Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025 • 7:30 p.m.
Weigel Auditorium
Columbus, OH
Program
University Band
Paul Bissler and Brooke Woods, conductors
Big Four March
Karl King (1891–1971)
arr. James Swearingen
Paul Bissler, conductor
This classic march from King is an exciting opener. It features a classic march style and texture that Karl King, the native Ohioan, was known for in his writing. The exciting blend of melodic lines from trumpets and woodwinds mixes well with low brass countermelodies. This march quickly became one of King’s most requested marches to be played by audiences and performers.
Kentucky 1800
Clare Grundman (1913–1996)
Brooke Woods, conductor
The piece is based on the tunes of three American folk songs: "The Promised Land," "Cindy," and "I'm Sad and I'm Lonely," melodies which are reminiscent of the years the pioneers were forging westward. It is a rhapsodic tone poem in which thematic material is treated in great depth and with variety. The work is a band masterpiece which has long since become a favorite with audiences.
Autumn
Cait Nishimura (b. 1991)
Paul Bissler, conductor
Autumn was originally composed for SATB choir and was later transcribed for wind band by the composer. The choral version features original text inspired by seasonal scenic imagery. The setting for wind band stays true to the pacing and character of the original, with added instrumental texture and color.
The sun hides
low in the sky
igniting the forest
with rays of light.
The air lies motionless
until a gentle wind whispers,
disrupting this peace.
With this wind
dances a colorful melancholy, painting the seasons
with brushstrokes of time.
Memories swirl
in this cool breeze,
though warmth lingers
in the arms of trees
holding on
until the last single leaf falls.
— Note from the composer
Cajun Folk Songs
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Paul Bissler, conductor
Cajuns are descendants of the Acadians, a group of early French colonists who began settling in Acadia (now Nova Scotia) around 1604. In 1755 they were driven out by the British, eventually resettling in south Louisiana. Today there are nearly a million French-speaking descendants of the Acadians living in Louisiana and parts of Texas, preserving many of the customs, traditions, stories, and songs of their ancestors.
Although a rich Cajun folk song tradition exists, the music has become increasingly commercialized and Americanized throughout the twentieth century, obscuring its original simplicity and directness. In response to this trend, Alan and John Lomax traveled to south Louisiana in 1934 to collect and record numerous Cajun folk songs in the field for the Archive of Folk Music in the Library of Congress. By doing so, they helped to preserve Cajun music in its original form as a pure and powerful expression of Louisiana French Society.
La Belle et le Capitaine and "Belle" can both be heard in their original versions on the Lomax recordings (Swallow LP-8003-2, Swallow Records Co., Ville Platte, Louisiana). La Belle et le Capitaine tells the story of a young girl who feigns death to avoid being seduced by a captain. Its Dorian melody is remarkably free, shifting back and forth between duple and triple meters. In this arrangement the melody is stated three times. The third time an original countermelody is added in flutes, oboe, clarinet, and trumpet.
"Belle" is about a man who goes away to Texas only to receive word of his sweetheart's illness, forcing him to return to Louisiana. Finding her unconscious upon his return, he pawns his horse to try to save her, to no avail. The folk melody is sometimes varied rhythmically, texturally and coloristically, and an original melody is added for variety.
Cajun Folk Songs is composed as a tribute to the people of the old Cajun folk song culture with hopes that their contributions will not be forgotten. The work is dedicated to the Murchison Middle School Band, Austin, Texas, Cheryl Floyd, director, who commissioned the work and gave its premiere on May 22, 1990.
— Note by the composer
The Typewriter
Leroy Anderson (1908–1975)
arr. Floyd Werle
Brooke Woods, conductor
Leroy Anderson was known for his clever and playful pieces that brought everyday sounds to life. The Typewriter is one of his most famous works, featuring the distinctive “clicks” and “dings” of a typewriter as part of the music. In this band arrangement by Floyd Werle, the familiar sounds are recreated, blending humor with Anderson’s trademark rhythmic sparkle.
Collegiate Winds
Phillip Day, conductor
Brooke Woods, guest conductor
Home of the Brave (2018)
arr. John Pasternak (b. 1987)
John M. Pasternak is an active composer, conductor and teacher. John attended Kent State University, where he pursued a Bachelor of Music Education degree and served as President of the Kent State Chapter of the Ohio Collegiate Music Education Association. Pasternak was a staff arranger at Kent State University, where he focused on composing and arranging music for the department while conducting his works with various KSU music ensembles. He has composed a repertoire for many independent films, and is an elected member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.
John is an experienced composer with works published by RWS Music Company, Carl Fischer Music, Bandworks Publications, Grand Mesa Music Publishers, Excelcia Music Publishing, and Wingert-Jones Publications. His “Intrepid Fanfare,” “Excel” March, and arrangements of the “Heart of America” March and “National Defense” March have been selected as some of the Top 100 works by Bandworld Magazine.
"Home of the Brave" stems from a final sentence in the Star-Spangled Banner — that the United States’ flag would forever stand. This contemporary approach to the Star-Spangled Banner weaves the melody through various instruments as solo lines on top of new and intriguing harmonies. The work culminates with the traditional playing of “O say does that Star-Spangled Banner” and then fades into the distance.
Fiat Lux (2021)
Randall Standridge (b. 1976)
Brooke Woods, guest conductor
Randall Standridge received a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master in Music Composition from Arkansas State University. From 2001–2013, he served as director of bands at Harrisburg High School in Harrisburg, Arkansas. In addition to his career as a composer, Standridge is the Marching Band Editor for Grand Mesa Music Publishers. He is in demand as a conductor, clinician, drill designer, composer, and music arranger for the marching arts. He is also a freelance artist, photographer and writer. He lives in Jonesboro, Arkansas, with his family.
About Fiat Lux, the composer writes:
In 2019, I was very fortunate to be invited to the University of Akron to serve as the clinician/composer-in-residence for a conference and honors event they were hosting. During my travels, I meet all kinds of people, and, generally speaking, I get along with them. I mean, look at me; what’s not to love? (kidding). My hosts for this event were Dr. Galen Karriker and Andrew “Andy” Freyes. An almost instantaneous friendship was kindled among kindred spirits, and the weekend was a total blast; I was genuinely pained when it was over.
Roughly a month later, Dr. Karriker contacted me and asked if I would be interested in a commission. It did, however, have two caveats: first, it should be based around the University of Akron’s motto “Fiat Lux (Let there be Light)” and it would have to be done FAST, as he wished for it to be ready in time for a premiere at an upcoming conference. I had roughly a week in which to create the work, but, as many know…I am a fast writer. Don’t believe me? Check out Four: On a Remix of Beethoven. I wrote that beast in less than 24 hours. True story. I accepted the commission and tackled the project with the energy and enthusiasm that I felt during my stay in Ohio, and Fiat Lux was born.
Fiat Lux (Fanfare for Wind Ensemble) is a work that celebrates enlightenment, friendship, and positivity. The work is scored in the keys of C Major and G Major, which add to the overall brightness of its sound (you may or may not be aware that every key has a very particular character, but I digress). The compound meter and percussion scoring lend it a slightly cinematic quality that is true to my aesthetic as a composer and to the intent of the work. It is intended that the listener and performer experience exuberant joy and hope for a brighter tomorrow.
This commission was also made possible through the generosity and support of the Mary Ann and Marcus L. Neiman Fund. Thank you for supporting the arts and, specifically, the creation of new works for the wind ensemble.
I hope you enjoy the work.
Let there be light.
Peace, Love, and Music.
Grant Them Eternal Rest (2001)
Andrew Boysen, Jr. (b. 1968)
Andrew Boysen is presently a full professor in the music department at the University of New Hampshire, where he conducts the wind symphony and teaches conducting, composition and orchestration. Previously, Boysen served as an assistant professor and acting associate director of bands at Indiana State University, where he directed the Marching Sycamores, conducted the symphonic band and taught in the music education department. Prior to that appointment, he was the director of bands at Cary-Grove (Illinois) High School, and was the music director and conductor of the Deerfield Community Concert Band. He remains active as a guest conductor and clinician, appearing with high school, university and festival ensembles across the United States and Great Britain.
Boysen earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in wind conducting at the Eastman School of Music, where he served as conductor of the Eastman Wind Orchestra and assistant conductor of the Eastman Wind Ensemble. He received his Master of Music degree in wind conducting from Northwestern University in 1993 and his Bachelor of Music degree in music education and music composition from the University of Iowa in 1991.
He maintains an active schedule as a composer, receiving commissions from the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Orchestra Festival, the Iowa All-State Band, the Rhode Island All-State Band, the Nebraska State Bandmasters Association, and many university and high school concert bands across the United States. Boysen won the International Horn Society Composition Contest (2000), the University of Iowa Honors Composition Prize (1991) and has twice won the Claude T. Smith Memorial Band Composition Contest — in 1991 for "I Am" and in 1994 for "Ovations." Boysen has several published works with the Neil A. Kjos Music Company, Wingert-Jones Music, and Ludwig Music, including pieces for band, orchestra, clarinet and piano, and brass choir. Recordings of his music appear on the Sony, R-Kal, Mark, St. Olaf, and Elf labels.
Grant Them Eternal Rest was commissioned by Andrew Mast and the St. Ambrose University Symphonic Band, and is dedicated to those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. The piece follows the general outline of a requiem mass, but without voices, including five movements: Introit, Kyrie, Dies Irae, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. The composer writes:
Dr. Mast and I are good friends, and I was extremely honored when he asked me to write a piece for him and his ensemble. Over the course of several months, he and I discussed various approaches to the commission and eventually we settled on a multi-movement work that would reflect various aspects of childhood. I began to play around with some ideas and to search for poetic texts that might influence the piece.
I was almost ready to begin the work and spent part of the September 8–9 weekend finalizing ideas. All of that changed, of course, on the eleventh. The overwhelming emotions that I experienced on that Tuesday were something that I had never before experienced in relationship to an event outside of my personal sphere. I can't begin to explain them. I simply knew that I wanted to express them somehow. Dr. Mast agreed that changing the focus of the piece might be a worthy and appropriate thing to do, so I set to work on the new plan.
The concept behind the piece is expressed clearly in the title. I have no interest in exploring or re-living the moments of that day. Instead, the work is simply a prayer to bless those who died so needlessly. The pitch material for the piece is taken primarily from the Dies Irae and a chord progression that I originally sketched for possible use in my Symphony No. 2 for baritone, winds and percussion. The text under the original passage was "Lord, have mercy" and I felt a connection between the material and my thoughts about the piece.
Each movement is intended to reflect the text of the requiem mass, with the Dies Irae movement forming the centerpiece and giving the whole piece an arch form. I eliminated some of the movements of the traditional requiem mass so that the work as a whole would have a balanced effect. Instead, I chose the five movements whose text most accurately reflected the emotions that I wished to convey.
Them Basses (1924/2014)
G. H. Huffine (1889–1947)
ed. Van Ragsdale (b. 1946)
Most successful composers come from a musical home and receive additional formal training in a school or conservatory before beginning their careers. Getty Herschel Huffine, on the other hand, grew up in a non-musical environment, was working by the time he became interested in music, and was then completely self-taught. Huffine was the oldest of four children. His only formal education was at an institution called Potter’s Bible School. When he was 18, and working in an axe handle factory in Bowling Green, KY, a town band was started. Although, as he later admitted, he “didn’t know a clarinet from a bass drum,” he nevertheless applied for membership and was told that he should order a valve trombone and an instruction book and learn how to play. He did as directed and proceeded to teach himself music, including harmony, counterpoint and composition, along with his valve trombone and, later, tuba. He practiced several hours each day even while walking to the nearby Barren River on the weekends to fish with his brother Charlie. Within five years he was playing tuba with major circus bands and minstrel shows in the summer and engraving music for the Barnhouse Publishing Co. in the winter.
In 1919, Huffine moved to Binghamton, New York, and joined the famous Endicott-Johnson Shoe Factory Band. In addition to tuba, he played bass violin, trumpet, or trombone as needed. Huffine’s son Charles credits his father with teaching him music at home to the extent that he became a professional trumpet player, arranger and composer — he later also taught philosophy at Hofstra University.
Them Basses is subtitled "A March in which the Basses have the Melody throughout." Huffine might have included the names of all of the lower brasses and the lower woodwinds in the subtitle, inasmuch as they also have the melody — after the introduction by the cornets. The march was written to sound complete with a minimum number of players, such as in a circus band playing for the elephant act. Because of the small number of different parts, Them Basses March is equally suitable for a 2,000-member massed band, a 28-piece brass band, and a marimba ensemble. It shares this characteristic with much of the music of the Baroque period. Rhythmically, it swings. It was on the J. W. Pepper list of favorite march for many years, almost since it was published in 1924, and it is still popular in many countries — a very uncomplicated march classic.
Personnel
University Band
Musicians are listed alphabetically within each section.
Flute
Macy Adams
Alyssa Back
Ananya Chadha
Addi Ganschow
Ivan Graber-Nofziger
Max Henderson
Natalie Huot
Ella Johnson
Alyssa Jones
Gwen Knotts
Cecillia Le
Isabelle McCullogh
Esther Siony
Elijah Tofte
Emma Woodruff
Oboe
Layla Lubic
Bassoon
Robert Mullen
Clarinet
Emily Baker
Haley Cramer
Kaity Fields
Aaron Geise
Lauren Haley
Matthew Hebert
Leahandria Hood
Anna Irwin
Addison Johnson
Madison Johnson
Makenna Mortemore
Katarina Payamgis
Rebecca Plympton
Ryder Robins
Bass Clarinet
Ryan Chan
Isen Zhang
Alto Saxophone
Matthew Chandran
Stephen Connair
Markus Dixon
Samantha Goldsmith
Jacob Oberdier
Michael Ponesse
Jacky Zhang
Tenor Saxophone
Ayden Olic
Baritone Saxophone
Alastair Cherry
Liana Sargsyan
Trumpet
Paolo Atriano
Adrian Cardenas
Brian Cheng
Grace Everett
Bo Famularcano
Luke Flavell
Colin Fogerty
Noah Huot
Meredith Hurley
Anthony Kahle
Anneliese Liedtke
Toby Martini
James Meier
Olivia Morgan
Finnian Paul
Logan Pitzer
Isabelle Plummer
Levi Rickenbach
Spencer Talarzyk
Jess Vanek
Horn
Braydon Crockett
Jonathan Kessler
Trombone
Jake Fanning
Mackenzi Jones
Cameron Mills
Abigail Rutherford
Delaney Speidell
Mathew Wheeler
Euphonium
Oliver Alban
Grayson Croysdale
Evelyn Ferguson
Jonathan Goshima
Tuba
Marco Cagliuso
Danny Pham
Zhida Zhu
Percussion
Nolan Call
Claudia Church
Nikolas Henderson
Calvin Johnson
Devin Kingsboro
Brianna Rush
Noah Sims
Avery Wilt
Collegiate Winds
Musicians are listed alphabetically within each section.
Piccolo
Kehlin Morgan
Flute
Abby Birr
Josh Griffiths *
Wonu Kim
Kehlin Morgan
Conner Ozatalar
Allegra Tannoury
Hana Winchester
Oboe
Tyler Ulbert
River Wells *
Clarinet
Sam Baccei
Dominic Barnes
Jarom Christensen
Leena Futoryansky
Connor Gibson
Nicole Gountanis *
Sophia Lipowski
Holly Rasanow
Montana Runser
Max Webster
Elise Zavaglia
Bass Clarinet
Tori Steinbrecher
Alto Saxophone
Gwennan Armstrong
Holly Barger
Samuel Feldstein
Blake Steele *
Andrew Vannorsdall
Tenor Saxophone
Charlie Peterson
Baritone Saxophone
Gabe Gasper
Trumpet
Luke Duane-Tessier
Ryan Flad
Devon Grant *
Joseph Gregg
Alli Jones
Marlee Lawson
Ryan Matthews
Allison Morris
Brianna Nemec
Colin Parker
Katie Williams
Horn
Aria Christensen
Brett Lemmon
Lauren Palecek
Eden Piotrowski
Alycia Stier *
Aravind Upadrasta
Randall Wiles
Trombone
Papa Aye-Addo
Fernando Flores IV *
Jackson Hammond
Andrew Kropas
Raven Luman
Noah Schrader
Kenta Thompson
Nicholas Thompson
Autumn Write
Euphonium
Christine Baird
Tori Klinger
Louis Polien
Daniel Schiel II *
Tuba
Jackson Bell *
Percussion
Garrett Campbell *
Ben Hollis
Alex Klein
Sam Lord-Fry
Dawson Still
Grayson Trinca
Piano
Kenta Thompson
* principal player
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Special Public Concerts in Mershon Auditorium
Marching Band Hometown Concert
Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. | Mershon Auditorium, 1871 N. High St.
Enjoy an exciting new show when The Ohio State University Marching Band Hometown Concert performs at Mershon Auditorium. The Best Damn Band in the Land will entertain fans with selections from its popular halftime shows, fan favorites and traditional Ohio State tunes. Purchase tickets
31st Annual Music Celebration Concert
Friday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. | Mershon Auditorium, 1871 N. High St.
Join us for our annual community celebration featuring student bands, choirs, jazz bands, orchestra and more. Purchase tickets