Wednesday, April 16, 2025 • 7:30 p.m.
Weigel Auditorium
Columbus, OH
WIND SYMPHONY
Russel C. Mikkelson, conductor
Scott A. Jones, guest conductor
FACULTY GUEST ARTISTS
The Pendulum Duo:
Joseph Krygier and Susan Powell,
percussion soloists
Program
Rocky Point Holiday (1969)
Ron Nelson (1929–2023)
Scott A. Jones, guest conductor
Rocky Point Holiday was a commission from Frank Bencriscutto and the University of Minnesota band for a tour of Russia. It was composed between 1968 and 1969. Bencriscutto had heard Nelson's orchestral work Savannah River Holiday and decided he wanted something virtuosic to take with him on the Russian tour. When asked about the limitations of the band, Bencriscutto told him there were none. "I'm going to write a tremendously difficult piece," Nelson warned him. "That's fine," replied Bencriscutto, and thus Rocky Point Holiday was born. Nelson says, "This was a pivotal moment in my notion of wind ensemble scoring, in which I focused on orchestrating in an extremely transparent way."
— Note by Nikk Pilato
Canopy Dwellers (2025)
Joseph Krygier (b. 1971)
Joseph Krygier and Susan Powell, percussion
World Premiere
Written for the Pendulum Percussion Duo and The Ohio State University Wind Symphony on the occasion of their Japan Tour, May 2025
Dedicated to the memory of John Wyre
The forest canopy, a vital and diverse ecosystem, inspires Canopy Dwellers. Written for the Pendulum Percussion Duo and the Ohio State Wind Symphony on their first tour to Japan, it blends contrasting instruments into a unified soundscape. Vibraphone and Thai gongs create an oscillating shimmer, while marimba and Swiss almglocken merge into a rich, evocative texture.
My first exposure to blending Western and non-Western musical instruments and styles came through the percussion quintet Nexus. While undergraduates at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, Susan and I were fortunate to befriend the members of this renowned chamber group. One particular member took us under his wing — John Wyre, to whom this work is dedicated. His deep appreciation, understanding and respect for sound and world music cultures shaped who Susan and I are today.
Embodying the essence of our deep connection to chamber music, Canopy Dwellers is less a concerto for percussion duo and more of a journey between percussion and winds. While both percussion duo parts highlight our individual strengths and musical passions, I intended to craft a piece that feels like a natural extension of the collaborative musicians we genuinely are. Every performer shapes the evolving sound collective, inviting listeners to imagine the vibrant world above the forest floor.
— Joseph Krygier
Symphony No. 7 (2004)
David Maslanka (1943–2017)
1. Moderate
2. Slow
3. Very fast
4. Moderately slow
David Maslanka’s Symphony No. 7 was completed in 2004. It was commissioned by a consortium of university bands that included The Ohio State University Wind Symphony.
The composer writes:
I am strongly affected by American folk songs and hymn tunes, and I think of this symphony as "old songs remembered." With one exception, all the tunes are original, but they all feel very familiar. The borrowed melody is from the 371 Four-Part Chorales by J. S. Bach. Each song has a bright side and a dark side, a surface and the dream underneath. Each is a signal or call, which evokes an inner world of associations.
I. Sunday night church services from my youth. Mrs. Smith played the piano. The opening piano piece is marked "enthusiastically" in the score. A dream travels to a far place.
II. In the manner of an American folk song, with a setting that might have come out of the 19th or early 20th centuries.
III. A ferocious fast music, unrelenting, determined to get a grip on chaos. Toward the end, a fractious quote of the Bach chorale melody Du Friedenfurst Herr Jesu Christ (Prince of Peace Lord Jesus Christ).
IV. A simple song of peace and healing.
Come Sunday (2018)
Omar Thomas (b. 1984)
1. Testimony
2. Shout
Come Sunday is a two-movement tribute to the Hammond organ’s central role in Black worship services. The first movement, Testimony, follows the Hammond organ as it readies the congregation's hearts, minds, and spirits to receive The Word via a magical union of Bach, blues, jazz, and R&B. The second movement, Shout!, is a virtuosic celebration — the frenzied and joyous climactic moment(s) when The Spirit has taken over the service. The title is a direct nod to Duke Ellington, who held an inspired love for classical music and allowed it to influence his own work in a multitude of ways. To all the Black musicians in wind ensemble who were given opportunity after opportunity to celebrate everyone else’s music but our own — I see you and I am you. This one’s for the culture!
— Note by the composer
The Pendulum Duo
The Pendulum Duo (Joseph Krygier and Susan Powell) was founded when two like-minded individuals met at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. While first-year students, Krygier and Powell quickly discovered their shared appreciation for music styles that went beyond Western Classical traditions. The worlds of jazz, contemporary, and global music enticed and propelled them to explore free improvisation, and from there, the Pendulum Duo was formed. From the beginning, they have been interested in immersing themselves in new and evocative sound worlds, with much of their recent creative output centering on pieces the duo has composed for themselves. Pendulum has presented numerous concerts at festivals, chamber music series and university campuses in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America and Europe, combining their versatility as both performers and clinicians. Their upcoming schedule includes a June appearance at the IX International Percussion Ensemble Festival in Costa Rica. At Ohio State, Krygier serves as Associated Faculty and Powell as Professor and Director of Percussion Studies. Pendulum’s desire to make music with and compose for additional percussionists — and collaborate with like-minded artists — blossomed and ultimately led to the creation of their quintet Sympatico Percussion Group.
Would you like to support the Wind Symphony's trip to Japan?
Give to the Concert Band Discretionary Fund. Every gift, no matter the amount, makes a difference and will go directly toward covering expenses.
Wind Symphony Personnel
Piccolo
Braden Stewart
Katie Sharp
Sofia Geelhood
Flute
Katie Sharp *
Jonathan Mitchell
Braden Stewart
Sofia Geelhood
Lance Korte
Shreeya Yampati
Allie Gerckens
Oboe
Lauren Kowal *
Sophie Cracieun
Laura Pitner
English Horn
Laura Pitner
Bassoon
Brandon Golpe *
Isaiah Heyman
Bitania Petros
Contrabassoon
Isaiah Heyman
E-flat Clarinet
Bernadette John
Clarinet
Kaleigh McGee *
Xinchen Du
Bernadette John
Samuel Langer
Joseph Zishka
Asa Mattson
Christopher Larsen Rivera
Favius Pena-Amaya
Noah Reilly
Bass Clarinet
Rachel Weinstein *
Mason Williams
Alto Saxophone
Lucinda Dunne *
Cooper Greenlees
Tenor Saxophone
Sean Bauman
Baritone Saxophone
Colin Fogerty
Horn
Annie Moon *
Cheng Peng
Olivia Boden
Andrew Waite
Paul Bissler
Nora Lemmon
Trumpet
Luke Bingham *
Nick Schnitzspahn
Zach Heffner
Bobby Petty
Will Fisher
Abbey Zunic
Jude Abuzeide
Trombone
Tristan Miller *
Charlotte Stefani
Gavin Abrams
Alex Myers
Nik Henderson
Bass Trombone
Shawn Davern
Euphonium
Davis Aho *
Ayden Casa
Andrew Eynon
Tuba
Justin White *
Will Roesch
Zane Tekaucic
Percussion
Brody Fogle
Matt Hanson
Noah Landrum
Nathan Smith
Sam Sherer *
Haydn Veith
Sarah Baker
Uiliami Fihaki
Piano/Celeste
CJ Smyth-Small
Double Bass
Carson Wolf
* principal
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