Friday, April 11, 2025 • 8 p.m.
Weigel Auditorium
Columbus, OH
The Ohio State University Symphonic Band
Scott A. Jones, conductor
Sarah Baker, DMA student conductor
Shawn Davern, DMA student conductor
Light
On behalf of the musicians of Symphonic Band, thank you for joining us for this final performance of the semester. We delight in your attendance and hope you find comfort, challenge, and inspiration in our performance this evening.
Presently in Columbus, OH we are gaining more than 2.5 minutes of sunlight each and every day. The additional daylight inspires growth and renewal in all living things and reminds us of the essential role that light plays in human existence.
This evening, we explore light that illumines our way, provides us with a sense of hope, and inspires us to persevere - particularly during moments of significant discord. We hope the stories told through music tonight serve to remind you of the light that surrounds you, and the light you carry within…
— Scott A. Jones, conductor
Urban Light (2021)
James M. David (b. 1978)
Sarah Baker, conductor
Urban Light is a brilliant display of colors, forward momentum, and intertwining rhythmic layers that is inspired by the iconic Los Angeles landmark of the same name. Primary melodic and rhythmic motives are derived from Morse code for the word "California," creating an asymmetrical and syncopated groove that continuously builds in energy. Parallel "barre" chords reveal a classic rock/metal influence that reaches its zenith with a heavy percussion backbeat. Polyrhythmic layers and varying textures lead toward a thrilling and intense finale.
James M. David is an internationally recognized composer who currently serves as associate professor of composition and music theory at Colorado State University, and is particularly known for his works involving winds and percussion. He began his musical training under his father, Joe A. David III, a renowned high school band director and professor of music education in the region. This lineage can be heard in his music through the strong influence of jazz and other Southern traditional music mixed with contemporary idioms.
Lux Perpetua (2020)
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Lux Perpetua was composed for the Baylor University Wind Ensemble in memory of two young clarinetist members of that ensemble, Laura Onwudinanti and Jack Stewart, whose lives were tragically cut short in an automobile accident in 2014. The work’s title is drawn from the last line of the Latin text, Lux aeterna: “et lux perpetua luceat eis” (and let perpetual light shine upon them). The idea of light as both protector and illuminator was constantly in my mind as I composed the piece. Two kinds of light comprise the work: one soft and meditative, the other more sparkling and effervescent. Also in mind were the respective personality traits of the two dedicatees, Jack being more thoughtful and introspective, Laura being more spontaneous and gregarious.
A simple call motive begins the piece, introduced by the clarinets. Its two main notes form a descending minor third, a sound that is universally associated with a call or greeting (think “yoo-hoo”) but also widely associated with playground games and nursery rhymes. This idea is laced into the entire fabric of the piece, sometimes serving as transition material, other times appearing unexpectedly for purposes of contrast, still other times flowering into main melody.
The main melody is at once longing and noble in quality, and is constructed in a way that suggests the notion of infinity. Its accompanying harmony depicts a kind of bellows or the act of breathing, in and out perpetually. It never settles on a final chord, but instead moves to a built-in modulation, compelling the melody to repeat itself in a chain of new keys.
A faster, more energetic middle section serves as a dramatic contrast, but rather than give it a new theme, I chose to continue with a variant of the main melody. The accompanying harmony is still breathing, the lyrical line still permeating the entire section, but this time building to a tremendous climax. The final coda is a brief meditation. The main melody echoes itself tenderly as the harmony begins its slow and fragile ascent to the heavens.
— Note by the composer
Three Latin Dances (2018)
Jeff Tyzik (b. 1951)
Shawn Davern, conductor
Three Latin Dances was composed for the Eastman Wind Ensemble at the request of Mark Scatterday in September 2018. In this short suite, Tyzik uses three different popular Latin dance forms. The first dance section is based on the Danzón, a Cuban dance that is slow, formal and elegant. The Danzón transitions into a Cha Cha, another Cuban dance that is a medium tempo rhythmic dance that he first experienced during his student days at Eastman. After a brief recap of the Danzón, another transition evolves into a Malambo, an Argentine dance that is exciting, up-tempo, and whose roots can be traced back to the 1600s.
Jeff Tyzik is an American conductor, arranger and trumpeter working primarily with orchestral and jazz styles. Tyzik was born in upstate New York and studied at Eastman School of Music under luminaries like Donald Hunsberger, Warren Benson and Rayburn Wright. Tyzik currently serves as the principal pops conductor with the Detroit, Dallas, Oregon and Florida orchestras, and has held the principal pops conductor position with the Rochester Philharmonic for the past 25 orchestra seasons. During his tenure with the RPO, Tyzik has composed, arranged or orchestrated over 250 works for orchestra.
Adoration (1951/2022)
Florence Price (1887–1953), ed. Cheldon Williams
Florence Price was a prolific American composer whose race and gender made it difficult for her contributions to join the widely accepted musical canon in the decades following her life. A pioneer, Price is considered the first Black woman recognized as a symphonic composer, and was the first to have her music performed by a major American orchestra when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra gave the world premiere of her Symphony No. 1 in 1933.
Price's catalog of compositions boasts an impressive array of symphonies, concertos, chamber music, various symphonic works, choral works, piano music, and music for the organ. Adoration in its original form is one of Price's compositions for organ, and fits within the genre of her semi-secular compositions.
The Adventures of Jesse Owens (2023)
Michael Daugherty (b. 1954)
1. Cotton
2. Berlin (1936 Olympics)
3. Gold
The Adventures of Jesse Owens for Symphonic Band was commissioned by Kappa Kappa Psi, National Band Fraternity, and Tau Beta Sigma, National Band Sorority for the National Intercollegiate Band. The composition is cast in three movements (the first two of which proceed without pause).
1. Cotton
Jesse Owens (1913–1980) was the youngest of ten children, the son of a sharecropper, and the grandson of enslaved people. The family lived in a small shack in rural Oakville, Alabama and everyone picked cotton for a living, including Jesse beginning at age seven. The first movement is a “work song” composed of pulsating, multi-layered ostinatos accompanied by a rhythmically relentless anvil.
2. Berlin (1936 Olympics)
As a student athlete on the track and field team at The Ohio State University, Jesse Owens set five world records in 1935. He was subsequently invited to join the United States Olympic team for the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. The German Nazi Party hoped that hosting the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin would provide an international showcase for the Third Reich and give legitimacy to its racist policies of Aryan supremacy. The participation of American Jewish and Black athletes subsequently caused great controversy. In the second movement, I allude to three different musical works associated with the opening ceremonies of the 1936 Berlin Olympics: Richard Strauss: Olympische Hymne (1936); My Country, ‘Tis of Thee (also known as America, 1831); Deutschlandlied(German National Anthem, 1922). As these melodies are interrupted by rolling drums, the ominous mood of the music anticipates World War II, started by Germany in 1939.
3. Gold
By winning four gold medals and setting world records in the 100 meter, 200 meter, 400 meter relay and long-jump, Jesse Owens became the most successful athlete of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. His victories made international headlines as “the fastest man in the world,” challenging the German Nazi doctrine of Aryan supremacy. Inspired by the superhuman feats of Jesse Owens at the Olympics, the brightly orchestrated final movement, marked “Presto,” moves at breakneck speed to a triumphant finish line.
— Note by the composer
Multiple GRAMMY Award-winning composer Michael Daugherty has achieved international recognition as one of the ten most–performed American composers of concert music, according to the League of American Orchestras. Daugherty was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1954, and is the son of a dance-band drummer and the oldest of five brothers, all professional musicians. Daugherty joined the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance in 1991 as professor of composition, where he is a mentor to many of today’s most talented young composers. He is also a frequent guest of professional orchestras, festivals, universities and conservatories around the world.
Symphonic Band Personnel
Musicians are listed alphabetically by section.
Piccolo
Nic Digena
Flute
Melanie Ahn §
Karis Brennan ∆
Nic Digena
Maryssa Hoermle
Haley Svec
Oboe
Claire Rottman
Brielle Vollmuth ∆
Maddie Wittman
English Horn
Briele Vollmuth
Bassoon
Olive Bennett
Lucas Swiderski ∆
Contra Bassoon
Gunnar Pellissier *
Clarinet
Jacob Behrend ∆
Mackenzi Buynak
Jarom Christensen
Sonny Day
Landen Gedeon
Zachary Grant §
Jenna Harkin
Adam Lee
Aoi Nishiyama
Nicholas Ritchey
Logan Sturgeon
Ethan White
Bass Clarinet
Leah Henning
Quinn Jensen ∆
Contrabass Clarinet
Quinn Jensen
Alto Saxophone
Katia de Jong §
Gabe Gasper
Alyssa Hartman ∆
Tenor Saxophone
Sammy Smith §
Baritone Saxophone
Kyle Buchwalter
Trumpet
Graham Bentley
Connor Caviness ∆
Ava Diederich
Noah Madsen
Connor Milner
Allison Morris
Eric Pattison
Horn
Caleb Anderson
Nicholas Blum ∆
Maggie Carter
Jared Giovannone
Katherine Indyk
Mirai Nawa
Allie Polzin
Ben Wainwright
Trombone
Nolan Call
Lucia Cherok §
Clarissa Cousart
Jackson Fortner
Anthony Frankowski
Sam Giles
Jonathan Kessler
Ashleigh Mastilak
Sebastian Pena ∆
Euphonium
Matthew Grover
Sayaka Iimura
Hannah Lyons
Clayton Messinger ∆
Tuba
Adam Johnson
Sydney Reeves
Lucas Snouffer ∆
Percussion
Garrett Campbell
Logan Crawford
Wesley Giles §
Peter Kindt
Mary Paydock §
Adam Quinn ∆
Piano
Kaiwei Guo
Electric Guitar
Logan Franklin *
Harp
Abigail Bachelor *
String Bass
Dallas Carpenter *
∆ principal player
§ board member
* assisting musician
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