Despite the rain, Muncie residents, students and professors came together in a dimly lit church for a night of music in memory of the Sept. 11 victims. In honor of the fifth-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, the Ball State University School of Music put on a special concert.Jeffrey Carter, associate professor of music at Ball State, came up with the idea and organized the concert, which was held at the First Presbyterian Church on Riverside Avenue."Here we are, five years after our world changed," he said. "We thought this would be a good time to offer some time for reflection, remembrance and hope - all guided by music and experienced through music."The concert consisted of a variety of musical ensembles and soloists. The performances were meant to range from "reflective to uplifting," Carter said.The School of Music did its best to include fitting, meaningful music from different areas, Carter said."This concert includes music written by one of our own professors, classic American spiritual songs, a patriotic selection, piano music written in response to the death of soldiers in World War One," he said. "And it includes a piece that, for over 50 years, has expressed a spirit of sorrow, Samuel Barber's 'Adagio for Strings.'"The evening started out with school of music director Meryl Mantione reading an inspirational poem and then a jazz ensemble doing their rendition of "Amber Waves", under the direction of Larry McWilliams, professor of music. Other musical selections from the evening included Philip Tietze, assistant professor of viola, doing three of his own pieces and a guitar solo by Professor of Music Paul Reilly of "Chorale in A" by Georg Frideric Handel. The events of Sept. 11 are still close to the hearts of Ball State students, junior Jami Zike said."I think it's important to let people remember that it happened and let people express their feelings toward Sept. 11," she said.Junior Alyssa Sizemore said she also thought remembering the people who died on Sept. 11 would always be important."I think it's important to remember all of those who passed away and everything America went through and how it brought America together so that we can learn from it," she said.Mantione said she knew the concert would bring forth many different emotions in people."Music has the power to heal, uplift, unite and provide hope for the future," she said.Five years after the terrorist attacks, Mantione said that remembering what happened is not just about sadness but also about growing as time goes on."I think it is important for all of us to remember what happened five years ago, but it is equally important to affirm and strengthen what links people together - our common humanity," she said.
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