THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY College of Music presents
University Wind Ensemble
Patrick Dunnigan, Conductor Collin Clark & Jason Freeman, Graduate Associate Conductors
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 7:30 p.m. | Ruby Diamond Concert Hall
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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. Recording Notice: This performance may be recorded. Please note that members of the audience may at times be included in this process. By attending this performance you consent to have your image or likeness appear in any live or recorded video or other transmission or reproduction made in conjunction to the performance. 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.
PROGRAM Fantasia in G (1983)
Timothy Mahr (b. 1956)
Suite Algérienne, Op. 60 (1880, 1958) IV. Marche Militaire Française
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) tr. Mark H. Hindsley (1905–1999)
Collin Clark, Graduate Associate Conductor Suite Française, Op. 248 (1944) I. Normandie II. Bretagne III. Île de France IV. Alsace-Lorraine V. Provençe
Darius Milhaud (1892–1974)
INTERMISSION Celtic Hymns & Dances (1990)
Eric Ewazen (b. 1954) Jason Freeman, Graduate Associate Conductor
Concerto for Euphonium and Wind Ensemble (2018) I. Machine II. Feeling III. Paradox
Kevin Day (b. 1996)
Jonah Zimmerman, soloist Savannah River Holiday (1953)
Ron Nelson (1929–2023) Tonight’s Performance In Memoriam
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM Mahr: Fantasia in G Timothy Mahr is the Professor of Music and Director of Bands at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Mahr is also the director of the Minnesota Symphonic Winds. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Mahr earned the Bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College and the Master of Music degree in trombone performance from the University of Iowa. Fantasia in G was composed to be a joyful celebration for winds and percussion. The opening line of Johann von Schiller’s poem “Ode to Joy,” Freude, Schöner Götterfunken, means “Joy, Bright Spark of Divinity.” This text served as the inspiration for Fantasia in G. The piece was composed for the St. Olaf College Band where Mahr now resides and was premiered in 1983. Saint-Saëns: Marche Militaire Française Camille Saint-Saens was a French composer of the Romantic Era. Saint-Saëns is best known for works such as The Carnival of the Animals, Danse Macabre, the opera Samson and Delilah and his Symphony No. 3 (Organ Symphony). Saint-Saëns started playing piano and violin from the age of two before his first public performance at the age of five. In the 1840s Saint-Saëns studied at the Conservatoire de Paris where he studied Organ composition. Mark H. Hindsley began his formal education at Indiana University where he earned the bachelor’s degree in chemistry before pursuing the Master of Music degree. In 1934 he was appointed Director of Bands at the University of Illinois where he served until he was called to serve in the Air Force from 1942-46. While serving in the Air Force Hindsley rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and supervised over 150 Air Force Bands. In 1948 Hindsley returned to the University of Illinois where he retired in 1970. The Marche Militaire Française is the fourth and final movement of Saint-Saëns’s Suite Algerienne. In this March, Saint-Saëns records his impressions of the atmosphere at his favorite summer resort in Algeria. The unique combination of a French March and a Finale of a large Suite leads to striking and energetic contrasts in tone color. Milhaud: Suite Francaise Darius Milhaud studied at the Paris Conservatory. Milhaud was considered one of “Les Six,” the members of which included Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Francis Poulenc, and Germaine Tailleferre. His compositions were influenced by jazz and contained aspects of polytonality. In 1940, Milhaud emigrated to America and studied with Dave Brubeck. The Jewish composer did not return home until after WWII. The five parts of Suite Francaise are named after French provinces, the very ones in which the American and Allied armies fought together with the French: Normandy, Brittany, Île de France, Alsace-Lorraine, and Provence. Milhaud used folk tunes of these provinces. He wanted Americans to hear the popular melodies of those parts of France where their fathers and brothers fought to defeat the German invaders.
Ewazen: Celtic Hymns and Dances Eric Ewazen, born in 1954, studied composition at the Eastman School of Music. After his undergraduate studies, Ewazen received the M.M. and D.M.A. from the Julliard School, where he has worked since 1980. Celtic Hymns and Dances was commissioned by and is dedicated to James Fudale and the Berea (Ohio) High School Symphonic Winds who premiered the work in March, 1990. The one-movement work draws its inspiration from medieval and Renaissance music. Although the melodies and themes are original creations, the modal harmony, the characteristically energetic rhythms, and the use of colorful wind orchestration calls to mind music of ancient times. Within the piece one finds pastoral ballads, heroic fanfares and joyful dances culminating in a lively sonorous finale. – Eric Ewazen Day: Concerto for Euphonium & Wind Ensemble Kevin Day is an internationally acclaimed composer, conductor, and jazz pianist currently residing in Waterloo, Canada. His collection of more than 250 compositions have been performed by soloist, chamber, and symphonic ensembles across the world. Day is a winner of the BMI Composer Award, a three-time ASCAP Morton Gould Finalist, a finalist for the ABA Sousa-Oswald Award, a finalist for the NBA Revelli Award, and was considered for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his Concerto for Wind Ensemble. While Day is currently the Assistant Professor of Composition and Director of the Jazz Orchestra at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada, he is originally from Arlington, Texas. He holds degrees from Texas Christian University (TCU), the University of Georgia, and is ABD completing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Composition at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. The Concerto For Euphonium & Wind Ensemble was commissioned by Don Winston and dedicated to the renowned soloist, Demondrae Thurman. The piece consists of three movements: Machine, Feeling, and Paradox. The first movement is focused on reflecting the sounds of a machine, while the second movement is based on what it’s like to feel emotions as humans do. The third and final movement is the embodiment of the internal conflict that presents itself as the machine battles what it is versus what it feels. Nelson: Savannah River Holiday Ron Nelson began studying piano at the age of 6. When he was 13, he began playing organ for his church and composing. Nelson received all three of his degrees from the Eastman School of Music. After graduation, he taught at Brown University until his retirement in 1993. Nelson’s highly decorated career included works for opera, film, choir, and band. Rocky Point Holiday, and Passacaglia (Homage on B-A-C-H) are a few of his most notable pieces for concert band. Savannah River Holiday was commissioned by the New Rochelle High School Wind Ensemble in 1973. Originally composed as an orchestral overture, Savannah River Holiday includes two contrasting moods that alternate throughout the piece – happy and reckless and quiet and reflective. Nelson included all of the original content in his transcription. “With respect to the alternate power, sensitivity and technical demands, the present version is somewhat of a tour de force for wind ensemble.”
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University Wind Ensemble Personnel Patrick Dunnigan, Conductor Collin Clark & Jason Freeman, Graduate Associate Conductors Piccolo Cameron McGill Flute Melody Quiroga Taylor Hawkins Kylie Boschen Raúl Parra Ryleigh Templeton Oboe Loanne Masson Alice Frisch Oboe/English Horn Haley O’Neill Bassoon Hannah Farmer Korsica Kegg Eb Clarinet Jalen Smalls
Clarinet Leah Price Morgan Magnoni Reymon Contrera Ethan Burke Nicholas Mackley Dawson Huynh Daniel Gonzalez Anna Urbine Bass Clarinet Mark Stevens Contrabass Clarinet Malik Mullino Saxophone Jack Blumer, alto Jennifer Fuentes, alto Kaeden Parks, tenor Joshua Spraker, baritone
Trumpet Jeremiah Gonzalez Jordyn Myers Danielle Monahan Joshua Puente Grason Peterson CarlosManuel Aceves Horn Luis Oquendo Emma Brockman Vincent Aldoretta Isaí Santos Sarah Meza Trombone Justus Smith Taylor Haworth Tristan Goodrich, bass Euphonium Adam Zierden Alan Jean-Baptiste
Tuba Sophia Farfante Levi Vickers Chris Bernhardt Percussion JJ Baker Jordan Brown Ian Guarraia Mackenzie Selimi Jessica Weinberg Harp Ezekiel Harris Piano Dain Lee String Bass Charlie Storch