Wednesday, March 8, 2023 • 8 p.m.
Weigel Auditorium
Columbus, OH
OHIO STATE SYMPHONIC BAND
Scott A. Jones, conductor
Sarah Baker, guest conductor
Joshua Reynolds, guest conductor
PROGRAM
Notes on “Sacred Spaces”
Thank you for being present with us for this evening’s performance by the musicians of the Ohio State Symphonic Band.
The Ohio State University occupies the ancestral and contemporary lands of the Shawnee, Potawatomi, Delaware, Miami, Peoria, Seneca, Wyandotte, Ojibwe, and Cherokee peoples. The university resides on land ceded in the 1795 Treaty of Greeneville and the forced removal of tribal nations through the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The musicians of the Ohio State University Symphonic Band honor the resiliency of these tribal nations and recognizes the historical contexts that have and continue to affect the Indigenous peoples of this land.
The music we share this evening explores the “spaces” that hold deep importance and value in our lives. Such “spaces” can manifest themselves physically (places that we can inhabit) or theoretically (emotional, metaphysical and spiritual values).
“A sacred space is a place that holds incredible immaterial value in an increasingly material society. It is the idea of an environment in which a person can exist authentically and embrace their most sincere beliefs without apprehension. We all cherish our sacred spaces. [...] A ballpark. A classroom. A home. Even the concert hall — [a space] in which art comes to life through sound — has a [sacred] association for many...” — Jake Wallace
We welcome you into this space and ask you to join us as we explore the unique human ability to hold spaces and values as “sacred.”
— Scott A. Jones, conductor
Sacred Spaces (2019)
John Mackey (b. 1973)
Columbus, Ohio is “home” for composer John Mackey, a graduate of Westerville South High School. In the last 20 years, he has achieved international acclaim as a composer, particularly for his works for concert band. Mackey composes exclusively by commission, and recent projects have included compositions for the BBC Singers; the Dallas Wind Symphony; military, high school, middle school and university bands across America and Japan; and concertos for Joseph Alessi (principal trombone, New York Philharmonic), Christopher Martin (principal trumpet, New York Philharmonic), and Julian Bliss (international clarinet soloist). While San Francisco, California is his current home, Mackey was on campus at Ohio State last week as part of a three-day residency, during which he and the musicians of Symphonic Band explored the performance of this work in depth.
Sacred Spaces was commissioned by The United States Army Field Band, a premier military band. The Army Field Band spends more of its time performing in cities across our country than any other Washington, DC-based military band. A concert overture by genre, the piece has an overt spirit of “Americana” — vivid references to the wide-open spaces and dazzling views that populate our country. Listen very closely, however, to the very first sounds of the composition for two respectful “nods” to the Army Field Band: an opening horn rip that also opens Joseph Wilcox Jenkins' American Overture for Band (written for the band in 1953), and the melodic motive from the official song of the United States Army, “The Caisson Song.”
A Movement for Rosa (1992)
Mark Camphouse (b. 1954)
Josh Reynolds, conductor
Mark Camphouse (b. 1954), retired director of concert bands and composition at George Mason University, is an American composer, conductor and educator. Since the public premiere of his first composition at the age of 17, Mark Camphouse has been a well-known composer in the wind band medium for many years. In 1992, Camphouse was commissioned by the Virginia Tech Department of Music to write A Movement for Rosa, in memory of civil rights activist Rosa Parks. Crafted in three sections, the piece tells a story of struggles and victories in the Civil Rights movement. The first section focuses on the early years of Rosa’s life and the beginning of the movement. The next section increases the intensity portraying the racial strife and quest for social equality. The final section celebrates the success of the Civil Rights movement and its impact on our society. This work is a powerful tribute to Rosa Parks and the many others who fought — and continue to fight — for civil rights in America.
Stillwater (2019)
Kelijah Dunton (b. 1999)
Kelijah Dunton is a New York-based composer who has recently emerged as a fresh compositional voice in our country. Still in his early 20s, Dunton is just now embarking on his formal compositional education, learning from peers and through experiences garnered through performing as a saxophonist in and around New York City. The motivation that propels his creative work is compelling and evidenced in his own words:
“To put it simply, music saved my life. Growing up in inner NYC, I was the kid who never had much. […] My real passion and goal in life is to show other[s] … that there are ways out of dark place[s] ...”
Stillwater is not only the title of this composition, but also a city on the eastern edge of Minnesota. Central to the city’s topography is a large lake which is visible virtually anywhere in the city center. During the bitterly cold winter months, the surface of the lake freezes considerably — enough to support “ice fishing houses” for those inclined to pass time that way. However, while the surface of the lake freezes, there is always freely-moving water below, resulting in familiar (perhaps comforting?!) sounds of cracking of the bottom thick layer of ice. The composer uses Lake Stillwater as a metaphor in relaying the spirit of the composition:
“We as people forget sometimes that we are […] deep and vast beneath our hard surfaces. We work, we go to school, we take care of our families, [and] we deal with the struggles of the day-to-day routine. But if we just take a moment to listen within ourselves, we discover our passions, our longings, and our sense of belonging.”
Petite Symphonie (1885)
Charles Gounod (1818–1893)
II. Andante Cantabile
IV. Finale. Allegretto
Sarah Baker, conductor
French composer Charles Gounod (1818–1893) is often known for his opera Faust. However, his compositional output also includes oratorios, masses, motets, songs, ballets and instrumental works. Gounod studied harmony and counterpoint with prolific wind composer Anton Reicha, providing him with a rich foundation that ultimately led to his being named a 1839 recipient of France's most prestigious musical reward, the Prix de Rome.
Paris, Gounod's home for a good portion of his life, was an important center of French musical life during the 19th century. Known during this time as the belle epoque (“beautiful era”), Paris was home for visual artists, composers and the birth of important structures and events including the Eiffel Tower and World Fair Expositions. During the late 1800s, significant improvements in the structural design of wind instruments (improved tone projection, intonation stability and technical virtuosity) led to a resurgence in the popularity of wind music. In 1879, Paul Taffanel (regarded as the founder of the French Flute School), founded the Société de Musique de la Chambre pour Instruments à Vent (“Chamber Music Society for Wind Instruments”). Its primary mission was to commission and promote music for wind instruments. Gounod, a member of the society, supported its mission by composing Petite Symphonie in 1885.
The composition is orchestrated for two oboes, two clarinets, two horns, two bassoons, and a flute (a nod of respect to Taffanel). The four-movement composition (two played this evening) exhibits Classical clarity in both form and phrase structure, while also exhibiting Romantic harmony and expression.
Symphony No. IV "Bookmarks from Japan"
Julie Giroux (b. 1961)
I. Fuji-san — “Mt. Fuji”
III. The Great Wave off Kanagawa — “The Life of One Wave”
IV. Kinryu-zan Sensoji — “Thunder Gate”
V. Evening Snow at Kambara — “Light is the Touch”
IV. Kinryu-zan Sensoji — “Thunder Gate”II. Nihonbashi — “Bridge Market”
Julie Giroux holds degrees from Louisiana State University and Boston University. She studied composition with John Williams, Bill Conti and Jerry Goldsmith, among others. A conductor, orchestrator and composer of music for television and film, Giroux was the first woman and youngest recipient to receive an Emmy in her category. Beyond television and film scores, her composition catalog includes works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, soloists and concert band.
The inspiration for her 4th Symphony was born through the gift of six bookmarks that Giroux received from longtime friends Ray and Molly Cramer.
“Each paper bookmark had beautiful color sketches of scenes or places by famous Japanese artists. They gave them to me during a lunch outing we took together while at a convention. I did not eat much of my lunch because I could not stop looking at the bookmarks. My imagination was whirling with each scene painted on each bookmark. I knew right then and there that those 6 little bookmarks would be the subject of my next symphony.”
The artwork featured on the set of six bookmarks is that of two famous 19th century Japanese artists: Katsushika Hokusai’s (1760–1849) “36 Views of Mt. Fuji” and Utagawa Hiroshige’s (1797–1858) “53 Stations of the Tokaido.” Photos of the artwork and a brief description of each musical depiction are available at Symphony No. IV "Bookmarks from Japan."
ROSTER
Musicians are listed alphabetically by section.
PICCOLO
Sunny Jiang
FLUTE
Sunny Jiang
Ray Johnson +§
Danica Lipp ∆
Kayla Reid
Grace Reven
Coral Varian
OBOE
Kayla Olson ∆+
Laura Pitner
Adil Zafar
ENGLISH HORN
Adil Zafar
BASSOON
Aydan Bennett
Bobby Schwartz ∆+
Lucas Swiderski
E-flat CLARINET
Jacob Behrend
CLARINET
Jacob Behrend
Samantha Buckley
Joseph DeCillis ∆+§
Zachary Grant
Bella Haines
Favius Pena-Amaya §
Ryan Rennie
Jessica Sullivan
BASS CLARINET
Meghan Jensen ∆
ALTO SAXOPHONE
Colin Fogerty ∆
Zach Langbein +
TENOR SAXOPHONE
Brennan Colvard
BARITONE SAXOPHONE
Chris White
TRUMPET
Benjamin Dickson
Zach Heffner ∆
John Heino
Elisabeth Lewis
Gavin Newton +
Alessandro Nocera
Abigail Zunic
HORN
Theresa Deevers
Andrew Himelstein
Shawnta Hunter +
Katherine Indyk
Nora Lemmon ∆
Crosbee Lisser
Mirai Nawa
TROMBONE
Anthony Frankowski
Nik Henderson ∆+
Owen Kovach §
Ashleigh Mastilak
Jordan Updegrove
BASS TROMBONE
Eric Oxsalida
Sophia Rowland
EUPHONIUM
Jacob Carlson +
Ayden Casa
Andrew Eynon ∆
TUBA
Jared Brandt ∆+
Ryan Schoeff
Matthew Sliwinski
PERCUSSION
Philip Betts
Logan Gardiner
Cierra Miller *
Mary Paydock
Rohan Rindani
Erin Rybinski ∆+
Kyle Turner
HARP
Jillian Davis
DOUBLE BASS
Jimmy Perera
PIANO
Casey L. Cook *
∆ principal player
+ section leader
§ board member
* assisting musician
Join us…
School of Music performances are free, unless indicated otherwise. Many performances held in Weigel Auditorium are livestreamed for later viewing.
Would you like to receive reminders about upcoming events in the School of Music? Subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter, OVATION.
Visit music.osu.edu/events for upcoming performances, lectures and more.
Visit music.osu.edu/outreach for opportunities for middle/high school musicians and educators.