THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC
presents the Master’s Chamber Recital of Andrew Hardy-Moore, conducting Thursday, April 6, 2023
7:30 p.m. Opperman Music Hall
Octet for Wind Instruments
PROGRAM
Igor Stravinsky
I. Sinfonia (1882–1971)
II. Tema con variazioni
III. Finale
Crisha Joyner, flute; Renzo Decarlo, clarinet; Robert Alexander, bassoon
Jordan Potter, bassoon; Angela King, trumpet; Sawyer Pritchard, trumpet
Carter Wessinger, tenor trombone; Justin Hamann, bass trombone
Serenade for Wind Nonet
Katahj Copley
I. Prelude (b. 1998)
II. Song
III. Waltz
IV. Dance
Kylie Boschen, flute; Raegan O’Rourke, flute; Jalen Smalls, clarinet
Sadie Murray, clarinet; Evan Blitzer, soprano saxophone; Jason Shimer, alto saxophone
Pauly Herrera, baritone saxophone; Israel Martinez, trumpet; AC Caruthers, horn
BITLY for Woodwind Choir
Kylie Boschen, piccolo; Raegan O’Rourke, flute; Anisa Herbert, oboe
Kyle W. Brown (b. 1995)
Sarah Ward, English horn; Timothy Schwindt, bassoon; Sadie Murray, clarinet; Jalen Smalls, clarinet
Carly Davis, bass clarinet; Mark Stevens, B-flat contraclarinet; Evan Blitzer, soprano saxophone
Jason Shimer, alto saxophone; Ethan Horn, tenor saxophone; Pauly Herrera, baritone saxophone
To Ensure An Enjoyable Concert Experience For All…
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting during performances. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Recording or broadcasting of the concert by any means, including the use of digital cameras, cell phones, or other devices is expressly forbidden. Please deactivate all portable electronic devices including watches, cell phones, pagers, hand-held gaming devices or other electronic equipment that may distract the audience or performers.
Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at (850) 644-3424 at least five working days prior to a musical event to request accommodation for disability or alternative program format.
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
Octet for Wind Instruments (1952 edition)
Octet for Wind Instruments by Igor Stravinsky, written in 1922, began as a dream in which he was surrounded by eight wind instruments playing “some attractive music.” This dream inspired a score unique in instrumentation, reflective of his neoclassical compositional style, and filled with lively writing and elegant counterpoint. Since then, the work has become a vital piece in the history of wind band music.
The opening movement, Sinfonia, begins with a slow pastoral statement rich with harmonic and rhythmic complexity, followed by a march-inspired theme that hammers along until the end. The inspiration for movement two, Tema Con Variazioni, comes from Mozart’s Piano Concerto in E-flat Major, K. 482., and uses a hybrid of rondo and variation forms. The Finale reuses some rhythmic material from Stravinsky’s earlier works, The Firebird and The Rite of Spring. It is gleeful but rigid in spirit and confirms Stravinsky as one of the 20th century’s foremost masters of counterpoint.
Stravinsky was unhappy with the premiere of his Symphonies of Wind Instruments conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, blaming poor programming and bad interpretation for its failure. For this reason Stravinsky demanded to conduct the premiere of his Octet. On October 18, 1923, at the Paris Opera House, the piece was premiered and received mixed reviews. Sergei Prokofiev called the work “a dreadful sonata” but Aaron Copland was more complimentary:
I can attest to the general feeling of mystification that followed the initial hearing. Here was Stravinsky… now suddenly, without any seeming explanation, making an about-face and presenting a piece to the public that bore no conceivable resemblance to the individual style with which he had hitherto been identified ... No one could possibly have foreseen ... that the Octet was destined to influence composers all over the world.
Serenade for Wind Nonet (2019)
Katahj Copley (b. 1998) premiered his first work Spectra in 2017 and has since composed over 100 works for wind ensemble, orchestra, and chamber groups. His music has been commissioned and performed by the Cavaliers Brass, Carroll Symphony Orchestra, California Band Director Association, and the Atlanta Wind Symphony. Copley graduated from the University of West Georgia with two Bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Composition, and is currently pursuing a Master of Music at the University of Texas at Austin, studying Composition with Omar Thomas.
Serenade for Wind Nonet is in four movements, representing the stages of healing following the end of a relationship. Prelude, written to reflect fresh heartache, starts with a somber beginning but shifts to a hopeful-sounding mood. Song is a quirky meeting of two shy and unsure people, and in Waltz, the excitement of their first date is portrayed. The final movement, Dance, begins slowly with a clarinet solo and then increases in texture and tempo, reflecting the excitement that builds when the couple finally says, “I love you.”
BITLY for Woodwind Choir (2023)
Kyle W. Brown (b. 1995) is a composer, educator, and audio engineer passionate about new music. His music explores various styles and instrumentations, with a current focus on postminimalism, electroacoustic music, and works for winds. Brown encourages an open dialogue with performers and ensembles, crediting this collaboration as essential to his compositional process. His music has been featured at Carnegie Hall, the Cortona Sessions for New Music, the Mostly Modern Festival, and the South Carolina Flute Society’s Fall Festival.
Brown received his Bachelor of Music in Composition from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Music in Composition from the University of South Florida. He is pursuing a Doctor of Music in Composition at Florida State University, where he serves as a graduate assistant in the Music Theory and Composition department.
BITLY is an exciting and driving work based around the opening motive. The piece uses a ‘superlydian’ scale to connect chromatic and functional harmonic ideas. Minimalist textures serve as the rhythmic backbone while drawing references from other styles. The work was composed for the FSU Cawthon String Orchestra, directed by Marina Akamatsu, and the orchestration for woodwinds was written for this recital.