Symphonic Band at Gahanna Lincoln HS

Thursday, April 4, 2019

7:30 p.m.

Gahanna Lincoln High School Auditorium

GAHANNA LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL GOLD BAND
Rob Cebriak, conductor

PROGRAM

The Trombone King (1945)

Karl L. King (1891–1971)
arr. Paynter

Born in Paintersville, OH, Karl King would come to be known as one of the most prolific and popular figures in band history. His compositional catalog includes 185 marches, 22 overtures, 12 galops, 29 waltzes, and works in many other styles. He spent the last 50 years of his life in Fort Dodge, Iowa, where the “Karl L. King Municipal Band” continues to perform concerts for the public.

Of Sailors and Whales (1990)

W. Francis McBeth (1933–2012)

1. Ishmael
2. Queequeg

Francis McBeth was raised in Texas and began studying trumpet in the second grade. As a high school student he lettered in football and track and was in the band and choir programs. He taught at Ouachita University in Arkansas from 1957 until 1996 and was well-regarded for his pedagogical ideas and award-winning compositions. Some of his most notable works for band include Chant and Jubilo (1961), Masque (1967), The Seventh Seal (1972), Kaddish (1975), Canto (1977), They Hung Their Harps in the Willows (1988), and Through Countless Halls of Air (1993).

Of Sailors and Whales is a five-movement work based on scenes from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. The Gold Band will be performing the first two of these movements. McBeth invites the audience to reflect on the following quotes, loosely adapted from the novel, for each of the movements:

1. Ishmael

“Call me Ishmael. I go to sea as a simple sailor, right before the mast, plumb down into the forecastle, aloft there to the royal masthead. I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas and land on barbarous coasts. For these reasons, the whaling voyage was welcome; the great floodgates of the wonder-world swung open. There floated in my inmost soul endless processions of the whale, and one grand, hooded phantom — like a snow hill in the sky.”

At the top of the parts and score of the first movement, McBeth includes the quote, “I go to sea as a simple sailor.”  As a wonderful pun, the first 26 measures of the piece are in C (sea) Major!

2. Queequeg

“Queequeg’s father was a High Chief, a King; his uncle, a High Priest. There was excellent blood in his veins — royal stuff. It was quite plain that he must be some abominable savage, but Queequeg was a creature in the transitory state — neither caterpillar nor butterfly. Savage though he was, and hideously marred about the face, his countenance yet had something in it; through all his unearthly tattooings, and in his large, deep eyes, fiery black and bold, there seemed tokens of a spirit that would dare a thousand devils.”

McKinley’s Own (1923)

Karl L. King (1891–1971)
ed. Green, arr. Jones and Levesque

Among the nearly three hundred band compositions by Ohioan Karl L. King is the march "McKinley’s Own." The title refers to Canton’s Grand Army of the Republic Band, which King served as conductor in 1919. Published in 1923 by Fillmore in Cincinnati, the march was dedicated by King to his predecessor Emil Reinkendorf and the band, which had performed at gubernatorial and presidential campaign appearances by Canton native William McKinley in the 1890s. This performance marks the centennial of King’s directorship of the Grand Army Band.

— Note by Alan Green

Symphony No. 1

Timothy Mahr (b. 1956)
Commissioning Consortium Premiere

1.  E Pluribus Unum
     —“out of many, one”

2.  “… to give up every favorite pursuit and lay their shoulder to the work of the day.”
     — Thomas Jefferson

3.  “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”
     — Philippians 1:3, King James Version

4.  “only in the darkness can you see the stars.”
     — Martin Luther King, Jr.

A professor of music at St. Olaf College, Dr. Timothy Mahr conducts the St. Olaf Band, and has taught courses in composition, music education, and conducting. His compositions have been performed worldwide, recorded, and broadcast. He received the 1991 ABA/Ostwald Award for his work The Soaring Hawk.

“My Symphony No.1, commissioned by a consortium of 54 ensembles and premiered in 2016, is comprised of four movements. The first grew from pondering the challenge our nation and world have to come together rather than grow apart; the second is an acknowledgement of the need to focus on work that truly needs to be done; the third is a reverent appreciation of the love, respect and joy to be found in others; and the last embodies hope, finding light within the darkness.

Each movement sprang from contemplating a specific phrase or quotation while searching for the music to capture these four sentiments.

I. E Pluribus Unum — “out of many, one” — Once the motto of the United States.

An introduction presents fragments of the principal musical ideas to be developed throughout the work, after which a main theme is stated. It becomes one of many as it goes through manipulations and variations. Much of the music is based on an overtone scale based on the keynote of F (an overtone scale is marked by a raised 4th and lowered 7th scale degree — F-G-A-B-C-D-E flat-F). These lead to a culminating unified statement that is strong and defiant.

II. “…to give up every favorite pursuit and lay their shoulder to the work of the day.” — Thomas Jefferson, in an 1803 letter to John Page, former classmate and governor of Virginia, describing the efforts made by the revolutionists who formed our democracy

Solos for flute and clarinet languish in a peaceful melancholy during the opening — the introspective, calm joy of a favorite pursuit. A pressing moment of realization inspires action and an energetic scherzo that derives its melodies and harmonies from the overtone scale ensues. Murky resistance and disorientation are encountered as the path forward is pursued. This is a busy music — it is about work being done. A moment of doubt creeps in, after which the determined hard work continues. A coda pushes the ending toward an agitated climax. Our work is not yet done — much more effort is needed.

III. “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” — Paul, writing to the early Greek Christians in Philippi. Philippians 1:3 King James Version

The third movement brings the listener to a welcome place – calm and unhurried, with dissonance at bay. In this turbulent, confusing world, comfort and solace can be found within the close relationships with friends and our reflections upon shared experiences. How grateful we should be for those lovely sustaining memories. An emotional wave of joy and appreciation washes over. More memories return before the movement ends in light.

IV. “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

This is a common paraphrase of a statement King made in his famous “I’ve been to the mountaintop” speech of April 3, 1968. He said, “Only when it’s dark enough can you see the stars.”

"Lovely memories can sustain us, but we often rest uneasy under the burden of others. There is indeed a troubling darkness in this world. As Martin Luther King, Jr. reminds us, the stars, perhaps representing hope, can be perceived from within this blackened depth. A salvation — a darkness-conquering light — can arrive as bursts of energy or gentle, all-encompassing washes to once again bring inner peace.

The project was formulated and implemented by Matthew Dehnel, Director of Bands at Roseville Area High School in Roseville, Minnesota. The work was premiered on November 17, 2016 with Maestro Dehnel leading the Roseville Area High School Symphonic Band. It is dedicated to my family, who sustain me with their love and encouragement.”

Salvation is Created (1912/1957)

Pavel Tschesnokoff (1877–1944), ed. Houseknecht
 
Pavel Tschesnokoff was a renowned Russian sacred choral composer and conductor. He was educated at the Moscow Conservatory and eventually joined the faculty at the institution, founding its choral conducting program. He composed more than 500 choral works, of which nearly 400 are sacred.
 
Originally scored for as a six-voice choral composition and the fifth of his Ten Communion Hymns, Op. 25, this composition was never heard by the composer during his lifetime. It served as one of his final sacred compositions before turning to secular music as the Soviet government began to suppress Christianity. The setting is very simple - two almost identical verses that only vary in their final harmonic cadences.

 
Sounds from the Oval (2018)

Lisa Galvin (b. 1962)
 
Native Ohioan Lisa Galvin holds two degrees from The Ohio State University, and recently retired after a tremendously successful career as a public school music educator in Central Ohio. A gifted arranger and composer, Galvin is a member of the arranging staff for The Ohio State University Marching Band and has several concert band works published through C. L. Barnhouse Music.
 
Sounds from the Oval was commissioned in 2018 by the musicians of the Ohio State Symphonic Band and made possible through funding from a Student Organizations Programming Grant. The medley includes four iconic Ohio State campus songs — “Across the Field,” “I Wanna Go Back to Ohio State,” the university’s alma mater “Carmen Ohio,” and “Buckeye Battle Cry.”

ROSTERS

Gahanna Lincoln High School Gold Band

Rob Cebriak, conductor

Musicians are listed alphabetically by section.

PICCOLO
Sara Staheli

FLUTE
Ana Bretscher
Olivia Duvall
Shaelyn O’Brien *
Emily Remer
Alexis Sampson

OBOE
Max Devine
Anna Lower *

BASSOON
Matt Bartter *
Olivia Brown

CLARINET
Alli Aldis *
Lennon Anderson
Corrina Bowles
Josh Marusek
Quincy McConnell
Grace Schuler
Seth Stemen

BASS CLARINET
Mason Murphy

ALTO SAXOPHONE
Anna Aldis
Tristen Bowles
Morgan Duff *
Jacob Shupe

TENOR SAXOPHONE
Jason Butts

BARITONE SAXOPHONE
Derek Yu

TRUMPET
Jacob Bentley *
Quinn Classen
Sam Moore
Josh Salyer
Abby Slates
Nathan Squillante
Cameron Turner
Christa Zianni

HORN
Ephraim Baturin
Ashley Grubaugh
Ethan Liao
Emily Miller *

TROMBONE
Dalton Cararo
Joey Dixon
Meg Henry
Josh Orkis *
Catie Ryan, bass
Stephen Shupe
Blake Teegardin

EUPHONIUM
Anthony Carlucci *
Josie Sull

TUBA
Benjamin Brody *
Jeff Kokensparger
Nathaniel Schmidt

PERCUSSION
Nate Asamoah
Ricky Chau *
Thomas Giles
Juan Miranda
Logan Prater
David Rice
Isaiah Rowe
Ethan Strohacker

DOUBLE BASS
Bryce Schmidt

The Ohio State University Symphonic Band

Scott A. Jones, conductor

The Ohio State University Symphonic Band’s first full-length commercial recording At home…the music of Andrew Boysen, Jr. is available online at most digital download retail websites, including cdbaby.com.