WSU to host 'President's Own' first horn in class, recital

The first French horn of the President’s Own U.S. Marine Band will lead a two-part morning master class and perform a free evening recital on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 鶹ƽ State University.

Max Cripe, a WSU alumnus and Garden City native, has much to bring to WSU and other school-age music students.

Cripe, whose master’s degree from WSU is in music performance, will lead the master class from 9-11:30 a.m. in Wiedemann Recital Hall. He’ll end the day with a full recital at 7:30 p.m., also in Wiedemann.

The first part of the morning master class will be dedicated to listening and critiquing WSU students in solo and orchestral excerpts.

The second part of the class will be a lecture on career possibilities in the U.S. Armed Forces bands. Having spent 20 years in the military band system, Cripe is well qualified to talk about the excellent employment opportunities available in these musical organizations, which many students never consider as a career path.

Master Sergeant Cripe initially won a position with the Marine Band in 1988 and was promoted to principal in 2004. Previously, he was a member of the 鶹ƽ Symphony Orchestra.

For the evening recital, Cripe will perform works by Vaughn Williams, Jean Francaix, Charles Koechlin and Mozart, and will be assisted by James Knight on piano, Suzanne Schiffel on violin, Kay Buskirk and Cynthia Cook on viola, and Camille Burrow on cello.