An idea brought forth by a student in the French horn section will shine a new light on the Arkansas Tech University Symphonic Wind Ensemble for its final performance of the 2025-26 academic year.
The show will begin at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 26, in Witherspoon Auditorium, 407 West Q Street on the ATU campus in Russellville. Admission will be free and open to the public.
The concert will include a new stage lighting concept envisioned and developed by Caelah Carvin, a first-year ATU student from Hot Springs.
“Lighting really sets the mood,” said Carvin, who is majoring in instrumental music education and minoring in business. “It really ties everything together and brings something new to the stage. I’m super excited to see what it might add to the performance and what feelings it might evoke in the audience.”
Carvin has long had an interest in stage lighting, but her busy schedule at Lakeside High School in Hot Springs prevented her from pursuing it through the theatre program.
After graduating from Lakeside in 2024, Carvin invested a gap year in attending and graduating from the U.S. Army School of Music as part of her service to the 106th Army Band in the Arkansas National Guard.
It was at the Army School of Music that Carvin first saw stage lighting blended with classical music. When she began her studies at Arkansas Tech in fall 2025, she brought that concept with her.
“There are so many opportunities here,” said Carvin when asked why she chose Arkansas Tech. “The faculty listen, and they care about music as much as the students do. There’s a shared respect and mutual interest we all have in the same thing. They really hear your ideas.”
Carvin began shopping for lights online, found the right ones, practiced with them and then implemented them as part of the ATU Jazz Ensemble performance at Witherspoon Auditorium in April.
Now, she is taking the light show up a notch for the ATU Symphonic Wind Ensemble concert and blending it with her love for music.
“It’s just everything…it’s my passion,” said Carvin when asked why she plays music. “Every time I listen to music, it makes me feel…it’s a language that communicates to everyone. It’s not bound by words. It’s a pure transmitter of emotion. It’s my love and my joy to reach people that way.”
Pieces scheduled for performance during the April 26 concert include John Stafford Smith’s “The Star-Spangled Banner,” as arranged by Brian Balmages, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States; “Let My Love Be Heard” by Jake Runestad, which will be played in memory of former ATU director of bands Hal Cooper Sr.; “Rumba Fugata” by Arturo Marquez; and “Amerykahn Graffiti” by Katahj Copley.
Dr. Daniel A. Belongia, ATU professor of music and director of bands, is conductor for the ATU Symphonic Wind Ensemble.
Visit www.atu.edu/humanities/music to learn more about the ATU Department of Music.
