Help an audience honor the career of Kalamazoo College Director of Bands and Professor of Music Tom Evans at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the winter concert for the Academy Street Winds.
Evans, the ensemble’s director, plans to retire at the end of the academic year. Friday’s concert theme, “It’s About Time,” reflects his own feeling regarding retirement and affirms musical selections that will explore teaching or the ephemeral values of time. The ensemble’s website says the program will present a delightful mix of music, sometimes whimsical and sometimes poignant, that will put a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and a bit of melancholy in your soul as you consider the fleeting quality of time.
Evans’ career began on the podium and in the classroom in 1976. He has been with K for 29 years and leads groups such as the College’s Symphonic Band, Jazz Band and Pep Band in addition to the Academy Street Winds. He also teaches the popular Beginning Band class, which—in about eight weeks every spring—teaches students who have never learned a band instrument the basics of playing one of their choice. In 2020, he and Department of Music Chair Andrew Koehler both received the Community Medal of Arts from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, recognizing their contributions to the city’s arts scene.
The Dalton Theatre concert is free and open to the public, but goodwill donations are gratefully accepted.
“Finding the right words to express my gratitude to my students, my colleagues, and the College is difficult,” Evans said. “Clearly, they’ve been some of the best experiences and years of my life. I am sincerely grateful to all who have supported me. And I am especially grateful for those with whom I’ve had the pleasure of making music. While my years at K were meaningful and momentous for me, I also hope that they were meaningful and momentous for those who shared my journey. How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”