Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023 • 7:30 p.m.
Weigel Auditorium
Columbus, OH
PROGRAM
University Band
Sarah Baker and Uiliami Fihaki, conductors
Burn (2014)
Roland Barrett (b. 1955)
Uiliami Fihaki, conductor
Dr. Roland Barrett joined the University of Oklahoma’s music theory and composition faculty in 2001. His primary teaching responsibilities focus on 20th century topics and serve as the musical arranger for the Pride of Oklahoma marching band. Barrett is a nationally recognized composer and arranger, with over two hundred published original works and arrangements for symphonic band, chamber ensembles, and marching band. His compositions have been performed by the Dallas Wind Symphony, numerous honor bands, and have been featured on National Public Radio, USA cable television network, at the Midwest Band & Orchestra Convention, the National Trumpet Competition, the International Trumpet Guild convention, and the International Double Reed Society conference. Barrett is a multiple recipient of the annual ASCAP Plus award and is a former recipient of the Michael Hennagin memorial scholarship in composition at the University of Oklahoma.
Originally written as a brass and percussion fanfare for the Dallas Wind Symphony, Burn features relentlessly driving rhythms, bold contemporary harmonies and powerful moments of elevated dynamic impact. This piece is ideal for a concert opener and will draw both attention and acclaim from every audience.
American Big Top (2018)
Brian Balmages (b. 1975)
Sarah Baker, conductor
American Big Top can best be described as an American circus march that meets Charles Ives. Largely based on original material, the piece weaves in small anecdotal references to "The Stars and Stripes Forever," "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," "The Yankee Doodle Boy," "Yankee Doodle," "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "The Entertainer." This entire piece is based on the layering of melodies, harmonies, textures and rhythms. As the piece develops, the layering becomes more and more complex, yet always with a splash of fun and humor. It is a highly energetic work that constantly throws a curve ball (no pun intended — well, maybe just a little) at the listener with just enough Americana thrown in to give it a homegrown feel without necessarily being categorized as a full-on patriotic work.
— Note by the composer
Brian Balmages (b. 1975) is an award-winning composer, conductor, producer and performer. The music he has written for winds, brass and orchestra have been performed throughout the world with commissions ranging from elementary to professional level. He received his bachelor’s degree in music from James Madison University and his master’s degree from the University of Miami (Florida). As a conductor, Balmages enjoys regular engagements with all-state and regional bands and orchestras along with university and professional ensembles.
Paceline (2018)
Tyler S. Grant (b. 1995)
Sarah Baker, conductor
In the world of road cycling, a paceline is one of the most foundational forms of group riding. It provides a unique social experiences as the riders travel for long distances under intense conditions while collectively pushing through the wind in an effort to promote acceleration. Paceline is a wind band work designed to feature the virtuosic range and skills of a trombone soloist. Sudden bursts from the ensemble represent shifting gears as the road becomes unsettling through many inclines, bends and other obstacles. In short, the work encompasses the physical challenges of riding the paceline while also portraying the euphoria and thrill which comes from this intensive activity.
Tyler S. Grant (b. 1995) is an internationally recognized composer, arranger, conductor and clinician. He credits his mentor Brian Balmages as pivotal to his success as a composer. A graduate of the University of Alabama, Tyler studied music education and conducting with Professor Randall Coleman. Tyler then served as director of bands at Holy Innocents Episcopal School from 2019–2023. He continues to maintain an active composing and conducting schedule.
The White Rose March (1917 / 2003)
John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
Uiliami Fihaki, conductor
John Philip Sousa is responsible for bringing “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band to an unprecedented level of excellence: a standard upheld by every Marine Band Director since. At age 13, Sousa had gained great proficiency on the violin and was almost persuaded to join a circus band. However, his father intervened and enlisted him as an apprentice musician in the Marine Band. In 1868 he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and began building his formidable reputation as a bandmaster of great precision through his leadership (1880–1892) of this group. In 1892 he formed his own band, a carefully selected group capable of equal virtuosity in both military and symphonic music; with it he toured the United States and Europe (1900–1905) and finally a world tour (1910–1911).
The White Rose March was written to commemorate White Rose Day during the Flower Festival in York, Pennsylvania. The thematic material is based on themes from the opera Nittaunis by local composer and banker Charles C. Frick. Sousa’s original contributions likely included the introduction, break strain, and orchestration. Today, this march is recognized as a “found gem” in Sousa’s marches and considered one of his jolliest and most rollicking marches.
Prairie Dances (1998)
David Holsinger (b. 1945)
Uiliami Fihaki, conductor
Twice the recipient of the prestigious Ostwald Composition Prize of the American Bandmasters Association, David Holsinger attended Central Methodist College, Central Missouri State University, and the University of Kansas. His primary composition study has been with Donald Bohlen at Central Missouri State, and Charles Hoag at the University of Kansas. In 1999, he joined the School of Music faculty at Lee University as conductor of the Lee University Wind Ensemble. Holsinger’s compositions have received national acclaim, having won the National Federation of Music Clubs Band Composition Contest in 1970. His composition The War Trilogy was awarded first place in the Kent State University Band Composition Contest. Over the past several years, Holsinger served as visiting composer-in-residence at 11 American colleges or universities, and held the Acuff Chair of Excellence in the Creative Arts at Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tennessee).
David Holsinger writes, “Settled in 1876, Wichita Falls, Texas, became a cattle and grain shipping center after the arrival of the railroad in 1882. One can imagine the hustle and bustle of this cowboy town in those railroad days where the 'rambunctiousness' of the cowhand came face to face with the businesslike demeanor of the mercantile owners and the frontier gentility of the Ladies Society. For my good friends in Region II, I offer this 'celebrative' cowboy dance to commemorate the rip-roaring history that surrounds this portion of the Texas portrait.”
Polly Oliver (1977)
Thomas Root (1947–2023)
Sarah Baker, conductor
This symphonic band arrangement is based on "Sweet Polly Oliver," an English broadside ballad, traceable from 1840 or earlier. It has several variant sets of lyrics, set to a single anonymous melody. Among one of the most notable folk songs, this tale tells the story of a young woman who dresses as a male soldier to follow her true love off to war.
Minnesota native Thomas Root, an American composer and music educator, received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Minnesota, and his doctorate in music composition from Michigan State University. Root served as the director of bands and professor of music at Weber State University (Ogden, Utah) for more than 30 years until his retirement in 2015.
Ruckus (2014)
Randall Standridge (b. 1976)
Sarah Baker, conductor
Ruckus is a loud, boisterous and aggressive piece for concert band. Mixed meter, heavy percussion and driving rhythms give this composition a decidedly urban feel. Jazz, rock and symphonic sensibilities provide the foundation for melodic layering, while featuring a 5/4 meter and creative use of orchestration.
Randall Standridge (b. 1976) received his Bachelor of Music Education from Arkansas State University. During this time, he studied composition with Dr. Tom O’Connor, before returning to Arkansas State to earn his Master of Music in Composition. From 2001 to 2013, he served as director of bands at Harrisburg High School (Harrisburg, Arkansas). In addition to his career as a composer, Standridge is in demand as a conductor, clinician, drill designer, music arranger, and color guard designer for the marching arts. He is also a freelance artist, photographer and writer.
Collegiate Winds
Phillip Day, conductor
Nathan Irby, guest conductor
Overture for Winds (1959)
Charles Carter (1926–1999)
Nathan Irby, guest conductor
American composer and arranger Charles Carter received his Bachelor of Music degree from The Ohio State University and the Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Bernard Rogers and Wayne Barlow. While a senior at Ohio State he wrote his first symphonic band composition, which was performed in concert the next year.
After graduating from Eastman, Carter returned to Columbus and worked for the U.S. government. In the fall of 1951, he began arranging for The Ohio State University Marching Band and was a part-time instructor of low brass. At that time, Manley Whitcomb, Director of Bands at Ohio State, asked him to write another piece so that he could premiere it during an American Bandmasters Association meeting. In 1952, he wrote his first two compositions designed for the educational market.
In 1953 Manley Whitcomb asked Mr. Carter if he wanted to go with him to Florida State University as his assistant. For the next 43 years Carter arranged for the various bands at FSU. In 1984 he was presented with the Distinguished Service to Music award by Kappa Kappa Psi National Band Fraternity.
Overture for Winds, composed in 1959, combines simple melodic lines with more complex rhythmic figures to create an energetic and entertaining work for concert band. The work is in a standard tertiary form (ABA) in which musical material from the opening section returns to conclude the piece. The middle, slower section is a wonderful example of the sweeping melodies and jazz-influenced harmonic language that was prevalent throughout the 1950s and 60s.
Ye Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon (1903/1936)
Percy Grainger (1882–1961)
George Percy Grainger was an Australian-born composer, pianist and champion of the saxophone and the concert band, who worked under the stage name of Percy Aldridge Grainger.
Grainger was an innovative musician who anticipated many forms of twentieth century music well before they became established by other composers. As early as 1899 he was working with "beatless music," using metric successions (including such sequences as 2/4, 2½/4, 3/4, 2½/4).
In December 1929, Grainger developed a style of orchestration that he called "Elastic Scoring." He outlined this concept in an essay that he called, "To Conductors, and those forming, or in charge of, Amateur Orchestras, High School, College and Music School Orchestras and Chamber-Music Bodies."
In 1932, he became Dean of Music at New York University, and underscored his reputation as an experimenter by putting jazz on the syllabus and inviting Duke Ellington as a guest lecturer. Twice he was offered honorary Doctor of Music degrees, but turned them down, explaining, "I feel that my music must be regarded as a product of non-education."
Percy Grainger’s folk-song settings are nothing short of legendary. In Ye Banks and Braes O’ Bonnie Doon, he succeeds not only in capturing the essence of a song, but also in infusing the work with captivating charm, piquant harmonies, and resplendent sonorities. Only two seventeen-measure strophes in length, this relatively simple setting features a drone background, a tender countermelody, and tempo rubato. Grainger’s original musical adventure with this song was penned some 34 years earlier, for “men’s chorus and whistlers,” but he has surely eclipsed that original version in this work for the wind band, which was for him a “vehicle of deeply emotional expression.”
— Note by Brian Casey
Riptides (2020)
Katahj Copley (b. 1998)
Carrollton, Georgia native Katahj Copley (he/him/his) premiered his first work, Spectra, in 2017 and hasn’t stopped composing since. Katahj has written over 100 works, including pieces for chamber ensembles, large ensembles, wind ensembles, and orchestra. His compositions have been performed and commissioned by universities, organizations and professional ensembles, including the Cavaliers Brass, Carroll Symphony Orchestra, California Band Director Association, Admiral Launch Duo, and the Atlanta Wind Symphony. Katahj has also received critical acclaim internationally with pieces being performed in Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, China and Australia.
Katahj received two Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of West Georgia in Music Education and Composition in 2021. He is currently studying composition with Omar Thomas at the University of Texas–Austin.
Aside from composing, Katahj is an excited educator who teaches young musicians the joy of discovering music and why music is a phenomenal language: “Music for me has always been this impactful thing in my life. It can soothe, it can enrage, it can quiet, and it can evoke emotions that are beyond me and this world we live in. I believe that music is the ultimate source of freedom and imagination. The most freedom I have had as a musician was through composing. Composition is like me opening my heart and showing the world my drive, my passion and my soul.”
About Riptides, the composer writes:
Throughout Earth’s time, many myths about what the ocean contains have emerged. Mermaids, sea monsters and creatures of the unknown are expected to be dwelling under the sea. In 1721, Hans Egede, a Dano-Norwegian missionary, set sail to Godthåb, the largest city on the western coast of Greenland. On this voyage, he observed:
“[the] most terrible creature resembling nothing they saw before. The monster lifted its head so high that it seemed to be higher than the crow’s nest on the mainmast. The head was small and the body short and wrinkled. The unknown creature was using giant fins which propelled it though the water. Later the sailors saw its tail as well. The monster was longer than the whole ship.”
The deepest point ever reached by man is 35,858 feet below sea level, which happens to be the deepest known point on Earth’s Ocean floor. Around 700 feet below sea level, light disappears; therefore, the rest of the journey to the bottom of the hydrosphere is in complete darkness through the unknown.
After learning about Egede and his voyage, I realized how fearful the Ocean can be and how little we know about it. I began composing Riptides to depict my exploration of the Ocean. The piece begins with a call to the sea and develops into its melody, which is surrounded by a scheme of danger. As Riptides continues, the energy races through this quality of danger and fear, represented by a mermaid call. The piece is built on eccentric percussion instruments such as the conch shell horn, ocean drums and thumb rolls on the timpani and bass drum. Decorated elements such as dissonant textures and glissando techniques are used, differing from any other piece I have written thus far. As the frantic thrill continues to the pivotal point of the piece, Riptides takes a voyage to the deepest parts of the unknown — of the unfamiliar.
Eine Kleine Yiddishe Ragmusik (2003)
Adam Gorb (b. 1958)
Adam Gorb is a British composer and educator. Dr. Gorb started composing at age ten. At fifteen he wrote a set of piano pieces — A Pianist’s Alphabet — of which a selection was performed on BBC Radio 3. In 1977, he went to Cambridge University to study music, where his teachers included Hugh Wood and Robin Holloway. After graduating in 1980, he divided his time between composition and working as a musician in the theatre.
Gorb's compositions include orchestral, ensemble, chamber, solo and choral works, and have been performed, broadcast and recorded world-wide. In 1994, his composition Metropolis for wind band (1992) was awarded the Walter Beeler Memorial Prize. In the United Kingdom, his compositions of every ability level have had performances at contemporary music festivals in Huddersfield, Cheltenham, Hampstead and Highgate, Spitalfields and Canterbury, and he has had concerts entirely devoted to his music in the UK, the U.S. and Canada. His second opera, The Path to Heaven, with an accompanying wind ensemble, was premiered in the UK in 2018 with productions in the U.S. in 2019 and 2020.
Adam Gorb has been a visiting lecturer in composition at universities and conservatoires in the U.S., Canada, Beijing, Daejeon, Tokyo, Vienna, The Hague, Brussels, Vilnius, Weimar, Verona and Istanbul. He is head of the School of Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
Gorb composed a series of short works which feature varying musical elements in creatively accessible ways. This notion was first presented in his 2003 composition, Eine Kleine Yiddishe Ragmusik. This work demonstrates a brilliant synthesis of ragtime (particularly that of Scott Joplin) with Jewish folk music (Klezmer), reminiscent of 1930s Berlin. He followed this piece with others in a similar vein: A Little Tango Music (2007), A Little Salsa Music (2008), and Eine Kleine Walzermusik (2009).
The Fire of Eternal Glory
(Novorossiysk Chimes) (1960/1995)
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)
transc. Timothy Rhea (b. 1967)
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Russian composer who lived under the Soviet regime. Shostakovich had a complex and difficult relationship with the Soviet government, suffering two official denunciations of his music (in 1936 and 1948) and the periodic banning of his work. Shostakovich's response to official criticism and, more importantly, the question of whether he used music as a kind of abstract dissidence is a matter of dispute. It is clear that he outwardly conformed to government policies and positions, reading speeches and putting his name to articles expressing the government line. It is also generally agreed that he disliked the regime, a view confirmed by his family and his letters to Isaak Glikman.
Shostakovich prided himself on his orchestration, which is clear, economical and well-projected. This aspect of Shostakovich's technique owes more to Gustav Mahler than fellow countryman Rimsky-Korsakov. His unique approach to tonality involved the use of modal scales and some astringent neo-classical harmonies à la Hindemith and Prokofiev. His music frequently includes sharp contrasts and elements of the grotesque.
His most popular works are his 15 symphonies and 15 string quartets. His works for piano include 2 piano sonatas, an early set of preludes, and a later set of 24 preludes and fugues. Other works include two operas, six concertos, and a substantial quantity of film music.
Although not considered to be an important work on Dmitri Shostakovich’s vast catalog of repertoire, The Fire of Eternal Glory was one of his best-known works in the former USSR. The work consists of material that was originally entered in a contest to compose a new national anthem for the Soviet Union (the contest was won by Alexander Alexandrov). Shostakovich rewrote the material when commissioned by the city of Novorossiysk for the opening of its war memorial. A recording of the work has been playing continuously at that location since the opening of the memorial on 27 September 1960, possibly making it one of the most frequently played pieces of symphonic music in existence. The work’s opening phrases have also been used as introductory music for Moscow Radio’s late-night news program CKACWH.
— Note by Nikk Pilato
Galop from Moscow, Cheremushky (1959/1971)
Dmitri Shostakovich
transc. Donald Hunsberger (b. 1932)
Admirers of Shostakovich’s symphonies and concertos are likely unaware that the composer also wrote a substantial quantity of lighter music. In his early days he composed incidental music and songs for many plays and even created full-fledged operas and film scores. Among them is the operetta Moscow, Cheremushki which opened on January 24, 1959 to substantial success.
Moscow, Cheremushky is an operetta (light opera) in three acts, libretto by the team of Vladimir Mass and Mikhail Chervinsky, the leading Soviet humorists at that time. The satirical plot deals with a theme common to the people of Soviet Russia and the Cheremushky District: affordable housing. This district became the location for a massive subsidized housing project in the 1950s. The operetta tells a story of a group of friends who have been granted new apartments in the Cheremushky. With each character, we see common issues associated with living in these areas: shared living spaces, corrupt politicians, and sneaky bureaucrats.
Galop is representative of the light, humorous style of the operetta. With its fast-moving and comical lines, Shostakovich captures the humor (and melancholy) of the libretto, expertly.
ROSTERS
University Band
Musicians are listed alphabetically within each section.
Flute
Alyssa Back
Emma Coppola
Naddelynne Ferguson
Katie Freytag
Tharune Kanagasabai
Aspen Lieber
Natalie O’Brien
Haylee Phillips
Saanil Rao
Sabrina Sedlacko *
Jeila Wofford *
Xiangxi Zhang *
* Piccolo and flute
Oboe
Lauren Yoder
Bassoon
William Hughes
Robert Mullen
Clarinet
Sam Baccei
Emily Baker
Leah Bauer
Grace Beebe
Adriana Clagg
Savanna Coyle
Aaron Geise
Connor Gibson
Tamya Halison
Angelina Hejl
Rachel Kams
Rose Kang
Brian Lo
Bass Clarinet
Jacob Claggett
Alyx Mendez
Alto Saxophone
Holly Barger
Jack Burkhart
Aditi Muruganandan
Anthony Petrill
Katie Weaver
Tenor Saxophone
Matthew Chandran
Ian Claggett
Baritone Saxophone
Kaitlyn Daum
French Horn
Paul Bossley
Nik Henderson
Ki Jones
Ethan Moseley
Kama Ramsey
Nathan Savino
Sam Sedlacko
Allison Simon
Jonah Varian
Cameron Welte
Ian Wilcox
Trumpet
Sam Allen
Paolo Atriano
Meredith Bowers
Stephanie Brown
Ethan Cox
Matthew Curie
Ashley Davis
Evan Freeland
Alexander Hartsough
Ellen Hill
Cooper Kellogg
Marlee Lawson
Jud Lewis
Erin Madden
Colleen Pettengill
Jacob Schwartz
Kirsten Shaneyfelt
Joshua Silver
Zach Spence
Tony Stabile
Jess Vanek
Zach Willford
Tenor Trombone
Mark Fanning
Sabrina Fortunak
Harrison Hall
Rudy Hartwig
Emily Leninsky
Abigail Rutherford
Lindsey Shimoda
Nathan Vernon
Bass Trombone
Defang Ndematebem
John Scott
Euphonium
Bri Cochill
Jaylyn Fogle
Logan Gardiner
Patrick Martyn
Louie Polien
Jojo Yu
Tuba
Delaney Ray
Jeremy Timog
Phoebe Underhill-Reed
Percussion
Daniel Allen
Alex Buckley
Hattie Carr
Kyrie Iswandy
Travis Jahna
Dylan Kerniskey
Keira Lamont
Zach Simmons
Charles Sirichoktanasup
Christopher Smallwood
Collegiate Winds
Musicians are listed alphabetically within each section.
Flute
Madison DiCicco
Adrianna Fay
Cooper Greenlees (piccolo)
Rebecca Margolis
Julia Norris
Allegra Tannoury
Xander Wells *
Hana Winchester
Devin Zdanowicz (piccolo)
Oboe
Kathryn Braverman *
Samir Haurani
Bassoon
Cora Anderson
Conner Ozatalar *
Clarinet
Phillip Ainsworth
Cee Costello
Leena Futoryansky *
Bella Haines
Quinn Jensen
Kady Rasmussen
Bass Clarinet
Rowan Hauer
Swaraj Patnaik
Alto Saxophone
Lance Korte
John Majerus
Willow Mauldin
Nick Paul *
Tenor Saxophone
Zachary Brutko
Baritone Saxophone
Mac Williams
Trumpet
Jude Abuzeide
Luke Buzard
Connor Caviness *
Rebecca Dunn
Gabrielle Hardisky
Connor Milner
Horn
Caleb Anderson
Eric Ji *
Annalise Johnson
Aidan Walsh
Trombone
Nolan Call
Lily Kent
Jonathan Kessler
Andric McNabb (bass)
Kyndal Nowell
Nathan Palmer *
Amara Suchy
Caden Young
Euphonium
Dominic Barnes
Hannah Lyons *
Mikey Woolley
Tuba
Isaac Clemens *
Percussion
Stephen Alexander
Andrew Bourget
Evelyn Fitzgerald
Peter Kindt
Polly Regan *
Marie Zantopulos
* principal player
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