Student Recital Series
Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall
2023 – 2024 Season
Sunday,April 21st at 2:30 PM
Jonathan Langton, trombone
Andrew Voelker, piano
Christopher Hernacki, conductor
AGood Pair of Boots Will Get You Far (2024)
World Premiere
Jonathan Langton (b. 2001)
Oblivion (1982)
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Arr. Katri Ennada
Concert Piece No. 5 (1930)
Keeping Momentum (2024)
World Premiere
Vladislav Blazevich (1881-1942)
Jonathan Langton (b. 2001)
NO TITLE (2023)
World Premiere
Peter McCoy, tenor trombone
Andrew Gorman, tenor trombone
Julien Herschkowitz, tenor trombone
Victor Mainetti, tenor trombone
Wyatt Moore, tenor trombone
Octavia Duvigneaud, tenor trombone
Tobey Dwyer, tenor trombone
Elliot Borden, tenor trombone
Brandon Campbell, tenor trombone
Vivian Redmond, bass trombone
Samir Ghalayini, bass trombone
Christopher Hernacki, conductor
Program Notes:
A Good Pair of Boots Will Get You Far (2024) is an original piece I wrote in early March. The opening trombone melody was intended to capture the feeling of outer space, but as I went along it evolved into something entirely different. I enjoy (read: find it easier) to write in a more dramatic, cinematic style of music. The title comes from a friend and has no real significance, just something they said offhand. I’d like to give a special thank you to Dr. Christopher Hernacki and Professor Andrew Voelker for their edits and advice.
Jonathan Langton (b. 2001) Jonathan Langton is from the studio of Christopher Hernacki.Keeping Momentum (2024) was written in late February / early March and was intended to convey a sense of panic, but also determination. Frankly, I also wanted an excuse to play bass trombone on my recital. Again, special thank you to Dr. Christopher Hernacki and ProfessorAndrew Voelker for their edits and advice.
NO TITLE (2023) is the second piece I ever completed. It’s for an 8-part trombone ensemble: six Tenor Trombones and two Bass Trombones. I wrote the opening theme of the piece all the way back in my sophomore or junior year of high school. I had been trying to play random chords on piano in a feeble attempt to figure out the theme from Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar Soundtrack. I hit the second chord you hear in the piece and thought to myself “That wasn’t even close, but it was pretty. I should write that down.”. I decided I wanted to write a piece based on that chord for my school’s Symphonic Orchestra. Turns out, writing a piece for a Symphonic Orchestra is insanely difficult, especially for a high school student with little-to-no music theory, ear training, or composition experience. The file name for the piece is actually “Big Ridiculous Score Trombone Ensemble Version”. I spent somewhere in the realm of 80-120 hours working on the original piece, and eventually shelved it around the time the COVID Pandemic hit the US. In that time, I had only written about 1:10 of music. It was entirely a process of trial and error, just placing random notes down until it matched what I heard in my head.
Last year, as I began to look towards my recital, I toyed with the idea of taking the piece off the shelf. With Dr. Hernacki’s support, I rewrote the opening theme for 8-part trombone ensemble inAugust of 2023 and began the process of turning it into the piece you hear today. I wrote the piece, but it was Dr. Hernacki’s advice that helped shape the texture and make it both pleasant to listen to and easier to play.
NO TITLE is dedicated to my grandparents, Ron Harris (1940-2019) andApril Harris (1940-2023), and everyone we’ve all lost over the years.
THANK YOUS:
I would like to give a huge thank you to Dr. Christopher Hernacki: without his support and expertise, I would not be where I am today. Thank you also for being willing to conduct NO TITLE.
Thank you to Professor Voelker for being my collaborative pianist and helping me navigate writing for and playing with a pianist.
Thank you also to Dr. Peter McCoy: who volunteered to perform with me after hearing the MIDI version of NO TITLE. It is a huge honor to have my peers perform alongside me, it is an even bigger honor to have a professor volunteer to perform with me.
Thank you to my fellow Crane Trombonists, whose names are listed under NO TITLE: I appreciate the time and effort you have all put in to help me pull this off. Your work and skills do not go unnoticed.
Ahuge thank you to my family, especially my parents, sister, and cousin who have been with me all the way. Every one of you has had my back when I needed it.
And finally, thank you all for being here today. I appreciate your support, and I hope you enjoy!