2011-02-18 Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble 11 [recital program]

              Friday, February 18, 2011
7:30 p.m.
Aycock Auditorium
Symphonic Band
&
Wind Ensemble
Kevin M. Geraldi
Conductor
Richard Floyd
Guest Conductor
John R. Locke
Conductor
Michael Haithcock
Guest Conductor
Sue Samuels
Guest Conductor
John Mackey
Guest Composer
www.facebook.com/uncgensembles
www.uncgbands.org
PROGRAM
Blink Joel Puckett
Psalm Vincent Persichetti
Sue Samuels, conductor
Come, Drink One More Cup Chen Qian
Michael Haithcock, conductor
Candide Suite Leonard Bernstein
The Best of All Possible Worlds 	 arr. Clare Grundman
Westphalia Chorale and Battle Scene
Auto-da-fé
Glitter and Be Gay
Make Our Garden Grow
intermission
The Goldman Band March Karl L King
Michael Haithcock, conductor
Baron Cimetière’s Mambo Donald Grantham
Richard Floyd, conductor
Hymn to a Blue Hour 	 	 John Mackey
Kevin M. Geraldi, conductor
John Mackey, guest composer
Symphony in B-flat 	 	 Paul Hindemith
I. Moderately fast, with vigor
II. Andantino grazioso
III. Fugue, rather broad
60th Anniversary of the Symphony
On July 1, 2010, the performing arts units at
UNCG were reorganized into a newly formed
School of Music, Theatre and Dance. By
joining these academic areas, the university
created a vibrant and thriving performing
arts community, which has enhanced
visibility through their combined resources.
From a total population of approximately 17,000 university students, the UNCG School
of Music, Theatre and Dance serves approximately 1,200 majors with a full-time faculty
and staff of over one hundred, making the UNCG School of Music, Theatre and Dance
one of the largest such schools in the South. Many performances are presented in UNCG’s
Aycock Auditorium, a classic structure that recently underwent a $19 million renovation.
UNCG has long been recognized for having one of the elite music institutions in the
United States. Fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music since
1938, the School offers the only comprehensive music program from undergraduate
through doctoral study in both performance and music education in North Carolina.
The Music Departments occupy a $26 million building that is among the finest music
facilities in the nation. A large music library with state-of-the-art technology, research,
and study facilities houses all music reference materials. Other features of the building
include two recital halls, a computer lab, a psycho-acoustics lab, electronic music studios,
a recording studio, and expanded rehearsal, classroom, studio, and practice room space.
A multi-level parking deck adjoins the music building to serve students, faculty, and
concert patrons.
The Theatre Department offers a full range of liberal arts and professional degree programs
that prepare students for a variety of career opportunities in theatre. The degrees, which
are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre, provide students with
a vital mix of coursework that combines both theory and practice and allows for the
development of skills and talents. The Theatre Department’s curriculum is matched
by an extensive co-curricular program that includes performance opportunities open
to majors and non-majors alike. The department occupies space in the Taylor, Brown,
Aycock, McIver and Curry buildings on campus.
The Dance Department offers degrees that provide professional preparation in technical
and creative skills balanced with liberal education for a variety of career outcomes. The
Dance Department is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of
Schools of Dance. The department occupies space in the Health and Human Performance
building and presents performances in the UNCG Dance Theatre and Aycock Auditorium.
Living in the artistically thriving Greensboro—Winston Salem—High Point “Triad” area,
students enjoy regular opportunities to attend and perform many local and regional arts
organizations. In addition, UNCG students interact first-hand with some of the world’s
major artists who frequently schedule performances, master classes, open rehearsals,
and informal discussions at UNCG.
Costs of attending public universities in North Carolina, both for in-state and out-of-state
students, represent a truly exceptional value in American higher education. This fact,
coupled with the eminent reputation enjoyed by the UNCG School of Music, Theatre and
Dance, renders an education at UNCG one of the “best buys” on the college scene today.
For further information regarding the UNCG School of Music, Theatre and Dance,
please write:
Dr. John J. Deal, Dean
UNCG School of Music, Theatre and Dance
P.O. Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
(336) 334-5789
On the Web: http://performingarts.uncg.edu
PROGRAM NOTES
Joel Puck ett is a composer who is dedicated to the belief that music can bring
consolation, hope, and joy to all who need it. The Washington Post has hailed him as
both "visionary" and "gifted" and the head critic for the Baltimore Sun, Tim Smith,
hailed his piece, This Mourning, as "being of comparable expressive weight" to John
Adams' Pulitzer Prize winning work, On the Transmigration of Souls.
Born on the south side of Atlanta, Joel is the son of a Dixie land jazz musician and
a classical tubist. He spent his childhood improvising with his father and learning
the fundamentals of both concert and popular music. He has held fellowships at
the Aspen Music Festival and at the University of Michigan where Joel received a
D.M.A. in composition studying with Pulitzer-Prize Winner, William Bolcom; Michael
Daugherty; and MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” recipient, Bright Sheng. This
fall Joel joined the full time faculty of Peabody Conservatory after previously having
served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at his alma mater, Shenandoah Conservatory.
Regarding Blink, Puckett writes:
Have you ever had a feeling that something good was about to happen? Perhaps
just an inkling? Have you ever met someone and known instantly that you
were going to become thick as thieves?
In the fall of 2005, I read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink. Blink is a book about
rapid cognition. The following is from Gladwell’s website:
When you meet someone for the first time, or walk into a house you are
thinking of buying, or read the first few sentences of a book, your mind
takes about two seconds to jump to a series of conclusions. Well, Blink is a
book about those two seconds, because I think those instant conclusions
that we reach are really powerful and really important and, occasionally,
really good.
I found this concept inspiring and led to the writing of my work for wind band
by the same name. My work features quick changes of both texture and tempo
(blink!) while systematically exploring a single motive. The boisterous opening
of the piece rigorously works this motive (in both transparent and opaque
ways) and climaxes in giving way to a surprisingly quiet and ethereal ending.
Vincent Persich etti (1915-1987) was one of America’s most respected 20th
century composers. His contributions enriched the entire music literature; his
influence as a conductor, teacher, scholar, and keyboard virtuoso is universally
acknowledged. In addition to well-known works for a variety of other media,
Persichetti composed 16 major concert works for band.
By the age of 11, Persichetti was performing professionally as an accompanist, radio
staff pianist, and church organist. He composed the five-movement Serenade No.
1 for Ten Winds at 14, and at 16 he began a 20-year tenure as organist at the Arch
Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. He earned degrees at Combs College
of Music, the Curtis Institute, and the Philadelphia Conservatory. Persichetti
conducted the orchestra and taught theory and composition at Combs College (1937),
headed the composition department at the Philadelphia Conservatory (1941-1961),
and also taught at the Juilliard School of Music as composition teacher (1947) and
served as chairman (from 1963). In 1952 he became editorial assistant and, later,
director of publications of the Elkan-Vogel Co. In 1954 he published a biography of
UNCG MUSIC FACULTY
Aaron Allen, musicology
Dennis AsKew, tuba/euphonium
Edward Bach, trumpet
Marjorie Bagley, violin
Ashley Barret, oboe
Jacquelyn Bartlett, harp
Robert Bracey, voice
Craig Brown, double bass
Kelly Burke, clarinet
Michael Burns, bassoon
Guy Capuzzo, theory
Revell Carr, ethnomusicology
Gregory Carroll, theory/music history
Dianna Carter, undergraduate advising
Joseph DiPiazza, piano
Gavin Douglas, ethnomusicology
James Douglass, piano
Chad Eby, jazz studies
Deborah Egekvist, flute
Mark Engebretson, composition
Alexander Ezerman, cello
Kevin Geraldi, instrumental conducting
Patricia Gray, biomusic
Robert Gutter, instrumental conducting
Steve Haines, jazz studies
Andrew Harley, piano
Donald Hartmann, voice
Donald Hodges, music research institute
David Holley, opera theatre
Jack Jarrett, opera theatre and conducting
Elizabeth Keathley, music history
Kristopher Keeton, percussion
Randy Kohlenberg, trombone
Andre Lash, organ
Carla LeFevre, voice
John R. Locke, instrumental conducting
Fabian Lopez, violin
Rebecca MacLeod, music education
Mark Mazzatenta, guitar
Constance McKoy, music education
David Nelson, theory
Brett Nolker, music education
Clara O’Brien, voice
Carole Ott, choral conducting
Abigail Pack, horn
Irna Priore, theory
Scott Rawls, viola
Adam Ricci, theory
Kailan Rubinoff, musicology
Alejandro Rutty, composition
John Salmon, piano
Patricia Sink, music education
Dmitri Sitkovetsky, visiting artist,
violin, and conducting
Paul Stewart, piano
Steven Stusek, saxophone
Anthony Taylor, clarinet
Thomas Taylor, jazz studies
David Teachout, music education
Joan Titus, musicology
Levone Tobin-Scott, voice
Nancy Walker, voice
Jennifer Stewart Walter, music educ.
Robert Wells, voice
J. Kent Williams, theory
Andrew Willis, piano, fortepiano,
and harpsichord
Welborn Young, choral conducting
Inara Zandmane, staff accompanist
John J. Deal, Dean
William P. Carroll, Associate Dean
Emergency E xit I nformation & Concert E tiquette
Patrons are encouraged to take note of exits located on all levels of the
auditorium. In an emergency, please use the nearest exit, which may be
behind you or different from the one which you entered.
Please turn off cellular phones, pagers, and alarm watches. As a courtesy to
other audience members and to the performers, please wait for a break in the
performance to enter or exit the hall.
Program Notes, continued
his colleague William Schuman. Persichetti was the recipient of many prestigious
fellowships and honors.
Psalm for Band is a piece constructed from a single germinating harmonic idea. There
are three distinct sections: a sustained chordal mood, a forward-moving chorale,
and a Paean culmination of the materials. Extensive use is made of separate choirs
of instruments supported by thematic rhythms in the tenor and bass drums.
Chen Qian, born in Guiyang, China, began violin lesons with his father at the
age of three and started playing piano at age four. At seventeen, he worked as
pianist for the City Song and Dance Ensemble of Guiyang. In 1981, he was recruited
by the composition department of Sichuan Conservatory of Music and became
a student of Professor Huwei Huang. Currently, he is resident composer for the
Military Band of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. His range of works cover
symphonic music, chamber music, music for television and film. He is recognized
for the advancement of wind instrument composition, developing new techniques
to make wind instruments more expressive. His works have been performed in
the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Korea,
and Hong Kong. In 1997, he was honored with a concert of all wind music at the
Beijing Concert Hall, which was the first of its kind in China. He believes that new
concepts and new techniques will lead to the creation of a style that will bring
together modern music and the ancient civilization.
Regarding Come, Drink One More Cup:
Inspired by the famous poem by the well-known Tang poet and musician, Wang-
Wei, this song has many different versions. The main theme is from "Parting at the
Yang-guan Gate" by Zhang-He of the Qin Dynasty (1867). Wang-Wei wrote the poem
when he said goodbye to his friend to serve in the army at Weicheng, a small town
in Yangguan neighboring the border. The poem expresses sadness, loneliness, and
deep sorrow because they may never see each other again.
The morning rain at Weicheng dampens the light dust,
All the houses and willows look fresh after the rain.
Come, drink one more cup of wine before you leave
After you go west to Yangguan, there will be no more friends.
Leonard Bernstein (1918–1991) was certainly one of America’s foremost
musical geniuses. He achieved instant conducting fame when, at the age of twenty-five,
with sixteen hours notice and without adequate rehearsal, he conducted a Sunday
afternoon broadcast of the New York Philharmonic Symphony after the scheduled
guest conductor, Bruno Walter, became suddenly ill. Equally adept in the various
activities of musical performance, composition, and analysis, he perhaps did more
than anyone else to make the listening of music exciting and knowledgeable to the
layman. Bernstein attended the Boston Latin School and Harvard University where
he studied composition with Edward Burlinghame Hill, A. Tillman Merritt, and
Walter Piston. Later he studied orchestration with Randall Thompson, conducting
with Fritz Reiner and Serge Koussevitsky, and piano with Isabella Vengerova. His
written works include three symphonies; three ballets; an opera; a film score; works
for violin, chorus, and six singers, with orchestra; four Broadway musicals; and
several smaller works for solo and chamber music groups.
The Candide Suite for concert band drawns on five tunes from the musical Candide,
which premiered on Broadway in 1956. The satiric novella Candide by Voltaire was the
basis for a political and musical satire with a libretto by Lillian Hellman and music
WIND ENSEMBLE
Flute & Piccolo
t Jared Edmiston, Oakland Mills, PA
Jessica McCaskill, Raleigh
Erin Moscony, York, PA
Janet Phillips, Danville, VA
Gwen Young, Winston-Salem
Oboe & E nglish Horn
t Heidi Reed, Mapleton, UT
Matthew Covington, King
Kandace Stephenson, Monroe
Bassoon & ContraBassoon
t Erica Yeager, Palm City, FL
Cory Jones, Midway
Trevor Bumgarner, Hickory
E-flat S oprano Clarinet
t Cat Keen Hock, Four Oaks
B-flat Clarinet
t Jacey Kepich, Bath, NY
Anna Darnell, Macon, GA
Lauren Halsey, Thomasville
Liam Scott, Durham
Jacob Hollifield, Morganton
Darla Cheung, Jacksonville
Bass & Contra Clarinet
Sam Bailey, Canton, NY
John Walker, Terre Haute, IN
Alto S axophone
t Amanda Heim, Pavilion, NY
Jared Newlen, Renovo, PA
Tenor S axophone
Ben Crouch, Charlotte
Baritone S axophone
Bryan Bengel, Raleigh
Horn
t Craig Giordano, Tampa, FL
Ian Mayton, Durham
Julie Fox, Archdale
Justin Davis, Macomb, IL
David Miller, Greensboro
Trumpet
t Allyson Keyser, Virginia Beach, VA
Clay Perry, Seagrove
Carolina Perez, Cary
Elizabeth Shank, Troy
Jonathan Wiseman, Concord
Phillip Knorr, Raleigh
Trombone
t Aaron Wilson, Olympia, WA
Robert Parker, High Point
Bass T rombone
Laurence Evans, Foxboro, MA
Euphonium
t Joshua Jones, Concord
Philip Wingfield, Roanoke Rapids
Tuba
t Greg Davis, Mooresville
Wes Richardson, Wallburg
Piano
Amy Blackwood, High Point
Double Bass
Keith Miller, St. Louis, MO
Percussion
t David Mitchell, Richlands, VA
Jonathon Moore, Franklinton
Keyan Peterson, Greensboro
Alex Kluttz, Mt. Pleasant
Carrie Snyder, Lexington
Chris Gelb, Sanford
Wind E nsemble Librarian
Aaron Wilson, Olympia, WA
t Principal or Co-Principal
Program Notes, continued
by Leonard Bernstein. Candide as a musical has since had many reincarnations, but
the sections of this Suite utilize those numbers which have remained unchanged
from the original Broadway production.
The Best of All Possible Worlds
Doctor Pangloss, Voltaire's satirical portrait of the philosopher Gottfried von
Leibnitz, tutors his Westphalian pupils (Candide and Cunegonde among them)
in the finer points of optimism, refined by a classical education. The music
alternately enjoins the pupil's responses with Pangloss' pedantic free-associative
explanations that the ills of the world are somehow all for the best. The refrain
is, of course, that this is the best of all possible worlds.
Westphalia Chorale and Battle Scene
The devout Westphalians sing a chorale praising the integrity of their homeland,
after which they are massacred by the invading Bulgarian army. The Battle Scene
adroitly juxtaposes major and minor modes of material from the Overture.
Auto-da-fé
Candide and Doctor Pangloss find themselves in Lisbon, where, being free thingers
(and optimists), they are prosecuted as heretics by the Spanish Inquisition. The
handing of heretics was meant to prevent earthquakes, and the joyous music
depicts the happy crowd celebrating their deliverance. However, the earthquake
happens anyway, and Candide and Doctor Pangloss escape.
Glitter and Be Gay
Cunegonde, Candide's true love, has become the reigning madam in Paris, France.
In a parody of "Jewel Songs," (such as that in Gounod's Faust), she sings of how
she endeavors to maintain a brilliant, carefree exterior, while she may (or may
not) be tortured inwardly by self-doubt.
Make Our Garden Grow
At the conclusion of the show, and of Voltaire's novella, Candide realizes that the
only purpose of living is to cultivate the earth, and to create a garden. He enjoins
the others to assist him in bringing things to life, and even Cunegonde proposes
to bake a loaf of daily bread. Optimism is transformed into practical necessity,
and the entire cast of characters join in a hymn full of hope.
Karl L. King (1891-1971) began his long career in music at the age of 11 when
he bought a cornet with money earned by selling newspapers. He was born in
Paintersville, Ohio in 1891, but his family moved to Canton, Ohio, in 1902, and it
was there that he began lessons on the cornet. He soon exchanged that instrument
for a euphonium, which eh played first in the Canton “Marine Band” (made up
of boys his own age) and later in the local Thayer Military Band. His only formal
music instruction consisted of four piano lessons and one harmony lesson from a
musical show director, William Bradford; his academic education ended with the
eighth grade.
King composed nearly 300 works, including serenades, overtures, rags,
intermezzos, waltzes, and galops, as well as his 188 famous marches. Although
many of King’s later marches were composed for purposes not associated with
circus life, they retained the excitement and contrast found in his musi for the big
top. His marches are usually performed at a tempo between 130 and 140 beats
per minute, and his galops much faster - approximately “one-beat-to-the-page!”
He also wrote marches for young school musicians which sound as complete and
exciting as those composed for circus bands. As a former euphonium player, King
made sure that the low brass players shared the best melodies. King biographer
Thomas J. Hatton writes that “The most important element in any Karl King
SYMPHONIC BAND
Flute
Lauren Correll, piccolo
Suzanne Maier
Jennifer Neese
Lindsey Ogilvy
Savannah Racut, piccolo
Oboe
David Covert
Casey Davis, English horn
Kandace Stephenson, English horn
Bassoon
Trevor Bumgarner
Chris Evernham
Lamar Gaddy
Carolyn Golrick
Clarinet
Darla Cheung, E-flat
Kirby Hawkins, bass
Lucas Gianini
Marion Josey
Laura Martin, bass
Vaughn Perveiler
Gray Pugh
Allison Shew
Kelly Vittum
John Walker
Lauren White
Saxophone
Alanna Hawley, alto
Peter Salvucci, alto
Andrew Lovett, tenor
Brandon Noftle, baritone
Horn
Jessica Alvarez
Caitlin Brown
Kevin Crumley
Jessica McNair
Trumpet
Josh Peek
Tyler Pfledderer
Jake Phillips
Lance Sigmon
Alex Smingler
Tyler Spaulding
Trombone
Adam Collis
Emma Dhesi
Jonathaan Partin
Kendra White
William Young
Chris LaVignette, bass
Euphonium
Nash Dunn
Page Newsome
Tuba
Lars Holmberg
Brock Landreth
Andrew Young
Double Bass
Adriel Lyles
Piano
Amy Blackwood
Percussion
Chris Dial
Kevin Estes
Tyler Farrell
Kristen Freeman
Victoria Ladd
Carrie Snyder
Librarians/Managers
Emma Dhesi
Allison Shew
ALL SECTIONS LISTED
ALPHABETICALLY
Program Notes, continued
composition ... is melody. King had both an innate gift for and an abiding faith in
melody... His was not the music of the classroom but of the big top, the high school
football game, and the band concert in the park... his marches form an important
part of the heritage of the American concert band.”
The Goldman Band March, dedicated to Edwin Franko Goldman and his famous
band, was composed by King in 1930. Edwin Franko Goldman was born in
Louisville, Kentucky, in 1878, but his father died when Edwin was nine, and he
and his brother and their mother (a piano teacher) moved to New York City. He
received a scholarship to the National Conservatory of Music when he was 13, and
at the age of 17 he was playing trumpet with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
He founded the New York Military Band - later known as The Goldman Band in
1920, when most professional bands were dying out, and his band was still going
strong when he died in 1956. Like King, Goldman was a prolific writer of marches.
He also encouraged and commissioned other composers to write works for band
and helped raise performance standards during many visits to schools.
Donald Grantham (b. 1947) is the recipient of numerous awards and
prizes in composition, including the Prix Lili Boulanger, the Nissim/ASCAP
Orchestral Composition Prize, First Prize in the Concordia Chamber Symphony’s
Awards to American Composers, a Guggenheim Fellowship, three grants from
the National Endowment for the Arts, three First Prizes in the NBA/William
Revelli Competition, two First Prizes in the ABA/Ostwald Competition, and First
Prize in the National Opera Association’s Biennial Composition Competition. His
music has been praised for its “elegance, sensitivity, lucidity of thought, clarity of
expression and fine lyricism” in a Citation awarded by the American Academy
and Institute of Arts and Letters. In recent years his works have been performed
by the orchestras of Cleveland, Dallas, Atlanta and the American Composers
Orchestra among many others, and he has fulfilled commissions in media from
solo instruments to opera. The composer resides in Austin, Texas and is Professor
of Composition at the University of Texas at Austin. With Kent Kennan, he is
coauthor of The Technique of Orchestration.
Regarding Baron Cimetière’s Mambo, Grantham writes:
In Voodoo lore, Baron Cimetière is the loa (spirit) who is the keeper and
guardian of cemeteries. Depictions of him are, needless to say, quite chilling.
He is usually pictured in dark tailcoat and tall dark hat – like an undertaker –
wearing dark glasses with one lens missing. He carries a cane, smokes cigars,
and is a notorious mocker and trickster. (The Haitian dictator ‘Papa Doc’
Duvalier is said to have adopted his sartorial style in order to intimidate any
opponents who were practitioners of Voodoo). I first came across Baron
Cimetière in Russell Bank’s fascinating novel Continental Drift, which deals
with the collision between American and Haitian culture during the “boat
people” episodes of the late 1970s and early ‘80s. Voodoo is a strong element
of that novel, and when my mambo began to take on a dark, mordant, sinister
quality, I decided to link it to the Baron.
JOHN MACKEY's biography may be found on Pg. 12.
The blue hour is an oft-poeticized moment of the day - a lingering twilight that halos
the sky after sundown but before complete darkness sets in. It is a time of day known
for its romantic, spiritual, and ethereal connotations, and this magical moment has
frequently inspired artists to attempt to capture its remarkable essence. This is the
same essence that inhabits the sonic world of John Mackey’s Hymn to a Blue Hour.
The UNC Greensboro Wind Ensemble is a highly select concert band of fifty
performers majoring in music at the UNCG School of Music. Performers range
from freshmen through masters and doctoral candidates in music performance
and music education. Membership in the organization is highly competitive. These
students have achieved numerous individual honors including solo competition
awards on regional and national levels, music scholarships, undergraduate teaching
fellowships, graduate assistantships and fellowships, teaching positions in music at
all levels including college, membership in all-state bands, as well as professional
performing credentials in orchestras, top military bands and professional quintets.
Performers in the current UNCG Wind Ensemble are drawn from twelve states.
The UNCG Wind Ensemble has enjoyed a distinguished record of performance over
the past decade. In January 1992, the UNCG Wind Ensemble performed “A Tribute
to John Philip Sousa” to a capacity crowd of 2,700 at the Concert Hall of the John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Twice, the Wind
Ensemble earned critical acclaim from The Washington Post newspaper following
concerts in the nation's capital. The Wind Ensemble has performed throughout the
eastern United States in recent years including the first-ever performance, in 1987, by
a North Carolina collegiate ensemble in Lincoln Center, New York City. The Wind
Ensemble performed that same year in West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and
Washington, D.C. Compact discs of the Wind Ensemble have received widespread
praise and are commercially available - sforzando! (1995), vivo! (1996), celebration!
(1997), begian! (1997), fantasy! (1998), A Tribute to Sousa - Live! (2000), internal
combustion! (2001), equus! (2001), october! (2002), whirr! (2002), sunrise! (2003), aurora!
(2004), ra! (2005), comet the wonderdog! (2006), premieres! (2007), and fireworks! (2009).
In 1985, the Wind Ensemble performed a series of concerts with Pulitzer Prize winning
composer-conductor Karel Husa. In 1988, the UNCG Wind Ensemble performed
in New Orleans, Louisiana by invitation of the College Band Directors National
Association for the Southern Division convention. On a number of occasions, the Wind
Ensemble has commissioned and premiered works from leading band composers.
In November of 1990, the Wind Ensemble performed for the Southern Division of
MENC convention. In February 1994, the UNCG Wind Ensemble performed for a
convention of the CBDNA and NBA in Williamsburg, Virginia. In March 1999, the
Wind Ensemble performed for the national convention of the American Bandmasters
Association in Melbourne, Florida. In February 2000, the Wind Ensemble performed
for the CBDNA Southern Division Convention hosted here at UNCG. In 2006,
the Wind Ensemble performed in The Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda,
Maryland, shared a concert with the United States Army Band "Pershing's Own" in
Arlington, Virginia, and collaborated with Karel Husa, David Dzubay and Carter
Pann in the performaces of their music, including two commissions. In 2009, the
Wind Ensemble performed at the CBDNA National Convention at the University of
Texas at Austin and performed additional concerts in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana
and Texas as a part of a week-long tour. The Wind Ensemble has been invited to
perform at the 2011 National Convention of the American Bandmasters Association
from March 2-5 in Norfolk, Virginia.
U N C G
The Conductors, continued
Programmatic content aside, the title itself contains two strongly suggestive
implications - first, the notion of hymnody, which implies a transcendent and
perhaps even sacred tone; and second, the color blue, which has an inexorable tie
to American music. Certainly Hymn to a Blue Hour is not directly influenced by the
blues, per se, but there is frequently throughout the piece a sense of nostalgic remorse
and longing - an overwhelming sadness that is the same as the typically morose jazz
form. Blue also has a strong affiliation with nobility, authority, and calmness. All
of these notions are woven into the fabric of the piece - perhaps a result of Mackey
using what was, for him, an unconventional compositional method:
“I almost never write music ‘at the piano’ because I don’t have any piano
technique. I can find chords, but I play piano like a bad typist types: badly. If I
write the music using an instrument where I can barely get by, the result will
be very different than if I sit at the computer and just throw a zillion notes at
my sample library, all of which will be executed perfectly and at any dynamic
level I ask. We spent the summer at an apartment in New York that had a nice
upright piano. I don’t have a piano at home in Austin - only a digital keyboard
- and it was very different to sit and write at a real piano with real pedals and a
real action, and to do so in the middle of one of the most exciting and energetic
(and loud) cities in America. The result - partially thanks to my lack of piano
technique, and partially, I suspect, from a subconscious need to balance the
noise and relentless energy of the city surrounding me at the time - is much
simpler and lyrical music than I typically write.”
The piece is composed largely from three recurring motives - first, a cascade of
falling thirds; second, a stepwise descent that provides a musical sigh; and third, the
descent’s reverse: an ascent that imbues hopeful optimism. From the basic framework
of these motives stated at the outset of the work, a beautiful duet emerges between
horn and euphonium - creating a texture spun together into a pillowy blanket of
sound, reminiscent of similar constructions elicited by great American melodists
of the 20th century, such as Samuel Barber. This melody superimposes a sensation
of joy over the otherwise “blue” emotive context - a melodic line that over a long
period of time spins the work to a point of catharsis. In this climactic moment, the
colors are at their brightest, enveloping their surroundings with an angelic glow.
Alas, as is the case with the magical blue hour, the moment cannot last for long, and
just as steadily as they arrived, the colors dissipate into the encroaching darkness,
eventually succumbing at the work’s conclusion with a sense of peaceful repose.
Program note by Jake Wallace
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) began to show interest in music at the age of eleven
by playing the violin. By the time he was twenty, Hindemith was concertmaster
of the Frankfurt Opera (1915-23) and, after making viola his specialty, toured
Europe with the Amar Hindemith Quartet. Around 1936, he became interested
in the musical Jugendbewegung, a movement devoted to the furtherance of active
music making among amateurs. Hindemith’s continuing interest in composing
Gebrauchsmusik—music for practical use rather than music for art’s sake — stemmed
from this association. In 1927 Hindemith was appointed professor of composition
at the Academy of Music in Berlin and out of his teaching experience grew his
famous theoretical work, The Craft of Musical Composition. Published in 1937, this
volume was, at the time, the most comprehensive theory of harmony yet devised.
In 1940, Hindemith was appointed to the Yale University School of Music faculty.
Later he took up residence in Switzerland and made frequent visits to the United
States until his death in 1963.
The Symphony in B-flat for Concert Band was composed at the request of Lieutenant
Colonel Hugh Curry, leader of the United States Army Band, and was premiered
the UAB Community Wind Symphony, a group of interested amateur musicians
of all ages who perform 3 concerts a year. Ms. Samuels is a strong advocate for
chamber music and for music education and actively supports the UAB Clarinet
Choir, Blazer Woodwind and Brass Quintets, and all other facets of instrumental
music at UAB.
Ms. Samuels’ teaching experience prior to her arrival at UAB includes 12 years at
Lassiter High School in Marietta Georgia, 1 year as Assistant Director of Bands at
the University of Georgia, and 2 years as Director of Bands at WT Woodson High
School in Fairfax, Virginia. Under her direction, all bands she conducted received
straight superior ratings at festivals over her 14 year career as a high school band
director. In addition, the bands at both Lassiter and Woodson performed at the
Bands of America National Concert Band Festival, and the Lassiter Band won the
1998 Marching Band Grand National Championships.
A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Ms. Samuels attended Furman University
in Greenville where she obtained a Bachelors Degree in Music Education. Ms.
Samuels has also been educated at Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she
completed the Master of Music Degree in Instrumental Conducting and at the
Eastman School of Music. She received the PhD in Music Education from Auburn
University in 2009.
Ms. Samuels is frequently invited to serve as a clinician, conductor, adjudicator, and
guest speaker throughout the country. She is a member of the Music Educator’s
National Conference, the College Band Directors National Association, and the
National Band Association.
Mich ael Haithc ock assumed his duties as Director
of Bands and Professor of Music (Conducting) at the
University of Michigan in the fall of 2001 following
twenty-three years on the faculty of Baylor University.
Following in the footsteps of William D. Revelli and
H. Robert Reynolds, Professor Haithcock conducts
the internationally renowned University of Michigan
Symphony Band, guides the acclaimed graduate band
and wind ensemble conducting program, and provides
administrative leadership for all aspects of the University
of Michigan's diverse and historic band program.
Ensembles under Haithcock's guidance, have received
a wide array of critical acclaim for their high artistic standards of performance
and repertoire. These accolades have come through concerts at national and state
conventions, performances in major concert venues, and recordings on the Albany,
Arsis, and Equilibrium labels. Professor Haithcock was selected to conduct the
world premiere of Daron Hagen’s Bandanna, an opera for voice and wind band,
commissioned by the College Band Directors National Association and is a leader
in commissioning and premiering new works for concert band. Haithcock has
earned the praise of both composers and conductors for his innovative approaches
to developing the wind ensemble repertoire and programming. Professor
Haithcock is in constant demand as a guest conductor and as a resource person for
symposiums and workshops in a variety of instructional settings as well as festival
and all-state appearances throughout the country.
A graduate of East Carolina University, where he received the 1996 Outstanding
Alumni Award from the School of Music, and Baylor University, Haithcock has
done additional study at a variety of conducting workshops including the Herbert
Blomstedt Orchestral Conducting Institute. The Instrumentalist, the Michigan
Program Notes, continued
The Conductors, continued
DR. KEVIN M. GERA LDI is Associate Director of Bands
and Director of Orchestras at the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro. In this capacity, he conducts
the UNCG Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Band, and
Casella Sinfonietta, and is associate conductor of the UNCG
Wind Ensemble. In addition, he teaches graduate and
undergraduate conducting, directs the Wind Ensemble
chamber music program, and coordinates the Carolina
Band Festival and Conductors Conference. He holds the
Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in
instrumental conducting from the University of Michigan
where he studied with Michael Haithcock and H. Robert
Reynolds. Prior to beginning his doctoral studies, he served
THE CONDUCTORS
Since 1982, Dr. John R. Locke has served on the
UNCG School of Music Faculty as Director of Bands,
Director of Summer Music Camps, conductor of the
Wind Ensemble, and conducting teacher. He holds
the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from West
Virginia University and the Doctor of Education degree
from the University of Illinois. Prior to his arrival in
North Carolina, Dr. Locke held teaching positions in
music at West Virginia University, Southeast Missouri
State University, and the University of Illinois. He
has conducted band performances throughout the
country including National Conventions of the MENC,
CBDNA, ABA, the Kennedy Center in Washington,
Please silence all cell phones, pagers and alarm watches.
Please wait for break in the performance to enter or leave the hall.
D.C., and Lincoln Center in New York City. Twice, the UNCG Wind Ensemble
earned critical acclaim from The Washington Post newspaper following concert
performances in the nation's capital. Under Locke's leadership, the UNCG Wind
Ensemble has released 15 commercially available compact discs. In addition, he
has guest conducted the U.S. Air Force Band, U.S. Army Field Band, U.S. Navy
Band, the Dallas Wind Symphony as well as numerous university bands and all-state
honor bands.
Dr. Locke has served as Editor of The North Carolina Music Educator and has
published articles on band and wind ensemble literature in the Journal of Band
Research and in Winds Quarterly. He is Past-President of the North Carolina Music
Educators Association representing 2,200 members. Dr. Locke is a recipient of
Phi Mu Alpha's Orpheus Award and has received the National Band Association
Citation of Excellence on three occasions. He is a National Arts Associate of
Sigma Alpha Iota. In 1989, Dr. Locke was among the youngest conductors ever to
be elected to membership in the prestigious American Bandmasters Association.
In 1994, he received the Phi Beta Mu International Fraternity Outstanding
Bandmaster of the Year Award, presented at the Mid-West International Band
Clinic in Chicago. Dr. Locke is Past-President of the Southern Division of
College Band Directors National Association and hosted the Southern Division
Convention at UNCG in February 2000. In 2002, Dr. Locke was nominated for
the O. Max Gardner Award, the highest award in the 16-campus UNC System.
He also received the "Outstanding Music Teacher Award" in the UNCG School
of Music in 2003. In 2005, Dr. Locke was elected President of the American
Bandmasters Association and received the Albert Austin Harding Award from the
American School Band Directors Association. In 2007, he received The Old North
State Award from NC Governor Mike Easley "for dedication and service beyond
excellence to the state of North Carolina." In 2009, Locke became Editor of the
Journal of Band Research, a scholarly publication begun in 1962.
At UNCG, Dr. Locke is the founder and director of the Summer Music Camp
program, now the largest university music camp in America, enrolling over
1,725 students annually and served by a staff of 150 professionals. He is also
the founder of the Carolina Band Festival and Conductors Conference. Since
1977, he has administered summer music camps for over 55,000 students. He
is in constant demand as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for band
festivals throughout the United States and Canada.
as Director of Bands at Lander University in Greenwood, SC.
Dr. Geraldi received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Illinois Wesleyan
University, where he studied conducting with Steven Eggleston. From 1996-1998, he
was director of bands for the Westchester Public Schools in Westchester, IL, where
his ensembles received top honors. Dr. Geraldi served as assistant conductor of
the Central Illinois and Michigan Youth Symphonies. He appears regularly as a
guest conductor and he maintains an active schedule as a clinician throughout the
country. As a member of the Franklin Park Brass Quintet, Dr. Geraldi has toured the
Midwest, New England, and South Carolina, performing recitals and conducting
brass and chamber music masterclasses. An avid proponent of contemporary music
and chamber music, he has premiered numerous compositions and published
articles in the Music Educators Journal, the Journal of Band Research, and the Journal
of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.
Dr. Geraldi has studied conducting privately and in seminars with teachers including
Gustav Meier, Kenneth Kiesler, Pierre Boulez, and Frederick Fennell. He was recently
a participant in the Conductor’s Institute of South Carolina’s opera conducting
workshop at the Spoleto Festival, USA. Dr. Geraldi is a recipient of the Thelma
A. Robinson Award, an award given biennially by the Conductors Guild and the
National Federation of Music Clubs. He is a member of the Conductors Guild, the
College Band Directors National Association, Music Educators National Conference,
Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the International Trombone Association,
and a National Arts Associate of Sigma Alpha Iota.
DR. Sue Samuels is the Director of Bands at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her responsibilities
include teaching and administering the Marching Blazers,
the Wind Symphony, and the Blazer Band, as well as
teaching courses in conducting and marching band
techniques. Since Ms. Samuels arrived in Birmingham,
the bands at UAB have continued to grow and thrive
under her direction. The Marching Blazers continue to
wow the crowds with contemporary sights and sounds.
The UAB Wind Symphony performs at least 2 concerts
per semester at the Alys Stephens Center, and the group
continues to perform the very finest literature available for
the contemporary wind band. UAB continues to host more
than 200 high school band performers at the All-Star Band Festival each fall and
more than 600 young musicians at the annual Middle School and High School
Honor Band festivals each December. The Blazer Band performs throughout
the winter at home basketball games, and also accompanies the teams to the
Conference USA and NCAA Tournaments. In addition, Ms. Samuels has created
School Band and Orchestra Association, the School Musician, the Southwest Music
Educator, and WINDS magazine have published his articles on conducting and
wind literature.
in Washington, D.C. on April 5, 1951, with the composer conducting. The three-movement
symphony demonstrates Hindemith’s great contrapuntal skill and the
organized logic of his thematic material. His melodies develop ever-expanding
lines, and his skill in the organization and utilization of complex rhythmic variation
adds spice and zest to the strength of his melodies. The first movement is in sonata-allegro
form in three sections with the recapitulation economically incorporating both
themes in a contrapuntal fashion. The second movement opens with an imitative
duet between cornet and alto saxophone accompanied by a repeated chordal figure.
The duet theme, along with thematic material from the opening movement, provides
the basic material for the remainder of the movement. The closing section of the
third movement employs the combined themes while the woodwinds recall the
incessant chattering of the first movement. The brass and percussion conclude the
work with a powerful final cadence. The Hindemith Symphony in B-flat is held in
the highest possible regard among original works for the wind band and offers a
timeless challenge to the finest ensembles.
Rich ard Floyd is presently in his 45th year of
active involvement as a conductor, music educator and
administrator. He has enjoyed a distinguished career
at virtually every level of wind band performance from
beginning band programs through high school and
university wind ensembles as well as adult community
bands. At present Floyd serves as State Director of Music
at the University of Texas at Austin where he coordinates
all facets of secondary school music competition for
some 3500 performing organizations throughout Texas.
He also holds the post of Musical Director of the Austin
Symphonic Band which is viewed to be one of the premier
adult concert bands in America.
Prior to his appointment at the University of Texas, Mr. Floyd served on the
faculty at the University of South Florida as Professor of Conducting and at Baylor
University in Texas where he held the position of Director of Bands for nine years.
He began his career as band director at Richardson Junior High School and then
become the first director of the award winning J.J. Pearce High School Band in the
same city. He also served as Director of Fine Arts for that district for two years
before moving to Baylor University in 1972.
His musical achievements include performances at numerous state and national
conventions and conferences including the 1977 College Band Directors National
Association, the 1981 Music Educators National Conference and concerts at the
Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago in 1989, 1997 and 2007.
Other distinguished performances include concerts for the American Bandmasters
Association in 1993 and 2006 and the 2004 Western International Band Clinic in
Seattle, Washington. Performances by his various ensembles have been heard on
radio broadcasts throughout the United States, Australia and Europe.
Mr. Floyd is a recognized authority on conducting, the art of wind band rehearsing,
concert band repertoire, and music advocacy. As such, he has toured extensively
throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe as a clinician,
adjudicator and conductor including appearances in 40 American states and in 9
other countries. He is a frequent featured clinician for the Texas Music Educators
Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association and has presented two conducting
and rehearsal technique clinics for the Mid-West International Band and Orchestra
Clinic. In 2002 he was the single recipient of the prestigious A.A. Harding Award
presented by the American School Band Directors Association in recognition of his
significant and lasting contributions to the school band movement. Most recently
the Texas Bandmasters Association named him Texas Bandmaster of the Year in
2006.
Publications include co-authorship of Best Music For Beginning Band and
contributing author for The Musician’s Walk by James Jordon and published by
GIA. In 2006 he was featured on the GIA Produced DVD entitled Kindred Spirits
from the series Conducting From The Inside Out. Other conductors included H.
Robert Reynolds, Craig Kirchhoff and Allan McMurray.
Mr. Floyd’s served as National Secretary of the College Band Directors National
Association from 1979 to 2007 and has played an active leadership role in the
implementation of that organization’s many projects and services for nearly three
decades.
UNCG SUMMER MUSIC CAMP
v BAND
v ORCHESTRA
v MIXED CHORUS
v PIANO
t This is America's most popular music camp!
1,7500 camp students attended last summer!
t Week 1: Sunday, July 10 - Friday, July 15, 2011
Week 2: Sunday, July 17 - Friday, July 22, 2011
t 15 bands, 3 orchestras, 3 choruses, and
160 piano campers drawn from 13 states,
Belguim & Turkey in 2010.
Call for brochures: 1-800-999-2869
or 334-5299
On the Web: www.smcamp.org
The Conductors, continued Program Notes, continued
John Mack ey, born October 1, 1973, in New
Philadelphia, Ohio, holds a Master of Music degree from
The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree
from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied
with John Corigliano and Donald Erb, respectively. Mr.
Mackey particularly enjoys writing music for dance
and for symphonic winds, and he has focused on those
mediums for the past few years. His works have been
performed at the Sydney Opera House; the Brooklyn
Academy of Music; Carnegie Hall; the Kennedy Center;
Weill Recital Hall; Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival; Italy's
Spoleto Festival; Alice Tully Hall; the Joyce Theater; Dance
Theater Workshop; and throughout Italy, Chile, Japan,
GUEST COMPOSER
China, Norway, Spain, Colombia, Austria, Brazil, Germany, England, Australia,
New Zealand, and the United States.
John has received numerous commissions from the Parsons Dance Company, as
well as commissions from the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, New York
City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute, the Dallas Theater Center, the Alvin Ailey
Dance Company, the New York Youth Symphony, Ailey 2, Concert Artists Guild,
Peridance Ensemble, and Jeanne Ruddy Dance, among many others. Recent
commissions include works for the American Bandmasters Association, the Dallas
Wind Symphony, and a concerto for New York Philharmonic Principal Trombonist
Joseph Alessi.
As a frequent collaborator, John has worked with a diverse range of artists,
from Doug Varone to David Parsons, from Robert Battle to the US Olympic
Synchronized Swim Team. (The team won a bronze medal in the 2004 Athens
Olympics performing to Mackey's score, Damn.) John has been recognized with
numerous grants and awards from organizations including ASCAP (Concert
Music Awards, 1999 through 2008; Morton Gould Young Composer Awards,
2002 and 2003), the American Music Center (Margaret Jory Fairbanks Copying
Assistance Grant, 2000, 2002), and the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust (Live
Music for Dance commissioning grants, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2005), and an NEA
grant in 2007. He was a CalArts/Alpert Award nominee in 2000.
In February 2003, the Brooklyn Philharmonic premiered John’s work “Redline
Tango” at the BAM Opera House, with Kristjan Jarvi conducting. The Dallas
Symphony, under Andrew Litton, performed the piece in both Dallas and Vail in
2004. Mr. Litton performed the work again in 2005, this time with the Minnesota
Orchestra, and again in 2006 with the Bergen Philharmonic of Norway. Marin
Alsop performed the work at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in
the summer of 2005. John made a new version of the work for wind ensemble in
2004 -- Mackey's first work for wind band -- and that version has since received
over 250 performances worldwide. The wind version won the 2004 Walter Beeler
Memorial Composition Prize, and in 2005, the ABA/Ostwald Award from the
American Bandmasters Association, making John the youngest composer to
receive the honor. John again received the ABA/Ostwald Award - as well as the
National Band Association's William D. Revelli Award - in 2009 for Aurora Awakes.
John served as a Meet-The-Composer/American Symphony Orchestra League
"Music Alive!" Composer In Residence with the Greater Twin Cities Youth
Symphony in 2002-2003, and with the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra in 2004-
2005. He was Composer In Residence at the Vail Valley Music Festival in Vail,
Colorado, in the summer of 2004, and Composer In Residence at the Cabrillo
Festival of Contemporary Music in August 2005.
COMING EVENTS
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
University Band
Justin C. Davis, conductor
Karen Hayden, soprano
7:30 pm
Aycock Auditorium
UN CG S ymphony O rchestra, Chamber S ingers,
University Chorale, and Women's Choir
Join us for a very special afternoon of music as some of
UNCG's finest musical organizations travel to perform in the
historic Stevens Center in downtown Winston-Salem.
Stevens Center
405 West Fourth Street
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Sunday, February 27, 2011
3:30 p.m.
Reception prior to the concert at 2:00 p.m. in the Special Events
Room, 10th floor of the Stevens Center (separate ticket required)
Wagner: Introduction to Act III from Lohengrin
Barber: Prayers of Kierkegaard
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major
Tickets are complimentary and may be obtained through the UNCG Box
Office by calling (336) 334-4TI X or visiting http://boxoffice.uncg.edu