The Appalachian Symphony Band & The Appalachian Wind Ensemble
Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts
Friday, September 22, 2023 ~ 8:00pm
Folk Songs Folk Songs
The Appalachian Symphony Band Dr Jason Gardner, music director & conducto
Second Suite in F for Military Band (1911/1984)
I March: Morris Dance, Swansea Town, Claudy Banks
II Song Without Words: “I’ll Love My Love”
III. Song of the Blacksmith
IV. Fantasia on the Dargason
Folksong of Midu (2017)
Folk Suite for Band (1963)
I Get on Board, Little Children
II Deep River
III Medley (The Old Arc’s a-Moverin’ and Sinner, Please Don’t Let This Harvest Pass)
Gustav Holst (1934-1974)
Ed Colin Matthews (b 1946)
Li Chan (b 1981)
William Grant Still (1895-1978)
The Appalachian Wind Ensemble
Dr. John Stanley Ross, music director & conductor
Overture to “Candide” (1955/1986)
Amazing Grace (1994)
English Folk Song Suite (1923/2008)
I March, Seventeen Come Sunday
II. Intermezzo, My Bonny Boy
III March, Folk Songs from Somerset
The March to End All Marches (2023)
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Arr. Clare Grundman (1913-1996)
Frank Ticheli (b 1958)
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Brooke Pierson (b 1987) WORLD PREMIERE
Appalachian Symphony Band
Second Suite in F for Military Band (1911/1984)
I. March: Morris Dance, Swansea Town, Claudy Banks)
II Song Without Words: “I’ll Love My Love”
III. Song of the Blacksmith (b. 1946)
IV. Fantasia on the Dargason
Gustav Holst (1934-1974)
Written in 1911 (though not premiered until 1922), Second Suite in F introduces and develops seven tuneful folk melodies over four movements. The introductory march begins with Glorishears -- a Morris-dance tune realized in the style of a British town brass band. A euphonium soloist sings out the sweeping melody of Swansea Town before clarinets and saxophones dance to Claudy Banks A recapitulation of Glorishears concludes the opening movement The second movement, Song Without Words: “I’ll Love My Love,” features a new exploration of the ensemble’s texture, pairing mournful solo voices against a brooding pulse of woodwinds and euphonium Song of the Blacksmith, movement three, features a much brighter, brassier color Alongside driving syncopations, it is easy to imagine the blacksmith hard at work, sparks flying After an unexpected transition, the fullness of the countryside is revealed in the final movement, Fantasia on the Dargason Propelled by joyful jig-like rhythms and a celebratory tambourine, a sustained setting of Greensleeves triumphantly arrives before the contrast of the opening’s tuba and piccolo close the suite
Celebrated English composer Gustav Holst wrote and revised his two suites for military bands during a time of immense compositional growth. Both suites were composed before the premiere of Holst’s symphonic masterwork
The Planets (1918), which in many ways relied on his experience working with folk songs. In Second Suite, much of Holst’s source material comes from the work of Dr. G. B. Gardiner and Cecil Sharp, anthropologists who collected eld recordings throughout England. (Interestingly, Sharp later traveled to the United States and collected recordings in the Southern Appalachians that helped spur the folk revival era of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and more. A lineage from these collections can be traced to the present day through countless popular recording artists.)
Folksong of Midu (2017)
Program note by David Stanley
Ed. Colin Matthews (b. 1946) Li Chan (b. 1981)
Midu is a county within the Dali Prefecture, which is itself a segment of the Yunnan Province in southwestern China. The province shares a border with Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. Midu itself is very mountainous, and most of the population of the county lives within a valley that spans the length of the county Midu is home to several cultural icons that are signicant in Chinese culture, particularly the Nanzhao Iron Pillar, a two ton structure believed to have been built 1100 years ago The city of Mizhixiang is known as the home of Huadeng opera, a style known for its use of decorative lanterns
Li Chan is a composer from Weifang in the Shandong Province in northeastern China, bordering the Yellow Sea She has had a very successful career since her graduation from the Composition Department of the Central Conservatory of Music where she studied with Du Mingxin She enlisted in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in 2006 as a composer, and has since been recognized for her ceremonial music based on Chinese folk music and heritage. Other notable works by Chan include her rendition of March of the Volunteers, the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China, as well as Golden Snake Dance. Chan’s Folksong of Midu was a finalist in the inaugural World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) composition competition within the education category. The piece was premiered at the WASBE Conference in Utrecht, The Netherlands, on 19 July 2017 by the Orchestra of the Dutch Customs under the direction of conductor Björn Bus.
Program note by Jimmy McKenzie
Appalachian Symphony Band
Folk Suite for Band
I Get on Board, Little Children
II. Deep River
William Grant Still (1895-1978)
III Medley (The Old Arc’s a-Moverin’ and Sinner, Please Don’t Let This Harvest Pass)
Born in Woodville, Mississippi, and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, William Grant Still in the late 19th century, William Grant Still was raised in the deep south in a time of great musical development. Though he was classically trained at the New England Conservatory under the tutelage of George Chadwick and was influenced greatly by experimentalist composer Edgard Varèse, Still’s music is heavily steeped in the influence of folk music and blues. He even developed a close relationship with trumpeter and selfproclaimed King of Blues, W.C. Handy. Still’s ties to the classical music world inspired him to write for larger ensembles such as wind ensembles and orchestras, and he was the first African American composer to have a piece performed by a professional orchestra – his Symphony No. 1 “Afro-American” (1950) was performed by the Rochester Philharmonic under the direction of Howard Hanson and was also performed by the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall five years after the work’s publication
Folk Suite for Band demonstrates Still’s mastery of the medium of wind band composition The piece comprises arrangements of four spirituals Each movement has elements that imitate the original style or location at which the spirituals might have been sung The first movement, Get on Board, Little Children, features rhythmic patterns meant to imitate the sounds of a train in motion Deep River is scored with flowing lines that mimic an acapella style, and breath lifts are found in the melody to imitate vocal musical ideas The third movement is a combination of two other spirituals, The Old Arc’s a-Moverin’ and Sinner, Please Don’t Let This Harvest Pass. The contrasting styles of the two are used in tandem, imitating a call-and-response form common in spirituals before ramping up to a lively and jovial nale.
Program note by Jimmy McKenzie
Appalachian Symphony Band
Dr. Jason Gardner, Music Director & Conductor
Piccolo
Tristan Morrow
Flute
MJ Olsen*
Carson Gill
Rebeca Coronel
Maggie Martin
Emma Zdrojewski
Vincent Diaz
Mitchell Edwards
Kyla Borro
Priscilla Patyk
Oboe
Dylan Quinn*
Karcie Vengala, English horn
Bassoon
Owen Marcellino *
Ian Quinn
Clarinet
Xander Kuropas*
Cris Bryant, Eb Soprano
Sammie Sileo
Daniella Ogbonna
Jamey Hill
Abbey McGraw
Keagan O’Connell
Hannah Ball
Maddie Scott
Carlos Pino
Kailynn Mollinger
Kayla Scimeca
Autumn Schmidt
William Gavilan
Haley Childress
Bass Clarinet
Ethan Gore*
Annabel
Johnson
*Denotes Principal Player
Alto Saxophone
Justin Holloway*
Genavieve Neff
Lawson Kyle
Brooke Palmer
Tenor Saxophone
Camellia Pecry*
Lily Loughnanc
Baritone Saxophone
Luke Roberts
Trumpet
Luke Judd*
Connor Blumenthal
Nathan Cox
Evan Cromer
Evan Moser
Elliot Wilson
Jason Nisely
Alex Gilland
Jack Rasmussen
Dominic Piazza
Paul Schupp
Caleb James
Patrick Carpenter
Anthony Samson
Willard Shingleton
Horn
John-Mark Gilligan*
Richard Nuckolls
Wayne Landers
Lauren Kramer
Collin McInerney
Paul Binder
Audrey McKay
Trombone
Caleb Noerr*
Raegan Estep
Ben Gibson
Preston Tow
Parker Smith
Andrew Southard
Vince Pituccio
Bass Trombone
Cale Losack
Euphonium
Joseph Kluxen*
Garrett Hannick
Madeline Martin
Isabel Nalewaik
Jayda Copeland
Xavier DeBord
Tuba
Sam Schon*
Emily Dewey
Johnathan
Burgess
Colby Callaway
Percussion
Liam Dumaine*
Jackson King
Graham Johnson
Michael Carroll
Ben Flynn
Kyzer Young
Cory Wilkins
Elizabeth Helsabeck
Kappa Kappa Psi President
Brayden Ferguson
Band Librarians
Dr Andrew Patzig
Joe Figliolo
Jimmy McKenzie
Appalachian Wind Ensemble
Overture to “Candide” (1955/1986)
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Arr. Clare Grundman (1913-1996)
Based on Voltaire’s satire on blind optimism of the same name, Candide was Leonard Bernstein’s third Broadway musical. Alongside playwright Lillian Hellman and lyricist John LeTouche, Bernstein co-authored the script and composed the music to the operetta between the years of 1953 and 1955. The plot of the show follows Candide, a naive young man from the fictional European nation of Westphalia. He and his love Cunégonde survive a brutal invasion before embarking on a journey that exposes them to trails that test Candide’s pure optimism.
Though the premier production of Candide was unsuccessful – closing after only 73 performances – Bernstein said that “There’s more of me in that piece than anything else I’ve done.” Critics admired the score, but the heavy nature of the plot made it diffcult to approach for audiences. As later revivals were produced, Candide garnered more attention and success
This arrangement for wind ensemble was written by Clare Grundman – a student of Paul Hindemith and a Coast Guard veteran In the span of 50 years, he wrote or arranged over 100 pieces, many of which would go on to become standards of the wind band repertoire
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Amazing Grace (1994)
I wanted my setting of Amazing Grace to reect the powerful simplicity of the words and melody -- to be sincere, to be direct, to be honest -- and not through the use of novel harmonies and clever tricks, but by traveling traditional paths in search of truth and authenticity I believe that music has the power to take us to a place that words alone cannot And so my own feelings about Amazing Grace reside in this setting itself The harmony, texture, orchestration, and form are inseparable, intertwined so as to be perceived as a single expressive entity
The spiritual, Amazing Grace, was written by John Newton (1725-1807), a slave ship captain who, after years of transporting slaves across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, suddenly saw through divine grace the evilness of his acts. First published in 1835 by William Walker in “The Southern Harmony,” Amazing Grace has since grown to become one of the most beloved of all American spirituals.
Amazing Grace was commissioned by John Whitwell in loving memory of his father, John Harvey Whitwell. It was first performed on February 10, 1994, by the Michigan State University Wind Symphony, John Whitwell conductor.
Program note by Jimmy McKenzie Program note by Frank TicheliAppalachian Wind Ensemble
English Folk Song Suite (1923/2008) Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
I March, Seventeen Come Sunday
II. Intermezzo, My Bonny Boy III March, Folk Songs from Somerset
The first movement Seventeen Come Sunday is set as an English march, and is made up of three folk songs, I’m Seventeen Come Sunday, Pretty Caroline, and Dives and Lazarus. The first two folk songs deal with similar subject matter of military men falling in love with and marrying beautiful women. The styles of the two songs oset each other, the first is bouncy and jovial, the second legato and cantabile. The third folk song included in movement one is Dives and Lazarus. Lazarus repeatedly begs Dives, a rich man, for food but is denied. The story continues after both men die, and Dives begs Lazarus for a drop of water to soothe his agony in Hell. To portray the antagonism of the event, Vaughan Williams has set a rm duple meter melody in the low brass against a rigorous triple meter accompaniment in upper winds.
Both folk songs used in the Intermezzo deal with love betrayed, and Vaughan Williams’s keen sense of orchestration is on full display throughout this movement My Bonny Boy begins the movement in a lonely F dorian with sparse accompaniment The mood shifts slightly to the folk song Green Bushes set as a somewhat playful scherzando The pace of this folk song belies the fact that the tonal center has remained F dorian, and thus never really feels happy or jovial
The third movement, Folk Songs From Somerset, uses four different folk songs dealing loosely with unattainable love Blow Away the Morning Dew , describes a country boy attempting to seduce a girl who quickly outwits him The second folk song, High Germany, is about a young English woman ’ s lover and her three brothers being called o to war in Germany. Thirdly, Vaughan Williams modified a version of The Trees They Do Grow High which deals with a young woman who has been wed by her father to a much younger boy. The final folk song is John Barleycorn, which is an allegory representing the harvesting of barley, and the imbibing of its final form (beer and whisky) accompaniment in upper winds.
Program note by Shawna Meggan Holtz
The March to End All Marches (2023)
WORLD PREMIERE
Brooke Pierson (b. 1987)
This work is written as a conglomeration of styles; an homage to the great circus marches and screamers in the early 20th century as well as a sarcastic, funny, and vaudevillian style associated with later works by Leonard Bernstein (such as Slava!). This work should be performed very fast but with attention to the contrasting styles that are often associated with American marches.
Program note by Brooke Pierson
Program notes compiled and edited by Jimmy McKenzie
Appalachian Wind Ensemble
Dr. John Stanley Ross, Music Director & Conductor
Flute
Bella Carter*
Elena Purcell
Nick Phairas
Keira Howlad, Piccolo
Oboe
Stephanie Gochring*
Emma Buettner*
Alexandra MacLean, English Horn
Bassoon
Andrew Coram*
Vernon Prater, Contrabassoon
Emily Davis
Abigail Turner
Clarinet
Gavin Armstrong*, Eb Clarinet
Xander Kuropas
Ben Kipps
Madelyne Brenscke
Reagan Painter
Jimmy McKenzie
Taylor Alley
Bass Clarinet
Rachel Harshman
Contrabass Clarinet
Will Brodman
Alto Saxophone
Casey Barlow*
Ben Bouressa
Josie Sanders
Tenor Saxophone
Sam Beasley
Olivia Koss
Baritone Saxophone
Ransom Vance
Trumpet
Joshua Newman*
Max Kinard
Mary Maloney
Spencer Hicks
David Rolland
Andrew Cook
Horn
Shelby Arnold*
Gabriel Porter
Declan Lynch
Matthew Claudio
Richard Nuckolls
Waync Landers
Trombone
Kenneth Schechter*
Will Rivers
Layla Bouis
Zachary Quinn
Tim Xiong
Bass Trombone
Aidan Treier
Euphonium
Owen Brady*
Elias Catlin
Gabriel Fogger
Tuba
Chayse Howard*
Emma Shepherd
Percussion
Jordan Harris*
Jack Huskey
Andrew Litton
Bruce Boney
Gage Simmons
Will Sorrell
Emma Neely
Double Bass
Care Meininger
Harp
Amber Koeppen
Kappa Kappa Psi President
Brayden Ferguson
Band Librarians
*Denotes Principal Player
Dr Andrew Patzig
Joe Figliolo
Jimmy McKenzie
Program By: Kyla Borro
Poster By: Rachel Harshman
