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Symphonic Band presents "Friends, Mentors and Home" 11/15/23

Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023  •  7:30 p.m.

Weigel Auditorium
Columbus, OH

OHIO STATE SYMPHONIC BAND
Scott A. Jones, conductor
Craig Kirchhoff, guest conductor
Shawn Davern, DMA student conductor

 

Notes on the program — "Friends, Mentors and Home"

Thank you for joining us in the Timashev Family Music Building for this evening’s performance by the musicians of the Ohio State Symphonic Band. The program celebrates the impact of significant people in our lives — those friends and mentors who challenge and inspire us — and in doing so, help us feel valued, at ease, and at home. 

The program begins with two "cornerstone compositions" for concert band by celebrated English composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst. The two composers first met in 1895 as students at the Royal Conservatory of Music, and enjoyed a well-documented and meaningful friendship that lasted 40 years. Close friends, they also regularly scrutinized one another’s work, providing valuable feedback as compositions were conceived and refined.

Earlier this evening retired and emeriti faculty and staff members from our School of Music gathered in the Timashev Family Music Building for a reunion. The collective impact of the faculty and staff who have called our School of Music their professional "home" is vast … and we owe a great debt of gratitude to them for bettering this special place of learning, research and creative expression. 

This evening we also "welcome home" to the podium Professor Craig Kirchhoff, who for 14 years served as director of bands at Ohio State. During his tenure, Kirchhoff inspired countless musicians and audiences, as well as leading performances at Carnegie Hall and an historic three-week tour of Japan. He has greatly inspired us all this week and we celebrate his remarkable gifts as teacher, conductor and human being on two compositions this evening.

A return visit to Ohio State by Australian composer Cathy Likhuta two weeks ago allowed her to share insights about her composition Home Away from Home with Symphonic Band. The spirit of that composition reminds us that "home" is not informed by a location, but rather by the people who bring meaning to our lives. The friendship of graduate conducting student Shawn Davern and composer Kevin Day is celebrated in the composition Shimmering Sunshine which concludes our time together this evening. 

In this month during which we pause to be grateful, we celebrate the friends and mentors who not only support us, but inspire us to be more thoughtful, insightful  and complete people. On behalf of the musicians of Symphonic Band, warm wishes to you and yours for a meaningful Thanksgiving.

Scott A. Jones, conductor
 

PROGRAM


Toccata Marziale (1924/2005)

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)
ed. Battisti 

Ralph Vaughan Williams was a central figure of British music and credited — along with his close friend and fellow composer Gustav Holst — with nurturing a revival of English music in the early 20th century. Vaughan Williams composed for many musical media, including 9 symphonies, more than 100 songs for voice and piano, works for concert band, numerous chamber compositions, and large works for the stage. 

Toccata Marziale was composed for the “Commemoration of the British Empire Exhibition” of 1924, and was Vaughan Williams' second composition for band (the first was his English Folk Song Suite of 1923). The piece is organized in three continuous sections. The first 53 measures present music that is highly contrapuntal and “rhythmically active” in its spirit. The second section of the work presents an original sweeping lyrical theme that is reflective of Vaughan William’s fondness for English folk tunes. The final section is a brilliantly conceived merger of the first two portions of the composition that concludes with a declamatory final statement of the work’s primary motive.

    
First Suite in E-flat, Op. 28, No. 1 (1909/1984)

Gustav Holst (1874–1934), ed. Matthews 

I.   Chaconne
II.  Intermezzo
III. March

Craig Kirchhoff, conductor

First Suite was composed for military band in 1909 but did not receive its premiere until 1920. The composition is in three movements — performed per the composer’s direction without pause — Chaconne, Intermezzo and March. In spite of Holst’s use of folk songs in other compositions, the musical material for this suite is entirely original. It has long been a staple of the core repertoire for the concert band due to its craftsmanship and exquisite communicative clarity.

Englishman Gustav Holst achieved critical acclaim during his lifetime as a composer and arranger. Likely his most well-known composition, The Planets was a work that Holst did not consider to be his best. The fame that followed its premiere was a source of sizable stress for Holst, who was by nature a very shy person. Deeply committed to teaching, the appointment he accepted in 1905 at the St. Paul’s Girls' School he honored until the end of his life in 1934.


Home Away from Home (2019)

Catherine Likhuta (b. 1981)      

Catherine Likhuta’s catalog includes compositions for orchestra, chamber ensembles, soloists, and wind band. An accomplished pianist, her works reflect a rhythmic and harmonic sensibility that reflects an upbringing around jazz. Likhuta has called three continents home during her lifetime — Europe, North America and presently, Australia. She often states that she feels “equally at home in all three.”

A sense of "home" served to be the inspiration for this composition. Finding resonance with the collegiate students who would be performing the premiere of this composition, Likuta shared, “I .. started thinking about the university freshman students for whom I was writing the piece, finding their home away from home and their new life and community on campus. It is an exciting yet emotional time for them, and I wanted to reflect that in the piece.”

The composition is organized into three large and continuous sections. The first represents the initial excitement associated with a new beginning. The spirit of the second section is melancholic, reflecting a longing for people from one’s past while buoyed by the optimism of new experiences and friendships. The final section is determined and includes a nod to the composer’s Ukrainian heritage alongside a return of material from the initial section of the composition.

Likhuta was in residence at Ohio State two weeks ago, during which time she attended a rehearsal of this composition with the Symphonic Band. She offered meaningful insights and perspectives on the work while simultaneously engendering a deep spirit of warmth and gratitude. 


Temperance (2016)

Aaron Perrine (b. 1978)

Craig Kirchhoff, conductor

Minnesota-based composer Aaron Perrine holds composition degrees from the University of Iowa, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, and the University of Minnesota–Morris. His works for concert band have been performed by many of the distinguished military and university ensembles across our country. Perrine’s colorful orchestrations and subtle rhythmically-infused layers are inspired by the natural world and distinguish his compositional voice.

Temperance was commissioned by more than 30 school and university bands from across Minnesota. Of this award-winning piece, the composer writes, “When I think of Minnesota, my mind tends to drift to the scenic stretch of Lake Superior between Duluth and Canada, locally referred to as the North Shore. While there are seemingly countless outdoor destinations along the North Shore from which to choose, the Temperance River has always been a personal favorite. Temperance is my response to the beauty, serenity and solitude found along Minnesota’s North Shore.”

 

Shimmering Sunshine (2018)

Kevin Day (b. 1996)

Shawn Davern, conductor

Composer Kevin Day has quickly emerged as one of the leading young voices in the world of music composition today. He is an internationally acclaimed composer, conductor and pianist whose music often intersects between the worlds of jazz, minimalism, Latin music, fusion, and contemporary classical idioms. Day is an assistant professor of composition at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo (Ontario, Canada). He holds degrees from Texas Christian University, the University of Georgia, and is presently completing a DMA in composition from the University of Miami (Florida).

About this composition, Day writes, “Shimmering Sunshine is a composition that depicts the sun whenever it is positioned at high noon, at its brightest point during the day. Throughout the piece, there are different ‘shimmers’ of bright light that bounce around from instrument to instrument, depicting moments of sunshine both beautiful and at the same time, powerful.”

 


ABOUT THE GUEST CONDUCTOR


Craig J. Kirchhoff is Professor Emeritus of Conducting and Director Emeritus of University Bands at the University of Minnesota where he conducted the University Wind Ensemble and guest conducted in the University Opera Program. Kirchhoff coordinated the graduate program in Wind Ensemble/Band Conducting and guided all aspects of the University of Minnesota wind band program from 1993 to 2015.

Prior to his appointment to the faculty of the University of Minnesota, Professor Kirchhoff served as Director of Bands at The Ohio State University for fourteen years, as Director of Bands at Washington State University for two years, and Associate Director of Bands at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee for one year.  Kirchhoff was the recipient of The Ohio State University Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award and The Ohio State University School of Music Distinguished Teaching Award.  

Performances under his direction have won critical acclaim from composers Dominick Argento, Warren Benson, William Bolcom, Henry Brant, Susan Botti, Elliott Carter, Michael Colgrass, John Corigliano, Michael Daugherty, Karel Husa, Libby Larsen, George Perle, Vincent Persichetti, Carter Pann, Stephen Paulus, Kevin Puts, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Gunther Schuller, Joseph Schwantner, Elliott Schwartz, James Stephenson, Steven Stucky, Frank Ticheli, Dana Wilson, Chen Yi and others.

Professor Kirchhoff is past president of the College Band Directors National Association and is a member of the American Bandmasters Association, the National Band Association, the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and served as the founding editor and principal advisor of the College Band Directors National Association Journal.

Kirchhoff has appeared as guest conductor, clinician and lecturer throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Taiwan, Europe and Scandinavia. He enjoyed a long association with the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra during Frederick Fennell’s tenure as music director, and he has recorded with them on the Kosei Publishing label. Professor Kirchhoff was awarded the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic Medal of Honor in 2018, presented with the College Band Directors National Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, and won the Phi Beta Mu Bandmaster of the Year Award at the 2019 Midwest Clinic. Kirchhoff serves as a Yamaha Master Educator.


ROSTER

Musicians are listed alphabetically by section.

Piccolo
Lance Korte
Grace Reven

Flute
Karis Brennan
Katelyn Cheng ∆
Nic Digena
Hanna Everding
Jhon Fajardo
Grace Gregg
Lance Korte
Grace Reven
Haley Svec
Jessica Wilson

Oboe
Sophie Craciun ∆
Maddie Wittman
Adil Zafar

English Horn
Adil Zafar

Bassoon
William Harper
Lucas Swiderski ∆

E-flat Clarinet
Jacob Behrend

Clarinet
Jacob Behrend
Samantha Buckley
Mackenzi Buynak
Ethan Dale
Zachary Grant §
Jenna Harkin
Favius Peña-Amaya
Nicholas Ritchey
Joe Zishka ∆

Bass Clarinet
Leah Henning
Tori Steinbrecher ∆

Alto Saxophone
Colin Fogerty ∆
Alyssa Hartman

Tenor Saxophone
Austin Spillman

Baritone Saxophone
Katia de Jong §

Trumpet
Graham Bentley
Ben Dickson
Will Fisher
John Heino
Joel Kellar
Bobby Petty ∆
Abbey Zunic

Horn
Nicholas Blum
Olivia Boden ∆
Shawnta Hunter §
Katherine Indyk
Nora Lemmon §
Mirai Nawa
Allie Polzin
Andrew Waite

Trombone
Lucia Cherok
Anthony Frankowski
Nik Henderson ∆
Safa Jeelani
Ashleigh Mastilak
Jordan Updegrove

Euphonium
Ayden Casa ∆
Kenneth Gutierrez-King
Sayaka Iimura
Clayton Messinger

Tuba
Michael Flowers ∆
Adam Johnson
Garrett Woolbert

Percussion
Brody Fogle
Mary Paydock ∆ §
Adam Quinn
TJ Mann
Cierra Miller
Kyle Thomas
Kyle Turner

Harp
Jillian Davis

Double Bass
Dallas Carpenter *

Piano
Kaiwei Guo


principal player
§  board member
assisting musician


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