Illinois Wesleyan University
SCHOOL OF MUSIC presents
OF
David Vayo, Director
Celebrating Thirty Years of the
IWU JAZZ FESTIVAL Thomas Streeter, Director
Featured guest
Vince Mendoza Composer/Conductor January 21, 2005 Westbrook Auditorium Illinois Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan •
UNIVERSITY
Symposium of Contemporary Music 2005 Friday, January 21, 2005
3:00 PM PANEL DISCUSSION
Notation and Improvisation in the Performing Arts Vince Mendoza Sara Freeman, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts Jean MacFarland Kerr, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts/ Stage Movement Thomas Streeter, Professor of Brass Instruments and Theory David Vayo, Professor of Composition and Theory, moderator
7:30
PM
CONCERT
Music of Vince Mendoza Dancer in the Dark Overture .................. Bjork, arr. Vince Mendoza Otis and Marlena ................... . .. Joni Mitchell, arr. Vince Mendoza Kathryn Lachey, vocal Elder Wings .......................................... Vince Mendoza Sanctus Miracle Child Illinois Wesleyan Civic Orchestra Vince Mendoza, Guest Conductor Intermission
Silhouette . . ....... . ... . .... . ..... . .............. . .. . .. Vince Mendoza Bossa Antigua Rain Codes I dreamt of you Just Say Joe Illinois Wesleyan University Jazz Ensemble Vince Mendoza, Guest Director
Following the program, the audience is invited to a reception in the Presser Hall reception room, courtesy of Delta Omicron and Phi Mu Alpha. This program is presented as part of the IWU New Music Series
A Note from the Symposium Director For the second year in a row, the S~'mposium is celebrating a major anniversary at the School of Music. Last year marked the Symposium's fiftieth, and 2005 is the thirtieth anniversary of the IWU Jazz Festival. Although the Jazz Festival's span of years is shorter, in some ways its longevity is a more impressive achievement because it has been guided since its outset by the same man, my colleague Thomas Streeter. Professor Streeter has been a tireless advocate for jazz at Illinois Wesleyan, teaching a course in jazz history and ably directing both the Jazz Ensemble and the Jazz Lab Band. Thousands of high-school and junior high jazz musicians have flocked to IWU over the years for his festival, to play with their bands, receive coaching from "Doc" and his students, and listen to the IWU ensemble perform with such prominent guest artists as James Aebersold, Bobby Shew, the Airmen of Note and Denis DeBlasio. When Professor Streeter mentioned to me a year or so ago that this milestone was coming up, wheels began turning. Jazz being a vital form of contemporary music, both of us had been wanting to get the Jazz Ensemble involved in the Symposium for many years. We agreed that it would be a fine idea to combine resources and bring in the same guest for both events, and schedule them back-to-back in order to make this possible; the Jazz Festival takes place tomorrow. I am therefore delighted to usher in the Symposium's first guest from the jazz world. Vince Mendoza is recognized on both sides of the Atlantic- and Pacific!- for his compositional and conducting talents. His deeply personal music is full of rich harmonies combined in unexpected and beautiful ways, lyrical melodies, supple rhythms and wide-open expression. In addition to acknowledging with gratitude the hard work and talent of IWU students and faculty in making tonight's performances possible, I would especially like to highlight the contributions of Erik Larson, a graduate student in guitar at Illinois State University. One of the signature features of Vince Mendoza's music is its prominent guitar parts, and we became concerned when we found that our IWU student guitarists were only available to perform on part of the concert. At the recommendation of his teacher, Angelo Favis, Mr. Larson stepped in and has done a yeomans job. I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing his talents alongside those of IWU students. I also wish to thank IWU composition majors Megan Drevits, Rachel Marx and Mark Tomasino for preparing some of the instrumental parts used in tonight's performances. -David Vayo
Vince Mendoza Two-time Grammy award winning composer/arranger Vince Mendoza has been heralded by critics as a master of contemporary idioms. Artists such as Gary Burton/Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker, Charlie Haden, Andy Narell, Kurt Elling, and John Abercrombie have prominently featured Mendoza's compositions and arrangements on their albums. His extensive discography includes his solo albums on Blue Note, "Start Here" and "Instructions Inside", which were critical triumphs and featured such artists as John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Ralph Towner, Bob Mintzer, Randy Brecker, Peter Erskine, and others. "Start Here" was one of Jazziz Magazine's "Top Picks" and Mendoza has been recognized as "best composer/arranger" by Swing Journal's critics poll in Japan. His newest CD "Epiphany" features the London Symphony Orchestra. Mendoza's arrangements can be heard on Lars van Trier's film "Dancer in the Dark" featuring Bjork as well as Joni Mitchell's orchestral albums "Both Sides Now" and "Travelogue", for which he won his second Grammy award in 2004. He has 12 Grammy nominations. His work can also be heard on the Yellowackets "Greenhouse'; and with artists such as Elvis Costello, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin, Al DiMeola, Gino Vannelli, Dianne Reeves, Joe Zawinul, Salif Keita, Sadao Watanabe, New York Voices, Don Henley, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Herbie Hancock and various other artists. His television music has been nominated for an Emmy. Mendoza is the principal guest conductor of the Metropole Orchestra of the Netherlands. He has been commissioned to compose and arrange for such groups as the Turtle Island String Quartet, Berlin Philharmonic, BBC orchestra, Debussy Trio, L.A. Guitar Quartet and the K61n Radio Orchestra. He actively conducts concerts of his music in Europe, Japan and the UK. He has appeared at the Montreux and Northsea Jazz Festivals. His music was featured at the Berlin Jazz Festival. Mendoza, originally from Connecticut, resides in Los Angeles. He has degrees from the 'Ohio State University and the University of Southern California.
I've been lucky enough in my travels and adventures as a composer to encounter opportunities to work as an arranger of other people's music. Some of them have been more high profile than others. Nevertheless, they all provide a chance to experience new ways to look at music, add my individual voice, and to learn a few things along the way. Joni Mitchell and Larry Klein taught me everything about understanding lyrics. I regard the two projects I did with her, Both Sides Now and Travelogue, to be some of the most meaningful musical experiences of my life. We designed Travelogue to encompass works from different periods of Joni's output, as well as to vary orchestration to match the colors of the lyrics. Some of the pieces I scored for more than 90 musicians, with choirs and a large orchestra. On the other hand, Otis and Marlena is scored for a small chamber group and voice. For me the scoring for Otis is at the same time colorful, graceful, whimsical, dancing and sardonic, like the lyrics. After I met Bjork at a benefit concert for Don Henley in Los Angeles, she asked me to work with her on the score to Lars van Trier's movie "Dancer in the Dark': Lars' aim was to recreate the feeling of MGM old Hollywood. It seems that musically speaking, between the two of us you couldn't get much further from that goal. Besides, don't they hang Bjork at the end? So when Bjork asked me to write the Dancer in the Dark Overture, I was thinking more like Richard Strauss than MGM. Although when you connect the dots somewhere, I guess they are not as far off as one would think. - Vince Mendoza Los Angeles, California 2005
IWU Jazz Ensemble Thomas Streeter, Director FLUTE
TROMBONE
Katrina Tammen Sarah Chang
Phil Arquette Micah Stickling Matt Hendrickson
CLARINET
Katrina Stansbury Sara Saner
BASS TROMBONE
Lindsay Gross
BASS CLARI N ET
PIANO
Sara Saner
Sean Parsons (on Silhouette) Luke Gullickson (on all others)
ALTO SAXOPHONE
Brent Bogen Dan Glade
GUITAR
Erik Swanson
TENOR SAXOPHONE
BASS
Cory Nelson Kyle Charles
Phil Krawchuk
BARITONE SAXOPHONE
Steph Lyon
Mandy Andrews TRUMPET
Kevin Thommes Ted Nichols David Hartley David Banas Amy LeClercq
DRUMS
PERCUSSION
Brian Baxter SOUND TECHNICIAN
Kevin O'Keefe
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Guest Composers • Performers • Scholars 19 52-2005 1952: Ead George, Grant Fletcher, Burrill Phillips
1978: M. William Karlins
1953: Anthony Donato, Homer Keller
1981: Walter S. Hartley
1954: NormanJ Lockwood, Robert Palmer
1982: David Ward-Steinman
1955: Wallingford Riegger, Peter Mennin 1956: Hunter Johnson, Ulysses Kay 1957: Ernst Krenek, William Bergsma 1958: Aaron Copland 1959: Paul Pisk, George Rochberg 1960: Roy Harris 1962: Robert Erickson, George Rochberg, Glenn Glasow 1963: Robert Wykes, Alabama String Quartet 1964: Robert Wykes, E. J. Ulrich, Salvatore Martirano, Herbert Brlin, Ben Johnston
1979: Leonard B. Meyer
1983: George Crumb Concert 1984: Robert Bankert, Abram M. Plum, R. Bedford Watkins 1985: Michael Schelle 1986: Jean Eichelberger Ivey 1987: Jan Bach 1988: John Beall 1989: Hale Smith 1990: Karel Husa 1991: Alice Parker 1993: (Spring) Alexander Aslamazov 1993: (Fall) Leslie Bassett, John Crawford (Society of Composers, Inc. Region 5 Conference)
1966: Louis Coyner, Edwin Harkins, Philip Winsor, Edwin London
1995: David Diamond
1967: Frederick Tillis, George Crumb
1997: Joseph Schwantner
1968: lain Hamilton
1998: Arvo Part
1969: The Loop Group, DePaul University
2000: Libby Larsen
1996: Morton Gould Memorial Concert
1999: John Corigliano
1970: Halim El-Dabh, Oily Wilson
2001: William Bolcom, Joan Morris
1971: Edward J. Miller
2002: Present Music
1972: Stravinsky Memorial Concert
2003: Mario Lavista, Carmen Helena Tellez
1973: Courtney Cox, Phil Wilson 1974: Scott Huston 1975: David Ward-Steinman 1976: Donald Erb 1977: Lou Harrison, Ezra Sims
2004: Louis Andriessen, James Quandt, Monica Germino, Cristina Zavalloni 2005: Vince Mendoza