Kent Campbell.

For Rebecca Long, the Oct. 14 Western Kentucky University Symphonic Band concert will be one she will remember forever.

That’s because the concert will pay tribute to her grandfather, long-time director of bands Kent Campbell. And Long, a junior music major from Bowling Green, will be playing bassoon.

“I have always been so very proud of my grandfather and everything he has done in his life,” Long said. “It wasn’t until I was older that I realized how great of a man he was.”

Dr. Campbell, who died in May, was director of bands and a music professor at WKU from 1971-1993. “A Kent Campbell Tribute” begins at 7:30 p.m. at WKU’s Van Meter Hall. Tickets, which will be available at the door, are $5 general admission, $2 for senior citizens and students.

“He has made an impact on so many people’s lives along with my own,” Long said. “This concert isn’t just special for me and my family, but for all the people he made an impact on.”

Long said Dr. Campbell was a guest conductor at her high school and for a concert while she was a student at WKU. “Those both meant a lot, but this will be even more special in that I was able to play in my grandfather’s tribute concert.”

Long said she comes from a huge music family. “I love playing music and I am so grateful to have him to thank for that,” she said.

The concert will feature some of Dr. Campbell’s favorite works for band, including La Fiesta Mexicana by H. Owen Reed and The World is Waiting for Sunrise by Harry L. Alford.