Sunday, April 24, 2022
8 p.m.
The Ohio State University School of Music
Mershon Auditorium
Russel C. Mikkelson, conductor
Daniel Farr, guest conductor
Dustin Ferguson, guest conductor
COMPOSER IN RESIDENCE
Cooper Wood
PROGRAM
Let Freedom Ring (2014)
Ryan Nowlin (b. 1978)
Before The Star-Spangled Banner officially became the National Anthem in 1931, there were many popular hymns that served as de facto anthems for the United States, including My Country ‘tis of Thee. The lyrics of this patriotic American song were written by Samuel F. Smith and set to the melody of God Save the Queen, the anthem of the United Kingdom. Let Freedom Ring, an arrangement of My Country ‘tis of Thee, was penned as part of an audition for U.S. Marine Band staff arranger by SSgt. Ryan Nowlin and was performed by the Marine Band on January 21, 2013, at the second inaugural of President Barack Obama.
Drawing his inspiration for this piece directly from Smith’s patriotic words, Nowlin says his “simplistic treatment of the theme is to portray a deep reverence.” Shining through the texture on numerous occasions, great emphasis is placed on the lyrics, “land where my fathers died,” a strong reminder that America would not be what it is were it not for the sacrifices of those who have gone before us.
— Program note by the United States Marine Band
Hammersmith, Op. 52 (1930)
Gustav Holst (1874–1934)
Dustin Ferguson, guest conductor
Gustav Holst composed Hammersmith in 1930 on a commission by the BBC Military Band, nearly 20 years after the completion of his well-known First and Second Suites for Military Band. Holst considered Hammersmith his first piece written for professional musicians. Due to the unenthusiastic reception of the work, the military band arrangement did not premier until April 17, 1932, during the third annual American Bandmasters Association convention at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC by the United States Marine Band.
The score indicates a dedication, “To the Author of the Water Gypsies,” referencing author Alan Herbert’s 1930 novel, which depicts a working-class girl from the Hammersmith district in west London who shares her life with two different men: one an illiterate barge worker, the other an artist. This duality appealed to Holst deeply and is present throughout Hammersmith. This work reflects Holst’s time living in the London borough Hammersmith, located on the Thames River. Holst’s affinity for duality, represented by his environment, can be heard in his composition. The opening Prelude is slow and unconcerned, like the flowing Thames River, and presents two keys at once: F minor and E major. The Scherzo represents the chaotic and crass townsfolk in the town square, boisterous and disruptive. Holst returns to the mood of the Prelude once again, revealing the endlessly flowing river.
— Program note by Dustin Ferguson
New England Triptych (1956–57)
William Schuman (1910–1992)
1. Be Glad, Then, America
2. When Jesus Wept
3. Chester
Daniel Farr, guest conductor
William Schuman was a native of New York, where he attended public schools and formed a jazz ensemble in high school. He completed his studies at Malkin Conservatory in New York, Teachers College of Columbia University, and at the Mozarteum Academy in Salzburg, Austria. He became music instructor at Sara Lawrence College and later was appointed president of the Juilliard School of Music. His compositions include ten symphonies, numerous orchestral and chamber pieces, band works, cantatas, an opera, ballet music, piano pieces, and music for films. He was the first person to win the Pulitzer Prize in composition for his 1943 work Secular Cantata No. 2. Although he considered himself a composer first, Schuman championed American music, composers and performers as an educator and administrator.
Schuman had the following to say about composer William Billings (1746–1800):
William Billings is a major figure in the history of American music. The works of this dynamic composer capture the spirit of sinewy ruggedness, deep religiosity, and patriotic fervor that we associate with the Revolutionary period. Despite the undeniable crudities and technical shortcomings of his music, its appeal even today, is forceful and moving. I am not alone among American composers who feel an identity with Billings, and it is this sense of identity that accounts for my use of his music as a point of departure. These pieces do not constitute a “fantasy” on themes of Billings, nor “variations” on his themes, but rather a fusion of styles and musical language.
New England Triptych is William Schuman's setting of three anthems written by the important New England composer William Billings. The Triptych comprises three movements: Be Glad Then, America; When Jesus Wept; and Chester. Each was freely transcribed for concert band by Schuman from his previous work, New England Triptych — Three Pieces for Orchestra after William Billings. The Billings text informs much of the style and musical characteristics of each movement.
— Program note by Daniel Farr
— INTERMISSION —
Heroes, Lost and Fallen (1991)
David Gillingham (b. 1947)
The following poem was written by the composer, David Gillingham:
Banish our thoughts
From this grueling war.
Let Suffering and Death
Rule no more.
Resolve this conflict
In hearts so sullen
And bring eternal peace
To the heroes, lost and fallen.
Gillingham used this poem as his inspiration for his symphonic tone poem, Heroes, Lost and Fallen which is a musical representation of the Vietnam War. The opening section presents sustained ominous chords, representative of the uncertainty and unsettling feeling which precedes any war. We progress through a beautiful, chorale-like section during which Gillingham truncates melodies from Taps and The Star-Spangled Banner. The rest of the work oscillates between various triumphant and evil-sounding themes, representing the eternal struggle between Good and Evil. While the “good” theme eventually triumphs, we are left with a disconcerting unison which crescendos into calamitous drumming, reminding us that the threat of war is ever-present.
— Program note by Daniel Farr
Oppy’s Last Days (2022)
Cooper Wood (b. 1999)
World Premiere Performance
On July 7, 2003, NASA launched two rovers into space with the intention of exploring the surface of Mars. These rovers, Spirit (MER-A) and Opportunity (MER-B) landed on opposite sides of the planet, with a planned operational expectancy of about three months. Spirit continued functioning until 2009 when it got stuck in a “sand trap” that prevented the recharging of its solar-powered batteries. Communication with the rover ceased on March 22, 2010. Its twin, Opportunity, nicknamed “Oppy,” continued exploring the red planet for another 9 years, until a planetary dust storm caused Oppy to go into hibernation. After failing to respond to 1000 signals, NASA declared its mission complete on February 13, 2019. Functioning for 57 times its expected lifespan and traversing over 28 miles of the martian surface, the mission is considered one of NASA’s most successful endeavors.
Oppy’s Last Days depicts the final days of the rover’s operation in three separate movements. The first movement, Rover on the Red Planet, introduces the listener to the majesty and danger of the Martian landscape. Stars swirl in celestial splendor above deep, silent abysses as Oppy rolls on all alone in the strange atmosphere of a foreign world. Movement two, Martian Storm, depicts the ever-increasing animation surrounding the rover as the planetary dust storm develops from a few gentle breezes to a sky-darkening Armageddon. This colossal and terrifying storm would be the last thing Oppy would see. The final movement derives its title from a poetic interpretation of the rover’s last message transmitted to Earth: “my battery is low and it’s getting dark.” This conclusion serves as both a solemn ode to Oppy and a celebration of its amazing achievements, which by extension, recognizes the spectacle of human progress in toto. The ensemble chants this final message before Oppy’s music from the first movement returns in a transformed and triumphant conclusion.
Oppy’s legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of all who look up at the night sky and wonder what other magnificent things exist beyond the confines of our terrestrial domain. To quote NASA’s Twitter post announcing the official conclusion of its mission:
To the robot who turned 90 days into 15 years of exploration:
You were, and are, the Opportunity of a lifetime.
Rest well, rover. Your mission is complete.
(2004–2019)
This work is dedicated to Dr. Russel C. Mikkelson and The Ohio State University Wind Symphony.
— Program note by composer Cooper Wood
Cooper Wood is a graduate student at The Ohio State University studying Composition with Dr. Vera Stanojevic, Dr. Thomas Wells, and formerly, Dr. Jan Radzynski. Prior to graduating high school, he studied Composition and Theory with Dr. Matthew Saunders at Lakeland Community College. He has had three performances of his works: Chorale, Overture For The Stars, and Parting, by the concert bands of Madison Local School District, and received a commission for a new work by the Lakeland Civic Orchestra in 2016. In addition, his piano trio, Ghost Interlude, was selected as the winner of the Cleveland Composers Guild Young Composers Contest in 2017. At the collegiate level, his work has been performed on concerts at The Ohio State University, Cedarville University, Bowling Green State University and soon UCLA. Highlights of these performances include world premieres of solo, chamber and orchestral works, four short film scores, and incidental music to a stage adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Most recently, his Sonata for Trumpet and Piano was selected to be performed on the New Works Recital at the 2022 International Trumpet Guild Conference in San Antonio, Texas. From 2014 to 2017, Cooper served as the resident youth musical director for the nationally-awarded Mercury Theater Company at Notre Dame College, and currently plays piano in various ensembles ranging from jazz to musical theater. For their 2019–2020 season, Cooper was appointed Composer-in-Residence with the Ohio State Symphony Orchestra, and formerly served as the Pit Orchestra Director for Off The Lake Productions. Mr. Wood currently serves as a graduate teaching associate for the Ohio State School of Music where he teaches a counterpoint course for undergraduates.
America, the Beautiful (1882/1963)
arr. Carmen Dragon (1914–1984)
The rich musical legacy that Carmen Dragon left the world usually includes his solid reputation as a consummate orchestrator. He is best remembered for the iconic arrangement of America, the Beautiful for both symphony orchestra and symphonic band. Samuel Ward's familiar tune enjoys a sumptuous feast of harmonic color and instrumental nuance.
— Program note by the publisher
Stars and Stripes Forever (1896/1996)
John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
adapted by Keith Brion and Loras Schissel
Sousa consistently stated that this march was divinely inspired and was born of homesickness. In his autobiography, Marching Along, he provides the details of its creation after he had received a cablegram in Italy that his manager, David Blakely, had died:
“Aboard the Teutonic, as it steamed out of the harbor on my return from Europe in 1896, came one of the most vivid incidents of my career. As I paced the deck, absorbed in thought, suddenly I began to sense the rhythmic beat of a band playing within my brain. It kept on ceaselessly, playing, playing, playing. Throughout the whole tense voyage, that imaginary band continued to unfold the same themes, echoing and reechoing the most distinct melody. I did not transfer a note of that music to paper while I was on the steamer, but when we reached the shore, I set down the measures that my brain-band had been playing for me, and not a note of it has ever changed. The composition is known the world over as The Stars and Stripes Forever and is probably my most popular march.” (By permission of John Philip Sousa, Inc., New York City)
— From Program Notes for Band
ROSTER
PICCOLO
Jiwoon Choi
Yuanzhu Chen
Meagan Gaskill
FLUTE
Yuanzhu Chen *
Jiwoon Choi
Arianna Bendit
Meagan Gaskill
Brandon Landry
Jonathan Mitchell
Maggie McCarter
OBOE
Michael Rueda *
Jerrin Wofford
ENGLISH HORN
Abby Yeakle-Held (faculty)
BASSOON
Dylan Tharp *
Dustin Gourley
Eb CLARINET
Vanessa Klassen
Kaleigh McGee
CLARINET
Vanessa Klassen *
Gabrielle Valladares
Jiaqi Liu
Kaleigh McGee
Louis Maligaya
Maddy Brickner
Lily Tropple
Peter Breckendridge
Marco Rojas
BASS CLARINET
Danny Hong
Eli Johnson
ALTO SAXOPHONE
Colin Howell *
Alexander Lowe
TENOR SAXOPHONE
Sean Bauman
BARITONE SAXOPHONE
Pi Huizhong
HORN
Brian Walsh *
Brittany White
Abbey Burger
Emily Lay
Alex Sallade
TRUMPET
Alexander Sanso *
Benjamin Guegold *
Julia Moxley
Luke Bingham
Matt Pileski
Vanessa Rivera
Connor McMullen
TROMBONE
Charlotte Stefani *
Tristan Miller
Melody Harrell
BASS TROMBONE
C. J. McGhee
EUPHONIUM
Sean O’Brien *
Gareth Whelan
TUBA
Bradley Krak *
Justin White
Cameron Reinbolt
PERCUSSION
Ben Shaheen *
Clay Schneider
Amelia DuPlain
Hannah Moore
Ben Kerger
Justin Monroe
DOUBLE BASS
Dallas Carpenter
HARP
Nathan Hay
PIANO
Anna Lavin
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