The Western Kentucky University Bands will celebrate its 100th anniversary with two upcoming performances by the Southern Kentucky Concert Band as part of the Summer Twilight Concert Series.
The first band at Western Kentucky Teachers College, now known as WKU, was formed in 1925 as a student organization led by student director Joyce Felts with only 18 members.
Over a hundred years later, WKU Bands has over 400 members across six ensembles, according to Potter College News.
The June 12 performance at 8 p.m. will open with the theme from the movie Superman and will include a performance of “Land Between,” a compilation of 1940s swing charts composed by Nashville composer Jay Dawson.
The concert will also include music styles ranging from 1940s show tunes to Marches by famous composer John Phillip Sousa, and a toe-tapping polka number, according to Potter College News.
The second performance is scheduled for Saturday, June 21 at 7:30 p.m. and will recognize Joe Sites, a former conductor of the Southern Kentucky Concert Band and Professor of Music at WKU, who died March 1, 2025.
The concert will include favorite works of Sites performed by former students, colleagues, and friends.
Both concerts are free and open to the public.
