Sunday, April 24, 2022
6:15 p.m.
The Ohio State University School of Music
Mershon Auditorium
SYMPHONIC BAND
Scott A. Jones, conductor
Ohio State Gospel Ensemble and Friends
Milton V. Ruffin, director
Colin Knoth (DMA), guest conductor
Alex Mondragon (MM), guest conductor
Joshua Reynolds (MM), guest conductor
PROGRAM
Kapow! (2017)
Zachary Friedland (1990–2021)
Performed in memory of the composer
Alex Mondragon, conductor
Composed for and premiered by the musicians of The Ohio State University Collegiate Winds, Kapow! is an exciting work for band that conjures images of action and superheroes. The composition’s title reflects the composer’s “love of action, adventure, and heroes which served as the inspiration for long days playing outside with friends as a child.” A single melodic theme is present throughout the majority of the work and serves as the foundation of the piece. Throughout the piece, the primary theme is scored for nearly every instrument in the ensemble, often recurring with new orchestration or accompanying music.
Zachary J. Friedland earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition from The Ohio State University in 2018. During his graduate study at Ohio State, Friedland composed music for the Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, Collegiate Winds, and Jazz Ensemble. A strong advocate for new music and emerging composers, Friedland founded the Rhode Island Recording Ensemble (RIRE), a weekend summer festival celebrating new music held at the University of Rhode Island.
American Guernica (1982/2022)
Adolphus C. Hailstork (b. 1941)
ed. Brent Levine
Dedicated to Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, and Denise McNair
On September 15, 1963 four members of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter planted and detonated 19 sticks of dynamite beneath the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. The explosion killed four defenseless little girls and injured between 14 and 22 others. This work is dedicated to the four victims of the bombing: Carole Robertson, 14; Addie Mae Collins, 14; Cynthia Wesley, 14; and Denise McNair, 11. This composition is also influenced by Picasso’s famous “Guernica,” an oil painting crafted in 1937 in response to the Fascist bombing of Guernica, Spain. Historians believe between 200–250 defenseless civilians were killed in the attack, mostly women and children.
In the words of the composer, “American Guernica began as a technical challenge…to combine gospel-flavored material with contemporary compositional techniques. That led to the idea of an uninterrupted church service, which called to mind the bombing (in which 4 girls were killed and another child was blinded) in Birmingham, Alabama, September 15, 1963. What would that moment (and music reflecting that moment) contain? Sunday School music, explosion sounds, chaos, anguish, screaming. Eventually, there would be a funeral.”
Adolphus Hailstork is one of the most important American composers of his generation. His catalogue includes works for orchestra, choir, wind ensemble, organ, chamber ensembles, solo vocalists, and solo instrumentalists. His compositions have been performed by many of the leading orchestras in the United States, including the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Hailstork holds degrees from Howard University, the Manhattan School of Music, and Michigan State University. Prior to retirement, Hailstork held faculty positions at Youngstown State University, Norfolk State University, and Old Dominion University.
The edition of this composition performed this evening was created by Brent Levine, who completed his DMA in Conducting at Ohio State in spring 2021 and is currently a faculty member in the School of Music at Northern Arizona University.
* * * * * * * * * *
Ohio State Gospel Ensemble and Friends
Milton V. Ruffin, director
Amazing Grace / Walk With Me
Traditional, arr. M. Ruffin
Hallelujah! You're Worthy
J. McCallister, arr. M. Ruffin
More Abundantly
R. Dillard, arr. M. Ruffin
* * * * * * * * * *
Shenandoah (1999)
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Colin Knoth, conductor
This setting of the popular American folk melody, Shenandoah, was commissioned by the Hill Country Middle School Symphonic Band (TX). It is dedicated to the memory of Jonathan Paul Cosentino, a horn player in the school’s band program, who passed away at age thirteen. Ticheli writes:
“In my setting of Shenandoah I was inspired by the freedom and beauty of the folk melody and by the natural images evoked by the words, especially the image of a river. I was less concerned with the sound of a rolling river than with its life-affirming energy — its timelessness. Sometimes the accompaniment flows quietly under the melody; other times it breathes alongside it. The work’s mood ranges from quiet reflection, through growing optimism, to profound exaltation.”
After the initial presentation of the well-known melody, Ticheli incorporates a counter-melody that is derived from the first theme. As the piece develops, he uses pulsating chords to represent the life and breath of the river. At the climax of the piece, a subtle reference to Battle Hymn of the Republic can be heard underneath the main melody — a nod to Cosentino, who had a passion for American history. The piece concludes reflectively with a prayer-like chorale in the brass.
Ticheli received his master's and doctoral degrees in composition from the University of Michigan, and currently serves on the composition faculty at the University of Southern California.
Twist (2012)
Jodie Blackshaw (b. 1971)
Australian composer Jodie Blackshaw grew up in New South Wales, Australia; after completing high school, she earned a Bachelor of Music in composition at the Australian National University School of Music. Prior to becoming a full-time composer, she worked in a range of schools teaching classroom / instrumental music and conducting ensembles. Blackshaw has passionately searched for a compositional approach to band that offers directors a product that centers on musical elements other than melody and harmony.
In 2006, Blackshaw won the inaugural Frank Ticheli Composition Contest with her work “Whirlwind.” She holds a PhD in composition from the Australian National University with a focus on composing music for children influenced by brain-based educational principles. She desires that her work be "[not just] another piece, but an educational and spiritual journey for both the players and the director."
Commissioned by a twelve-member consortium of Australian schools and arts organizations, Twist received its premiere in 2012 at the Australian National Band and Orchestra Clinic. The composition is inspired by the shape, spirit and history of the Murray River, Australia’s longest river. The work is divided into six continuous sections, each with its own character and spirit:
I. Survival — The powerful opening is inspired by the indigenous story of “Tiddalick the Frog,” a greedy amphibian who consumes the entire river without any thought for the inhabitants of his bionetwork.
II. Reflection — In contrast to the opening section, this portion of the work is inspired by the beauty of the river at both dawn and dusk.
III. Discovery — This section is anchored in the arrival of European settlers and the introduction of paddleboats to the region in the mid-1800s. The section is characterized by energetic rhythms of the paddleboats, a joyous melody, and the majestic cliffs bordering the river. At the conclusion of this section, a chorus of kookaburras (native Australian birds) herald in the next section.
IV. Obsession — The scene is a campfire at dusk, created by improvised sounds from the ensemble. Reflective of the river's treacherous and deceptive spirit, a late-night tango is heralded by soprano saxophone and continued by baritone saxophone.
V. Carnevale — Hundreds of Italian people emigrated to New South Wales in the 1940s and 1950s, and helped transform the area into thriving viticultural regions. The Italian folk dance, the tarantelle, is prominent throughout this section.
VI. Ascension — The final section of the composition is reflective in its spirit, based loosely upon material of the opening section. It compels the listener as to how it is that we sustain such important ecological features of our world as the Murray River.
Halcyon Hearts (2021)
Katahj Copley (b. 1998)
Joshua Reynolds, conductor
Halcyon Hearts is an ode to love and its effect on all people. The word “halcyon” denotes a time when a person is ideally happy or at peace — the idyllic moment when one finds love or genuine happiness. The composer writes, “No matter what race, gender, religion, nationality or love, we all are united with the common thread of passion from the heart. This piece was written in dedication to those who love no matter what negativity is in the world; do not allow hate and prejudice to guide the way we live our lives.”
Copley includes the following poem in his program note:
Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
Copley holds dual bachelor's degrees from the University of West Georgia (Music Education and Composition), and is pursuing graduate study in composition at the University of Texas at Austin. His catalog includes more than 100 works for large ensemble, vocal ensemble and chamber ensemble.
ROSTERS
Symphonic Band
Musicians are listed alphabetically by section.
PICCOLO
Braden Stewart
FLUTE
Sofia Geelhood ∆
Allie Gerckens
Ray Johnson
Lauren Parrett +
Grace Reven
Braden Stewart
OBOE
Ryan O’Donnell
Claire Rottman ∆ +
BASSOON
Laila Elhamri ∆ +
Robert Schwartz
E-flat CLARINET
Katie Lowry
CLARINET
Laurel Dean
Joseph DeCillis
Rohit Kolluri ∆
Fiona Lin §
Katie Lowry
Favius Pena-Amaya
Matthew Pugh
Ryan Rennie
Erin Wilson
BASS CLARINET
Mason Williams
ALTO SAXOPHONE
Cooper Greenlees ∆
Zach Langbein §
TENOR SAXOPHONE
Colin Fogerty
BARITONE SAXOPHONE
Brennan Colvard
TRUMPET
Ruth Bonnice
Hunter DeWitt +
Elisabeth Lewis
Eric Luman
Gavin Newton ∆
Alessandro Nocera
Bobby Petty
Paul Renzi
HORN
Theresa Deevers
Shawnta Hunter
Eric Ji
Crosbee Lisser §
David Whitacre ∆
TROMBONE
Devin Fogerty
Owen Kovach
Katie Moore
Alex Myers ∆ +
BASS TROMBONE
Eric Oxsalida
EUPHONIUM
Davis Aho ∆
Jacob Carlson
TUBA
Jake Blevins ∆
Ryan Burdick §
Patrick Woo
PERCUSSION
Kalie Dawson
Nick Dye
Logan Gardiner
Matt Hanson ∆ +
Emmie Hess
Joseph Spearman *
Kyle Thomas
DOUBLE BASS
Dallas Carpenter *
PIANO
Alex Buckley
∆ principal player
+ section leader
§ board member
* assisting musician(s)
Ohio State Gospel Ensemble and Friends
Elisabeth Lewis, soprano vocalist
Gabriela Sanchez, alto vocalist
Tyler Osborne, tenor vocalist
Kevin Turner, guitar
Micah Speller, bass
Devan Mallory, keyboards/piano
Nate Asamoah, drums
Milton Ruffin, director/pianist
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