To say that the Symphonic Band concert on Wednesday night was metamorphic is an understatement. The group took the audience on a roller coaster ride of emotion through each of their five pieces.

The night opened with “Symphonic Metamorphosis” composed by Paul Hindemith that told the story of the war-stricken world and 1940s America.

The first piece was quickly finished and the second piece was introduced by the original composer, Aaron Perrine. Perrine composed the song “Only Light” in 2014 after reading a Facebook post about a friend’s wife and her battle with cancer. Perrine told his emotional story that led to the composition of the piece before the band performed it.

“Having the composer actually here, they performed it better than ever,” said Dr. Steven Smyth, director of the Symphonic band.

For audience members, it made experiencing the piece even more emotional. Taylor Zeller, audience member and freshman at Iowa State University, actually played one of Aaron Perrine’s pieces when he was in high school, so the experience was very personal for him.

“It was very well played by the band because there are a lot of bands that do not put passion into their music, and they really just play the notes, and there is a difference between just playing it and expressing it in your own way, which is what they did tonight,” Zeller said.

The band continued forward with their concert after an eruption of applause for “Only Light” as they went on to play two older pieces called “Psalm for Band” and “Irish Tune from County Derry.” The Irish piece actually includes the famous “Danny Boy” melody and was excitingly familiar to audience members’ ears.

The band ended the night with an exceptionally unique French piece called “Le Bouquet.” An elaborate screen rolled down from the ceiling and a cartoon played while the band performed the score live for audience members.

“It definitely made the conductor’s job a lot harder because he had to keep track of where he was at in the music and where he was at in the movie, but it was very well put together,” Zeller said.

By the time the exciting cartoon and score ended, the audience members’ hearts were warmed.

“It is kind of one of those palette cleansers,” Smyth said. “You don’t have to think about it.”

Overall, the concert on Wednesday evoked more emotion than I thought possible within a 45 minute time span. It was a fantastic final concert for a few seniors, and a great way to finish the semester for the rest of the members.

“Tonight was great, it was a great final test if you will,” Smyth said.

If that concert was the Symphonic Band’s test, then they all passed with flying colors.