PROGRAM NOTES
Skyward Katahj Copley
Katahj Copley holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and composition from the University of West Georgia, and a master’s in composition from the University of Texas-Austin. Currently, he is pursuing a DMA in music composition at State University.
Copley’s first work, Spectra, was premieredin 2017by theUniversity ofWest Georgia’sSaxophoneEnsemble. Since then, Copley has written over sixty pieces, including over twenty-five for wind band, which have been performed by many local high schools. At the University of West Georgia, Copley has written pieces for UWG’s brass ensemble, concert choir, saxophone ensemble, symphonic band, jazz ensemble and wind ensemble. His compositions have been performed and commissioned by colleges, organizations, universities and professional ensembles, including the 1st Infantry Brass Choir, Rhode Island Recording Ensemble, Axos Saxophone Quartet, the Admiral Launch Duo and the Nu Alpha chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi at Georgia State University. In February of 2020, Copley’s Sunshine was featured at the Georgia Music Educators Association’s District XIII’s performance, and Nova was premiered by the University of West Georgia’s Wind Ensemble at the College Band Directors National Association Southeast Division Conference.
Aside from composing, Copley is an educator who teaches young musicians the joy of discovering music and why music is a phenomenal language.
Music for Copley has always been this impactful thing in his life. It can soothe, it can enrage, it can quiet and it can evoke emotions that are beyond him and this world we live in. He believes that music is the ultimate source of freedom and imagination, and the most freedom he has had as a musician was through composing. Composition is like opening one's heart and showing the world his spirit, drive, and passion.
The composer writes about his work, Skyward:
When asked to write a work for a local honor band in my hometown, I decided to take a look through younger memories. I remember starting on my saxophone and not being quite good at it, and then I remembered going into sixth grade band and getting our first piece of music. It was hard work and a lot of wrong notes but at the end of it, the hard work paid off. It felt like a hard climb up a mountain. Then with time we finally reach the top of this small but at the time huge mountain. Young band is about taking those new challenges and finding yourself, finding others, and reaching those goals it’s a skyward journey. And that’s when the theme of this piece finally came to me.
Skyward explores the moment in lifewhereyou reachtowardsthe top of a newchallenge. The work is designed for younger bands to give them a challenge and a goal of working together. With exciting ostinatos and alluring melodies to tell a story filled with bravery, challenges, and heart, this is Skyward.
Program Note by Katahj Copley
Suspended in a Sunbeam Joni Greene
Joni Greene holds MM and BM degrees from Indiana University. Her instructors include Michael Gandolfi, Sven-David Sandstrom, Kevin Puts, Don Freund, David Dzubay, Claude Baker, and Rafael Hernandez.
Ms. Greene is an up-and-coming young composer who has had her works performed by numerous ensembles and artists throughout the United States, France and China. Notable and upcoming performances include Michigan State Symphony Band, Belmont University Wind Ensemble, Eastern Illinois University Concert Band, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Wind Ensemble, Washburn University Wind Ensemble, The University of New Mexico Symphonic Band, Indiana University Concert Band, University of Kansas Wind Ensemble, Bowdoin College Concert Band, Mannes College of Music, California State University at San
Bernardino, University of Nevada, Reno Harp Ensemble, and VocalEssence. She has had her music performed at numerous public schools, festivals, workshops and concerts including the WorldAssociation for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles conference in Taiwan, the Las Americas en Concierto/Composers in New York, the Albert Roussel International Festival in France, Essentially Choral Reading Sessions, Middle Georgia Composers Exchange, Oregon Bach Festival, EAMA workshop, IU Choral workshop, The Ball State New Music Festival, CHASM New Music Festival at Florida State University, and the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) Conference.
Recent awards include the 3rd International Frank Ticheli Competition, the ACC Band Directors Association Emerging Artist Grant, ASCAP/Lotte Lehmann "Damien Top Prize," 2nd International Frank Ticheli Competition, VocalEssence Essentially Choral Readings, and the Indiana University Contemporary Vocal Ensemble Composition Competition. Universities, high schools, middle schools, and consortiums frequently commission Ms. Greene.
Suspended in a Sunbeam is one of several compositions by Ms. Greene inspired by the topic of space, particularly astronomical observations. This work is inspired by the James Webb Space Telescope, with its ability to peer across the vastness of space and time to the first luminous glows after the Big Bang. While the work has no overt program, each section of the work has an evocative association, “Leaving the Pale Blue,” “Deployment Sequence Begins,” Trappist-1h ‘Ice planet,’” “Trappist-1e “Earth Planet,’” “Trappist-1b ‘Lava Planet.’” Ms. Greene provides materials and references for cross-content integration in educational settings. Program Note by Joni Greene
Ritual Dances Shawn Okpebholo
Dr. Okpebholo earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music composition and musicology at Asbury College, where he studied with James Curnow. He received his M.M. and D.M.A. in composition and theory from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, with additional study in film scoring at New York University.
Okpebholo has won the Kentucky Music Educators Association All-College Composition Contest twice, and he is a three-time winner ofAsbury College’s Peniston Honors in Composition. He was a recipient of the Union University Pew Research Grant; a fellow with the National Bandmaster's Association Young Composers Mentor Project; has been awarded first prizes in theAccent06 International Composition Competition, KMEA All-Collegiate Composition Contest, and has been an annual recipient of theASCAPlus awards since 2004.
As a composer and arranger, he has written music for concert band, orchestra, and choir. He also has arranged a number of Negro spirituals.
Dr. Okpebholo is currently an assistant professor of music composition and theory at Wheaton CollegeConservatory of Music.
Ritual Dances was composed for and premiered by the United States Army Field Band under the direction of Colonel Finley R. Hamilton, Commander. Through different orchestrations, meter shifts, and tempos, the idea was to create ritual-like experiences. The musical journey begins with a harsh militant sound by the percussion and leads to the first statement of the main Dorian theme in very aggressive manner by the horns. This theme, which is presented several times, is the main unifying element of the work.
Intraditionalterms,theword“dance”doesnotrefertotheslower,moreexpressivemomentsinmusic;however, I picture the slow middle section as a nostalgic, tribal-like dance, full of emotion.
After a return of the rhythmic and dynamic opening section. The piece ends with a chorale-like setting of the main theme.Above the chorale, all the motives previously stated throughout the work randomly return in their original tempos. The work concludes very differently than it begins; the journey starts aggressively, while ending peacefully. In the last few measures, the timpani enter very softly as the dance slowly fades into nothingness.
Program note by Shawn Okpebholo
Madstop Two Step Arthur Frackenphl
The Crane Bands celebrate the centenary of Crane faculty member and friend Arthur Frackenpohl with a performanceofhis charming and humorous, Madstop Twostep. Artwas agreat friendto thewind band,penning several works with his characteristic humor and style. In addition to writing for wind bands, Art’s legendary work with the Canadian Brass not only helped define their core repertoire but left a legacy of over 100 works written and arranged for the brass quintet medium.
During 1973 and 1974, Art masterfully transcribed two sets of ragtime music for brass quintet and saxophone quartetrespectively. Althoughbothworkssharethesametitle– Ragtime Suite –Artonlysharedonemovement, Scott Joplin’s The Cascades, between the two sets. Almost twenty years later, Art offered an original to the genre, scoring it for wind ensemble – his Madstop Two Step: A North Country Rag. In this work, we see both Art’s love for and skill in writing ragtime music, as well as his impish sense of humor. As an original, Madstop Two Step sits in equal company with its forbearers (Joplin, Turpin and Hayden) transcribed for saxophones and brass. WrittenforTimothyTopolewski and theCraneWind Ensembleof1991,this Potsdam inspired ragshows the easy grace and élan of the genre, ending with a “twinkle of the eye” so very much part ofArt’s character.
Origin Cait Nishimura
Known for writing nature-inspired, programmatic music, Cait Nishimura has quickly established herself as a prominent voice in the concert band community. Cait’s music has been presented at The Midwest Clinic, MusicFest Canada, and numerous other conferences and festivals across NorthAmerica. Her work has become increasingly popular among educational music programs and within the professional new music scene, with new works being regularly commissioned and performed by ensembles and individuals around the world. Cait is committed to creating contemporary music that is approachable, relevant, and enjoyable for all; before transitioning to a full-time career as a composer, she taught instrumental music and continues to prioritize and advocate for the value of music education. She actively seeks opportunities to connect personally with the communities for whom she writes, and she is passionate about setting a positive example for future generations of musicians especially those from historically underrepresented groups through her creative work, her social media presence, and her dedication to mental health awareness. As a lifelong environmentalist, she not only draws inspiration from the natural world but also uses her platform to advocate for conservation awareness and action.
Origin is an uplifting, empowering piece that evokes the feeling of returning home to a significant place in one's journey, reflecting on all that has changed and all that has remained. I have come to cherish the magical full-circle experiences that occur when my music is performed in spaces that were meaningful or inspiring to me as a young musician. This piece is an ode to all the people and places that leave a lasting impact on the lives of others.
Program Note by Cait Nishimura
Johannes Hanssen was one of Norway's most active and influential bandmasters, composers, and teachers during the first forty years of the 20th century. He was born in Ullensaker, a small town near Oslo, and played in a military band in Oslo as a young boy. He was bandmaster of the Oslo Military Band from 1926 to 1934, and again from 1945 to 1946. Hanssen received many honors in his lifetime, including the King's Order of Merit in Gold and King Haakon VIII's Jubilee Medal.
Valdres, the title of this Norwegian march, has both geographic and musical connotations. Valdres is a beautiful region in Norway between Oslo and Bergen. The first three measures contain the old signature fanfare for the Valdres Battalion, which is based on an ancient melody formerly played on the lur (a straight wooden
Valdres Johannes Hanssen
“trumpet”). The melody from the trio is derived from a Hardanger (western Norway) fiddle tune and a pentatonic folk tune, above a typical Norwegian drone bass. It was first performed in 1904 by the band of the second regiment of Norway, with the composer playing the baritone horn himself.
Symphony No. 2
John Barnes Chance
John Barnes Chance was a gifted composer whose originality and fine musicianship is readily demonstrated in his splendid works for band: Blue Lake Overture, Elegy, Incantation and Dance, and his most famous work, Variations on a Korean Folk Song. Chance began composing while attending Beaumont High School (Beaumont, Texas) where he performed on percussion in the school band and orchestra under the direction of Arnold Whedbee. It was during this time that he wrote his first symphony (for orchestra), which was premiered by Whedbee during his senior year.[1]
He received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University ofTexas, where he studied with Clifton Williams, Kent Kennan, and Paul Pisk.After studies at the University of Texas, Chance played with theAustin Symphony Orchestra, and also performed with the Fourth U.S.Army Band in SanAntonio and the Eighth U.S. Army Band in Korea.
After leaving the army, Chance was selected by the Ford Foundation to be a part of the Young Composers Project. From 1960 through 1962 he was composer-in-residence at the Greensboro, North Carolina, public schools. It is there that he composed seven pieces for school ensembles including his first work for wind band. Throughout his short career, Chance composed for band, orchestra, chorus, chamber groups and solo instruments.
His career was tragically ended when he was accidentally electrocuted in the back yard of his home in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1972 at the age of 40.
Symphony No. 2 for Winds and Percussion is a brilliant and stunning work based upon an earlier Symphony for Winds, composed in 1961. It was revised just before his death in 1972. It is cast in three movements, all based upon the four-note motif of C#, D, F and E.
Program note by Boosey & Hawkes
