He’s admired by many in the music world as an expert in wind instruments and has established himself as one of the finest conductors in both the United States and Australia.

And last Thursday, assistant professor, wind ensemble director, clarinet instructor, and faculty conductor Robert Busan lead nearly fifty wind, brass and percussion students from the school of music and dance to perform the works of composers Gustav Holst, Dmitri Shostakovich and Arthur Sullivan.

The hour-long afternoon event began at 1:10 p.m. and drew a crowd of around 200 people to the Creative Arts building’s Knuth Hall. The music ranged from fierce and aggressive, like Holst’s “Dance of the Spirits of Fire,” to the calm and upbeat melodies of the famed Broadway musical “My Fair Lady.”

As part of Music 372, a one-unit class taught by Busan, SF State musicians endure weekly rehearsals to showcase symphony-like performance ensembles that include a broad range of wind and percussion instruments.

“The class itself is pretty good,” said Robert Garcia, a 21-year-old music senior who has been playing trumpet for ten years. “[But] it requires a lot of effort.”

Busan started teaching at SF State in 2002, after earning a bachelor’s degree from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and obtaining a master’s in wind conducting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Prior to this, he had already been credited as one of the finest wind ensemble conductors in his birthplace, Australia, while directing and touring with elementary, high school and college-level students.

Audience member and opera major William Weidner, 19, said he heard about the event from Busan.

“He’s an interesting guy,” Weidner said of Busan. “But aren’t all Australians?”
Busan showed his jocular attributes throughout the course of the event, cracking jokes between numbers.

“Most musicals have one or two great songs, but this one is just chock-full of hits,” he said before playing songs from “My Fair Lady.”

He continued to delight the crowd throughout the performance, relating stories to his homeland and fellow Australian Charles Mackerras, who arranged the recital’s final energetic piece, “Pineapple Poll; Suite from the Ballet” by Arthur Sullivan.

“[Mackerass] is 83 and booked to do shows until he’s 90,” Busan said. “They breed them tough in Australia; I guess that’s it.”

After the performance, which offered the crowd a pleasant respite from the hustle and bustle of campus life, Busan explained the pieces chosen were part of a theme to include pieces of music from the stage.

“We often give a theme to things,” said Busan of the wind ensemble. “[The songs played] were all interesting in their own way and all have a connection to the stage.”

Sophomore Eric Romero, a 20-year-old business major, attended an SF State music recital before and expected the ensemble to be “nothing less than perfect.”

But Busan said he was just happy he was able to give students the chance to play music they have never played before.

“[The performance] was good,” he said smiling. “I’m pleased.”