In observance of the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the Monmouth Winds, an elite ensemble of 40 Monmouth College student instrumentalists, will embark on a three-state tour, beginning with an opening concert on March 8 at 7:30 p.m. at Faith United Presbyterian Church in Monmouth.

In addition to the inaugural concert in Monmouth, the Winds will also perform March 9 at noon in the rotunda of the Illinois State Capitol Building in Springfield; March 11 at 7 p.m. at Illinois Central College in Peoria; March 12 at 7 p.m. at the Charles Allis Art Museum in Milwaukee; and March 13 at 7 p.m. at the Harold Washington Public Library in Chicago.

Complimentary seats to the Monmouth concert or any of the other concerts on the ensemble’s tour schedule can be reserved by calling the office of alumni programs at 309-457-2336 or by e-mail at alumni@monm.edu.

According to Winds conductor Stephen Richter, director of instrumental activities at the college, the ensemble’s tour will premiere "In Lincoln’s Day," an original composition by Jeffrey Hoover, Illinois Central College’s associate dean for arts and communication.

In his description of "In Lincoln’s Day," Hoover says his composition embodies the country’s sorrows and hopes during and after the Civil War. The piece, he says, begins with an army on the march, and "the melody we hear is the basis of the entire composition. The choices of instruments and sounds hearken back to the time of the American Civil War."

He continues, "It’s not as much a composition about Lincoln himself as it is his influence and the life of the people during that dark time. The work expresses the conflict of the times, but ends optimistically, looking toward a united America, with hope for the future."

Richter has also included a number of pieces from the 1860s that his research has shown were some of Lincoln’s favorites or "are pieces we’re convinced Lincoln would have liked."

Among them is "A Lincoln Celebration" by Timothy Johnson, featuring three of the president’s most beloved songs: "Oh! Susanna," "Nobody Knows the Trouble I See" and "Columbia, The Gem of the Ocean."

Other highlights of the Winds tour program include Robert Sheldon’s "A Prairie Portrait," which is based on the poetry of Carl Sandburg. Joining the ensemble as narrator for this segment will be Mauri A. Ditzler, president of Monmouth College.

Rounding out the program will be "Sleep" by Eric Whitacre, Thomas Doss’ "Dona Nobis Pacem" and "Persistence" by Richard Saucedo, as well as "Then I Saw the Lucent Sky" by Todd Stalter, Jay Dawson’s arrangement of "Amazing Grace" and "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair" by Claude Debussy. Laura Greenwood, a junior business major from Rock Island, Ill., will be the featured soloist for the latter piece.

Hoover received a Ph.D. degree in fine arts from Texas Tech University. His music, which ranges from compositions for soloist to symphony orchestra, has received recognition through national and international awards, grants, fellowships and more than 20 commissions. Also a visual artist, he is known for creating unique interdisciplinary works where he combines his paintings with his compositions.

In addition to his duties with the Monmouth Winds, Richter also conducts the Fighting Scots Band and the Monmouth Jazz Band. He is the founder of the Camarata Center for the Arts and is an active member of the California Orchestra Directors Association, the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors, the International Clarinet Society, the Indiana Music Educators Association, the Illinois Music Educators Association and MENC.

As a performer, he is an active clarinetist in solo and chamber music recitals as well as in jazz ensembles. Since his Carnegie Recital Hall debut in 1982, he has performed more than 500 concerts and recitals throughout the United States.