20230419_Wind Ensemble

THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF MUSIC Presents THE UNIVERSITY

WIND ENSEMBLE

David Plack, Director

Jason Freeman & Ashley Deane, Graduate Conducting Associates

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Seven-thirty in the Evening

Ruby Diamond Concert Hall

La Boda de Luis Alonso (1897)

PROGRAM

Gerónimo Giménez

II. Intermezzo (1854–1923)

Traveler (2003)

David Maslanka (1943–2017)

Four Scottish Dances (1957) Malcolm Arnold

I. Pesante (1921–2006)

II. Vivace (arr. John P. Paynter)

III. Allegretto

IV. Con brio

Jason Freeman, graduate associate conductor

INTERMISSION

Unidad en Rítmo (2023) Michele Fernández

I. Guaguanacó: Serenity in feeling friendship (b. 1967)

II. Son Montuno: Joyful unity in play and dance

III. Bolero: Through unity and mutual empathy

IV. Afro Cuban: Adversity overcome by perseverance, hope and support

Some treasures are heavy with human tears (2001)

Ashley Deane, graduate associate conductor

John Mackey (b. 1973)

Baron Cimetiére’s Mambo (2004) Donald Grantham (b. 1947)

Passacaglia (Homage on B-A-C-H) (1992)

Ron Nelson (b. 1929)

Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting while performers are playing. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Please turn off cell phones and all other electronic devices. Please refrain from putting feet on seats and seat backs. Children who become disruptive should be taken out of the performance hall so they do not disturb the musicians and other audience members.

ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR

David Plack was appointed to the wind band conducting and music education faculty at Florida State University in 2004 as the Director of Athletic Bands. His responsibilities in the area of athletic bands include the “world renowned” Marching Chiefs and FSU’s athletic pep band program, Seminole Sound, which primarily supports the men’s basketball program, the women’s basketball and volleyball programs, and provides numerous other performances in support of FSU athletics and the University at large.

Among other responsibilities in the areas of wind band conducting and music education, Plack assists with the supervision of music education intern teachers, teaches the Marching Band Techniques course, and conducts the University Wind Ensemble. Dr. Plack was recently nominated for the prestigious University Teaching Award for his contributions and work with undergraduate students at FSU.

Plack graduated from Shaw High School in Columbus, Georgia where his high school band director, Timothy Zabel, was a significant influence on his desire to become a music educator. He later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, a Master of Music Education degree, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education degree from the Florida State University College of Music, where he studied with Richard Clary, Patrick Dunnigan, Clifford Madsen, Bentley Shellahamer, and his primary conducting teacher and mentor, James Croft. Prior to his collegiate teaching, Plack taught seven years at Vero Beach High School alongside James Sammons.

He holds active memberships in the National Association for Music Education, the College Band Directors National Association, the Florida Music Educators Association, and the Florida Bandmasters Association. Plack is also a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Mu Alpha, and holds honorary memberships in both Tau Beta Sigma and Kappa Kappa Psi, and serves as the faculty sponsor for Kappa Kappa Psi. Plack is also Past- President of the Atlantic Coast Conference Band Directors Association.

Plack is an active drill designer and arranger having provided numerous creative projects for the Marching Chiefs and other athletic band endeavors. He is also an active guest clinician, conductor, and adjudicator.

Giménez: La Boda de Luis Alonso

La Boda de Luis Alonso (The Wedding of Luis Alonso) by Gerónimo Giménez is a zarzuela, a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance. La Boda de Luis Alonso (The Wedding of Luis Alonso) is Giménez’s most famous work. The festive Spanish dance rhythms, with its heel and toe dance rhythms, and colorful Iberian instrumentation including tambourine and castanets.

Maslanka: Traveler

Traveler was commissioned in 2003 by the University of Texas at Arlington Band Alumni Association, the Delta Sigma chapter of Kapa Kappa Psi and the Gamma Nu chapter of Tau Beta Sigma, in honor of the career contributions of Ray C. Lichtenwalter (b. 1940), retiring director of bands at UT Arlington.

Maslanka notes:

The idea for Traveler came from the feeling of a big life movement as I contemplated my friend’s retirement. Traveler begins with an assertive statement of the chorale melody Nicht so traurig, nicth so sehr (Not so sad, not so much). The chorale was not chosen for its title, although in retrospect it seems quite appropriate. The last part of a life need not be sad. It is the accumulation of all that has gone before, and a powerful projection into the future -- the potential for a tremendous gift of life and joy. And so, the music begins with energy and movement, depicting an engaged life in full stride. At the halfway point, a meditative quiet settles in. Life’s battles are largely done; the soul is preparing for its next big step.

In our hearts, our minds, our souls

We travel from life to life to life

In time and eternity.

Arnold: Four Scottish Dances

Four Scottish Dances was composed early in 1957 and are dedicated to the BBC Light Music Festival. They are all based on original melodies but one, the melody of which is composed by Robert Burns. The first dance is in the style of a slow strathspey – a slow Scottish dance. The name was derived from the strath valley of Spey. The second, a lively reel, that rises a semi-tone each time it is played until the bassoon plays it, at a greatly reduced speed. The third dance is in the style of a Hebridean song and attempts to give an impression of the sea and mountain scenery on a calm summer’s day in the Hebrides. The last dance is a lively fling, which makes a great deal of use of the saxophones.

Fernández: Unidad en Rítmo

Michele Fernández’s Unidad en Rítmo is a vibrant and dynamic composition inspired by the music and culture of Cuba. The title of the piece, which translates to “Unity in Rhythm,” reflects the composer’s vision of bringing together diverse musical traditions to create a unified whole.

Fernández draws on a variety of Latin American rhythms, including the clave, the montuno, and the guaguancó, to create a rhythmic foundation that is both propulsive and infectious. Fernández’s composition skillfully shows off intricate interplay between instruments while highlighting soloists throughout the ensemble to create a rich and diverse sonic landscape. “Unidad en Rítmo” is a technically challenging work that requires a high level of precision and coordination from the performers. However, it is also a highly rewarding piece that offers a rich and engaging musical experience for both the performers and the audience. At its core, “Unidad en Rítmo” is a testament to the power of music to transcend cultural and linguistic boundaries and create a sense of shared humanity.

Mackey: Some treasures are heavy with human tears

The following program note was written by Jacob Wallace and is taken directly from the score for this piece.

CONTENT WARNING: This program note describes an act of public mass violence and may be traumatic or uncomfortable to some readers. Discretion is advised.

At 1:05 AM on Sunday, August 4, 2019 in the Oregon Historic District of Dayton, Ohio, a man armed with a semi-automatic AM-15 approached a crowded neighborhood bar and opened fire. In under thirty seconds, he fired 41 rounds, killing nine people and injuring another 17. That’s where the story of John Mackey’s Some treasures are heavy with human tears begins. One of the victims of the shooting was a young woman who had played trumpet in her high school band in nearby Bellbrook. The Bellbrook program reached out to Mackey to commission a work that would commemorate the tragedy, a task he approached with some reluctance:

“I’ve been asked on several occasions to write pieces in response to tragedies, but I’ve rarely felt like it was appropriate. Something about this, though—happening in Dayton, where I’ve been many times, and so close to Columbus, where I grew up— that I felt like I wanted to try to say something musically, even though I was at a loss for what I could say verbally. Fortunately, Abby (my spouse) found this incredible title, which says so much before the music even starts. The last thing the community needed was a piece of music that relived the event. The piece isn’t trying to sound like what happened; it’s trying to convey what it feels like to know that it happened.”

The piece is not programmatic. Rather, it exists in abstraction: a meditation on grief. In framing the work in this way, Mackey’s music transcends elegizing a singular horrific event and instead provides an artistic representation of how we cope with all tragedies, both those that are intensely personal and the ones that are communal. It explores a wide range of emotions, from denial through shock, fury, and anguish before finally finding an incomplete peace. Some treasures

are heavy with human tears begins with a simple motivic gesture: a rocking oscillation between flute and vibraphone that sounds akin to a lullaby. This principal motive carries throughout the piece, acting as the listener’s avatar through the emotional journey. A melody spins out from it, accompanied by ethereal ringing provided by crystal glasses and whirly tubes, and although the overall mood is one of melancholy, the atmosphere is also peaceful until a disorienting fog of trombone glissandi passes over. The songlike melody continues, at times abruptly shifting from the resigned mood of the home key of G minor to the distantly bright C major, evoking a fleeting remembrance of a more hopeful spirit, before just as quickly dissipating back. The simplicity of the opening returns, but this time fuller, with more voices joining before the glissando cloud returns (this time augmented by timpani), ushering in a new mood: confusion. The opening gesture reemerges, ceaselessly rocking in a rhythmic nature, oblivious to a building torment in the surrounding harmonies which become brasher and angrier as the piece approaches its dramatic climax. The apex of the piece is a wail, acknowledging the reality of the trauma in a moment of agony bordering on rage. This too, however, subsides, and the peacefulness of the beginning of the work returns to stay with one exception: as the final phrase of the work cadences and the last tones decay, a single muted trumpet rises from the silence in a bright flash and is suddenly extinguished.

Grantham: Baron Cimetiere’s Mambo

Donald Grantham’s Baron Cimetiere’s Mambo is a lively and energetic piece of music inspired by the traditional Haitian voodoo culture. The piece centers around a driving, rhythmic pulse that is reminiscent of traditional African and Haitian rhythms. Grantham uses a variety of percussion instruments, including congas, bongos, timbales, and cowbells, to create an elaborate texture that is both complex and exhilarating.

The title of the piece refers to “Baron Cimetiere” a powerful spirit in the Haitian voodoo tradition who is associated with death and the afterlife.

Grantham’s music has been characterized and praised for its exuberance and vitality, and Baron Cimetiere’s Mambo is no exception. The piece is full of surprises and unexpected turns. Overall, Baron Cimetiere’s Mambo is a thrilling and evocative piece of music that captures the spirit and energy of the Haitian voodoo tradition. Its complex rhythms and infectious melodies perfectly embody the cultural dynamics that it represents.

Nelson: Passacaglia (Homage on B-A-C-H)

Passacaglia (Homage on B-A-C-H) is a set of continuous variations built on an eight-measure melody which is stated, in various registers, twenty-five times. It is a seamless series of musical scenes which move from darkness to light.

Written in homage to Johann Sebastian Bach, it utilizes, as counterpoint throughout, the melodic motive represented by his name in German nomenclature, i.e. B-flat, A, C, and B natural. Bach introduced this motive in his unfinished The Art of the Fugue.

University Wind Ensemble Personnel

David Plack, Director

Jason Freeman and Ashley Deane, Graduate Conducting Associates

Piccolo

Paige Douglas

Flute

Cameron McGill

Moriah Emrich

Talley Powell

Kylie Boschen

Oboe

Sarah Ward

Anisa Herbert

Loanne Masson

Bassoon

Timothy Schwindt

Zach Martin

Hannah Farmer

Contrabassoon

Zach Martin

E-flat Clarinet

Jalen Smalls

Clarinet

Sadie Murray

Jariel Santiago

Reymon Contrera

Joshua Collins

Ethan Burke

Anna Urbine

Bass Clarinet

Evan Jewsbury

Samantha Maltagliati

Contrabass Clarinet

Ethan Burke

Alto Saxophone

Ethan Horn

Kaeden Parks

Riley Nauman

Tenor Saxophone

Tyler Welch

Baritone Saxophone

Jack Blumer

Trumpet

Bob Kerr

CarlosManuel Aceves

Easton Barham

Danielle Monahan

Brian Ratledge

Israel Martinez

Horn

Luis Oquendo

AC Caruthers

Rita Cesare-DeGroat

Allison Kirkpatrick

Isaac Roman

Trombone

Taylor Haworth

Connor McDonald

Kevin Li

Tristan Goodrich

Euphonium

Jayne Margason

Connor Stross

Tuba

Levi Vickers

Daniel Sullivan

Sebastian Bravo Percussion

Gus Barreda

Jordan Brown

Landon Holladay

Will Howald

Jacob Bell

Jackson Kowalczyk

Abby McNulty

Piano

Grace Smith

String Bass

Christian Maldonado

Special thanks to the following musicians for their contribution to our performance of the Passacaglia (Homage on B-A-C-H)

Flute

Taylor Hawkins

Raegan O’Rourke

Clarinet

Carly Davis

Mark Stevens

Leah Price

Jesse Rigsby

Morgan Magnoni

Euphonium

Jonah Zimmerman Percussion

Justin Ball

Chris Baird

September 18, Bak & Chang, viola/piano

October 23, Dominic Cheli, piano

January 22, Sinta Quartet, saxophone

February 17, Jasper String Quartet, Valentine Fundraiser, 7 PM

St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral

March 5, Coro Vocati, vocal ensemble

May 7, Cuarteto Latinoamericano, string quartet

2022-2023 Concert Season

– Celebrating 35 Years of Song! –

FALL

Sunday, November 20 4:00 PM

Coronation Mass in C major, W.A. Mozart

*Tickets: tcchorus.org or call 850-597-0603

UNITY 16

Sunday, January 29 4:00 PM

“Repair The Future”

Weather, Rollo Dilworth, Poem by Claudia Rankine

Joined by The Florida A&M University Concert Choir

SPRING

Sunday, April 30 4:00 PM

Carmina Burana, Carl Orff

All performances in Ruby Diamond Concert Hall, The Florida State University

Michael Hanawalt, Artistic Director

Florida State University COLLEGE OF MUSIC

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