familiar fragments of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and familiar American folk tunes will be heard throughout.

The Wind Ensemble also will welcome to the stage Colleen McNabb-Everage, vocalist and CEO of the Angola Performing Arts Academy.  McNabb-Everage will join the ensemble in singing "Anthem" from America as well as a surprise encore at the conclusion of the concert.

McNabb-Everage is a graduate of Ball State University and Roosevelt University and toured with the Joey DeFrancesco Trio before returning to northeast Indiana. She has been active in the local arts community and has served as an adjunct faculty member within the Trine University music program.

Selections include:

• Music from Broadway’s “Hamilton,” representing the Revolutionary War through the early 1800s
• An arrangement of “Bandanna Sketches” by American neoromantic composer Clarence Cameron White, representing the Civil War and Reconstruction period of the mid to late 1800s through “Nobody Knows de Troubles I’ve Seen”
• A march written for Theodore Roosevelt’s 1904 Republican presidential campaign titled “Cosmopolitan America” by Helen May Butler, “the female Sousa” and leader of the Helen May Butler and Her Ladies’ Military Band from 1898-1912. Butler’s march also represents the height and popularity of American march music written for newspapers, businesses, celebrations, events and cities and towns across the United States, by combining familiar European and American tunes into the standard march form.
• “American Salute” written by Morton Gould in 1943, representing America’s involvement in World War II. Using the melody from “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” in innovative music treatments, Gould depicts frantic morse code rhythms, the rising and falling waves pounding Navy ships crossing the North Atlantic Ocean, troops marching across Europe, flak guns exploding around B-17 Flying Fortresses and a funeral march for those who were killed in the line of duty, concluding with an urgent call to arms to support the war effort.
• Focusing on the rise of pop music and its effect on advertising in the 1960s and 1970s, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony).” Originally written by British songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, the lyrics were rewritten by Bill Backer and Billy Davis as a jingle for the Coca-Cola Company in 1971.
• A somber, yet moving arrangement of “Amazing Grace,” reflecting on the sacrifices of those serving America at home and abroad.
• An anthem from a three-movement rhapsodic work titled “America,” which will conclude the concert. Originally written in 1926 celebrating the 150^th anniversary of the United States, Ernest Bloch, a Swedish immigrant to the United States, the work depicts the past, present and future of America through music.

“It is my hope with this concert to bring a mixture of American folk and patriotic music to share with our audiences and students to explore all the people who have contributed to the history and continuation of the American experiment,” said Brad Jopek, DMA, director of music at Trine. “We welcome everyone to come and take this musical journey as we celebrate America’s birthday through song, dance and a little bit of theatre!”

Wind ensemble members

Trine University Wind Ensemble members are as follows:

Flute/piccolo: Olivia Geringer-Spagnola, an exercise science major from Beecher, Illinois; and Donna Henson-Bohlen, a design engineering technology major from Sturgis, Michigan.

Oboe: Julia Dickinson, an electrical engineering major from West Unity, Ohio.

Clarinet: Oliver Chorpenning, a high school musician; and Madelyn Krout, a forensic science major from Mitchell, Indiana.

Soprano saxophone: Jacob Krebs, a mechanical engineering major from Munster, Indiana.

Alto saxophone: Michael Blessing, a mechanical engineering major from Delta, Ohio; Brody Fox, a civil engineering major from Rushville, Indiana; Estrella Manzano, a forensic science major from Goshen, Indiana; and Ashley Salas, a mechatronics and robotics engineering major from Goshen, Indiana.

Tenor saxophone: Jada Blanchard, a chemical engineering major from Holland, Ohio.

Baritone saxophone: Charles Graham, a mechanical engineering major from Shelbyville, Indiana.

Trumpet: Travis Lehman, a design engineering technology major from Atwater, Ohio; Ryan Sederstrom, an electrical engineering major from Cedar Lake, Indiana; Ethan Swartz, a civil engineering major from Bristol, Indiana; and Jamie Wallace, a management major from Mentone, Indiana.

Horn: Eryn Pikus, a mechanical engineering major from Carmel, Indiana; and Jessica Jopek, a community member.

Trombone: Evan Cole, a mechanical engineering major from Adrian, Michigan; Garrett Mangold, a chemical engineering major from Buchanan, Michigan; Braeden Phillips, a computer engineering major from Shelbyville, Indiana; Shannon Ridley, a mechanical engineering major from Warsaw, Indiana; and John Rubley, an extended reality major from Reading, Michigan.

Euphonium: Evan Cole.

Tuba: Andrew Bassler, a mechatronics and robotics engineering major from Perrysburg, Ohio; and Luke Weintz, a civil engineering major from Fairfield, Ohio.

Percussion: Jada Blanchard and Brayton Moss, a high school musician.