Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024 • 7:30 p.m.
Weigel Auditorium
Columbus, OH
Program
University Band presents "Classics Across Continents"
Sarah Baker and Uiliami Fihaki, conductors
Shawn Davern, guest conductor
"La Tragenda: Witches’ Dance" from Le Villi (1883/1996)
Puccini/Beck (b. 1976)
Sarah Baker, conductor
Italian composer, Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), famed for his operas that stemmed in realism — including La Bohème, Madama Butterfly and Tosca — are masterworks. However, Puccini’s family was not always opera enthusiasts. His family had served as organists in Lucca, Italy for five generations as well as composers to the Cathedral of San Martino. By age 14, Puccini was appointed church organist and began to write musical compositions. However, he discovered his true love of opera after attending a production of Verdi’s Aida.
This intermezzo from Puccini’s first opera-ballet, Le Villi, depicts the evildoings of the ghost maidens deserted by their lovers. According to the legend of Le Villi, when a woman dies of a broken heart, the fairies, disguised as beautiful women, cast a spell over the heartbreaker and force him to dance until death!
Brian Beck is a freelance composer, arranger, clinician and educator of both instrumental and vocal ensembles. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Texas A&M University–Commerce and a Master’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Houston.
Country Gardens (1918/1999)
Percy Grainger (1882–1961)
Uiliami Fihaki, conductor
Percy Grainger, the Australian-born American composer, arranger and pianist, is best known for this delightful composition Country Gardens. Composed as a birthday gift for his mother, Rose, on July 3, 1918, the piece became a sensation and contributed significantly to Grainger’s income. The composition originated from a folk tune given to Grainger in 1908 by Cecil Sharp, a prominent figure in the folklore revival in England. Titled Country Gardens, Grainger’s arrangement gained popularity at his recitals, prompting him to publish it. Despite its commercial success, Grainger grew weary of being associated with just one piece and often quipped to audiences about English country gardens being more likely to grow vegetables than flowers.
In 1931, someone other than Grainger wrote an arrangement for a wind band, but around 1950, Grainger created his own delicate version in response to a request from a Detroit band director named Graham Overgard. Grainger expressed that his new rendition was based on a chamber music sketch from 1908, offering a fresh perspective on the beloved composition.
Serenade for Winds (1965/1980)
Derek Bourgeois (1941–2017)
Shawn Davern, guest conductor
Derek Bourgeois wrote this Serenade for his own wedding, to be played by the organist as the guests left the ceremony. Not wishing to allow them the luxury of proceeding in an orderly 2/4, the composer wrote the work in 11/8, and in case anyone felt too comfortable, he changed it to 13/8 in the middle! This work has now been released in several orchestrations beyond the original version for organ. This delightful miniature has entered the repertoire throughout the world.
— Note from the publisher
On A Hymnsong of Philip Bliss (1876/1989)
David R. Holsinger (b. 1945)
Uiliami Fihaki, conductor
On A Hymnsong of Philip Bliss represents a significant departure in style for David Holsinger. The energetic tempos and lively rhythms commonly associated with Holsinger give way to a tranquil, gentle and contemplative composition, drawing inspiration from the 1876 hymn "It Is Well with My Soul" by Philip Bliss and Horatio Spafford. This piece was crafted as a tribute to Rev. Steve Edel, the retiring principal of Shady Grove Christian Academy, and presented as a gift from the SGCA Concert Band in May 1989.
The hymn "It Is Well with My Soul" is rooted in a poignant historical event involving Horatio G. Spafford. In 1873, he planned a European trip with his family, but due to unforeseen business developments, he remained in Chicago while his wife and four daughters sailed on the S.S. Ville du Havre. The ship tragically sank on November 22 after a collision with the Lochearn, leaving Mrs. Spafford as the sole survivor. In the aftermath, Spafford penned the hymn, expressing profound grief yet ultimately focusing on the redemptive work of Christ.
Philip Bliss, moved by Spafford’s powerful words, composed the music for the hymn, first published in 1876. Bliss, a prolific gospel songwriter, usually wrote both lyrics and music, but this hymn stands as one of the exceptions. Tragically, Bliss and his wife lost their lives in a train wreck in Ashtabula, Ohio, on December 29, 1876. The circumstances surrounding their deaths are marked by heroism, as Bliss, having initially escaped the flames, re-entered the train in an attempt to rescue his wife, and both perished. A poignant postscript to this story reveals that an unfinished hymn, beginning with the lines “I know not what awaits me, God kindly veils my eyes,” was discovered in Bliss’ salvaged trunk after the train wreck.
Songs of Old Kentucky (2006)
Brant Karrick (b. 1960)
Sarah Baker, conductor
Kentucky mountaineers have preserved a proud heritage of traditional ballads, and other old Scottish and English folk songs brought to America by their ancestors. Five folk tunes are employed in Karrick’s Songs of Old Kentucky. All come from transcriptions made by Josephine McGill and Loraine Wyman, who traveled the Cumberland Mountains during the early 20th century collecting over 200 songs. Borrowing from this wonderful genre of folk songs, this outstanding setting of John Riley, The Lonesome Scenes of Winter, Sourwood Mountain, Frog Went-A-Courting, and Loving Hannah reflects the heritage of the mountain settlers, reaching back to their Scottish and English roots of generations past.
Brant Karrick is an American composer, arranger and educator. He holds a bachelor's degree in music education from the University of Louisville (1982), a Master of Arts in Education from Western Kentucky University (1984), and a PhD in Music Education from Louisiana State University (1994). Karrick served as a public school teacher at Beechwood School in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky and Bowling Green High School. In 2003, Karrick joined the faculty of Northern Kentucky University as director of bands, a post he held until his retirement in 2022.
The Gladiator March (1886)
John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
Uiliami Fihaki, conductor
None of Sousa’s memoirs mention the identity of the “gladiator,” but the initial publication of the sheet music bore a dedication to Charles F. Towle of Boston. Towle, a journalist who served as the editor of the Boston Traveler when this march was composed, had an undisclosed connection with Sousa. Helen, Sousa’s daughter, speculated that her father may have drawn inspiration from a literary depiction of a specific gladiator. It seems improbable that Sousa would dedicate a march to gladiators in general due to their reputation for ferocity and inhumane acts. Instead, it’s conceivable that he was inspired by a single noble gladiator who found himself a victim of circumstance. There have also been theories suggesting a Masonic significance to the march, given that it was composed around the time Sousa was “knighted” in Columbia Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar, but this remains unsubstantiated.
The Gladiator March held a mix of memories for Sousa. In 1885, he penned the dirge The Honored Dead for Stopped and Fisk, a music publisher in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Pleased with his work, they requested a quickstep march, to which Sousa responded with The Gladiator March. However, they rejected it, a decision that proved costly for them. Sousa then sold it to Harry Coleman of Philadelphia, where it eventually sold over a million copies. This composition marked Sousa’s first significant success in terms of wide circulation. Surprisingly, he was unaware of its popularity until he stumbled upon its strains while in Philadelphia for business. Reflecting on the moment years later, he recalled a dramatic encounter with a street organ playing his march:
“I was taking a stroll along Broad Street. At a corner, a hand-organ man was grinding out a melody which, somehow, seemed strangely familiar. As I listened more intently, I was surprised to recognize it as my own Gladiator March. I believe that was one of the proudest moments of my life, as I stood there on the corner listening to the strains of that street organ.”
Collegiate Winds
Phillip Day, conductor
Josh Reynolds, guest conductor
Shawn Davern, guest conductor
A Festival Prelude (1956)
Alfred Reed (1921–2005)
Shawn Davern, guest conductor
Born into a family of Austrian descent that cherished music, Alfred Reed began his musical studies at age ten on trumpet, and by high school age was performing professionally in the Catskills at resort hotels. He served as a musician and arranger during World War II in the 529th Army Air Force Band, for which he created more than 100 works, and following the war was a student of Vittorio Giannini at Juilliard. He left New York for Miami, Florida, in 1960, where he served on the faculty of the University of Miami from 1966 until his retirement in 1993. He maintained a residence in Miami, while continuing to guest conduct all over the world, until his death in 2005.
With over 250 published works for concert band, wind ensemble, orchestra, chorus and various smaller chamber music groups, many of which have been on the required performance lists in this country for the past 20 years, Reed is one of the nation’s most prolific and frequently performed composers.
His work as a guest conductor and clinician took him to 49 states, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia and South America; and for many years, at least 8 of his works have been on the required list of music for all concert bands in Japan, where he was the most frequently performed foreign composer of his day.
Written in 1956, A Festival Prelude was dedicated to and premiered by the Phillips University Band of Enid, Oklahoma, with the composer conducting, as part of the 25th anniversary of the Tri‐State Music Festival. Alfred Reed said, “The work was conceived specifically in terms of its title as an opening kind of piece...the music was to establish a bright and brilliant mood throughout, with no other connotation in mind.”
Largo (2010)
Satoshi Yagisawa (b. 1975)
Josh Reynolds, guest conductor
Satoshi Yagisawa’s compositions for wind orchestra are popular in Japan and many other countries. They were introduced in Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, published by GIA Publications in the United States. His works are published by De Haske Publications in Holland and Bravo Music in America. In Japan, he has composed music for National Arbor Day, National Sports Festival, Japan Intra-High School Athletic Meets as well as numerous leading ensembles in Japan. Yagisawa was appointed Ceremonial Music Director for the National Sports Festival 2010 in the State of Chiba, Japan.
Other professional activities include festival adjudication, guest conducting, teaching, lecturing, writing columns for music magazines, and advisory work for a music publisher. He is one of the most energetic young composers in Japan today. Currently he teaches wind, string and percussion instruments at Tokyo Music and Media Arts School in Shobi. He is also a member of "Kyo-En," an organization that premieres outstanding original works by Japanese composers.
Among Yagisawa's major works for winds are A Poem for Wind Orchestra — Hymn to the Infinite Sky ; Machu Picchu: City in the Sky — The Mystery of the Hidden Sun Temple ; and Perseus — A Hero's Quest in the Heavens. In addition to his band compositions, he has composed numerous works for orchestras, chamber ensembles and choirs.
Largo was a commission from the Chiba Prefectural Fanabashi-Nishi Senior High School Wind Band, under the direction of Tadaichiro Hirakawa. The request of the commission was to have the composer write a piece in his early chorale style, to be performed with heartfelt feeling and enjoyment. The premiere of the composition took place at a concert of the school band in June 2010.
Although Largo contains original music and not that of an ancient cultural folk song, the importance of Yagisawa's composition to the literature is that it continues to preserve his culture's heritage, and to promote and support this for future generations in a manner that makes it accessible to students, conductors, scholars and audiences.
Canticle of the Creatures (1984)
James Curnow (b. 1943)
I. Prologue
II. Brother Sun
III. Sister Moon and Stars
IV. Brother Fire
V. Mother Earth
VI. Epilogue
James Curnow received his first musical instruction in the public schools of Michigan and The Salvation Army Instrumental Programs. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from Wayne State University and a Master of Music from Michigan State University, where he studied conducting with Harry Begian and euphonium with Leonard Falcone. Curnow studied composition with F. Maxwell Wood, James Gibb, Jere Hutchinson and Irwin Fischer.
He has taught all areas and levels of instrumental music and has received numerous awards for teaching and composition — the Outstanding Educator of America (1974), the Citation of Excellence from the National Bandmaster’s Association (1980), the Volkwein Award (1977 and 1979), the Ostwald Award (1980 and 1984), and the International Competition for Original Compositions for Band (1985).
Currently he resides in Kentucky, where for years he was the owner of Curnow Music Press, Inc. He also serves as Composer-in-Residence Emeritus for Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky.
Canticle of the Creatures was inspired by the writings of Saint Francis of Assisi (1181–1226) who founded the Franciscan religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. His simple life of poverty inspired many men during the Middle Ages. Today, people admire Francis because of his love of peace and his respect for all creatures. He expressed his religious ideas in poems as well as through his ministry. These poems and lauds were not written to be read in prayer books, but to be sung either by their friars as part of their preaching exercises or as a part of their own devotions.
The Man of the Hour (1924)
Henry Fillmore (1881–1956)
James Henry Fillmore Jr. was the eldest of five children. In his youth he mastered piano, guitar, violin and flute — as well as the slide trombone, which at first he played in secret, as his conservative religious father believed it an uncouth and sinful instrument. Fillmore was also a singer for his church choir as a boy. He began composing at 18, with his first published march, Higham, named after a line of brass instruments, and entered the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1901.
Fillmore wrote over 250 tunes and arranged hundreds more. He also published a great number of works under various pseudonyms such as Harold Bennett, Will Huff, Ray Hall, Harry Hartley and Al Hayes. While best known for march music and screamers, Fillmore also wrote waltzes, foxtrots, hymns, novelty numbers, overtures and waltzes.
Henry Fillmore moved from Cincinnati, Ohio to Miami in 1938 after a doctor had informed him that he had six months to live. The doctor had suggested that if he moved to a warmer climate, his chances of living longer would be greater. The Fillmores took the doctor's advice and moved to Miami in hopes of improving Henry's health. It apparently worked, since they lived happily there until their deaths in the 1950s.
The Man of the Hour, written in 1924, is a tuneful, energetic march in 6/8 time. It is dedicated to Charles Phelps Taft, a Cincinnati lawyer and politician, for whom Taft Theatre in Cincinnati is named. Taft was a half-brother of President William Howard Taft, and for a time in the early 1900s was part owner of both the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies baseball clubs. Charles P. Taft also served in the United State House of Representatives and was the editor of the Cincinnati Times–Star, which later became the Cincinnati Post.
Personnel
University Band
Musicians are listed alphabetically within each section.
Flute/Piccolo
Alyssa Back
Jaylyn Fogle
Katie Freytag
Meghan Hubbard
Delaney Niklaus
Sabrina Sedlacko
Tamaki Wakita
Oboe
Bella Carmichael
Bassoon
Kyrie Iswandy
Robert Mullen
Clarinet
Emily Baker
Abby Baldwin
Leah Bauer
Grace Beebe
Ethan Campbell
Audra Franke
Kai Gasper
Aaron Geise
Connor Gibson
Tamya Halison
Crosbee Lisser
Brian Lo
Ryder Robins
Megan Thompson
Bass Clarinet
Adriana Clagg
Jacob Claggett
Alto Saxophone
Holly Barger
Josh Becker
Jack Burkhart
Lucia Cherok
Kate Lazuka
Ryan Martinez
Bella Reyes
Alexandra Smereka
Tenor Saxophone
Ian Claggett
Savanna Coyle
Baritone Saxophone
Kaitlyn Daum
Kayla Schmidt
French Horn
Caleb Austin
Paul Bossley
Ki Jones
Diego Leon
Sam Sedlacko
Kaden Silva
Allison Simon
Sami Steinhauser
Chris White
Trumpet
Paolo Atriano
Amelia Boles
Meredith Bowers
Ethan Cox
Matthew Curie
Shane Pritchard
Jacob Schwartz
Josh Silver
Zach Spence
Jess Vanek
Trombone
Mark Fanning
Andre Felipe
Zach Grant
Hannah Geyer
Harrison Hall
Rudy Hartwig
Emily Leninsky
Abigail Rutherford
John Scott
Lindsey Shimoda
Nathan Vernon
Euphonium
Colin Fogerty
Keri Stout
Jojo Yu
Tuba
Michael Bacasa
Matthew Koehler
Delaney Ray
Matthew Sliwinski
Jeremy Timog
Percussion
Daniel Allen
Ellie Burkholder
Hattie Carr
Maddy Feerick
Will Fisher
Parker Foley
Jaliyah Harmon
Travis Jahna
Dylan Kerniskey
Sophia Krauss Galan
Keira Lamont
TJO Osborne
Favius Pena-Amaya
Chris Smallwood
Collegiate Winds
Musicians are listed alphabetically within each section.
Flute
Gianna Marchese (piccolo)
Rebecca Margolis *
Allegra Tannoury
Xander Wells
Hana Winchester
Jeila Wofford
Oboe
Samir Haurani
Lauren Yoder *
Bassoon
Kim Christ *
William Hughes
Conner Ozatalar
Clarinet
Phillip Ainsworth
Sam Baccei*
Dominic Barnes
Leena Futoryansky
Leena Jafri
Kady Rasmussen
Mariah Richardson
Andrew Smith
Alex Summers
Bass Clarinet
Swaraj Patnaik *
Tori Steinbrecher
Alto Saxophone
Matthew Chandran
Connor Croley
John Majerus *
Tenor Saxophone
Zachary Brutko
Baritone Saxophone
Katie Weaver
Trumpet
AJ Alexander
Stephanie Brown
Becca Dunn
Gaby Hardisky
Tommy Kasarcik *
Marlee Lawson
Ryan Matthews
Paige Pawlikowski
Colleen Pettengill
Olivia Truocchio
Horn
Leila Culp
Kama Ramsey
Lydia VanVleet *
Aidan Walsh
Trombone
Nolan Call *
Lily Kent
Jonathan Kessler (bass)
Andric McNabb (bass)
Kyndal Nowell
Nathan Palmer
Jack Rowell
Amara Suchy
Mathew Wheeler
Euphonium
Hannah Lyons *
Justin Planck
Louis Polien
Michael Woolley
Tuba
Joseph Orr *
Ryan Ouimet
Sydney Reeves
Ryan Schoeff
Percussion
Stephen Alexander *
AJ Berman
Andrew Bourget
Evelyn Fitzgerald
Peter Kindt
Marie Zantopulos
* principal player
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