Tragedies & Celebrations

On the Mall (1923/2004)

Edwin Franko Goldman (1878-1956) Ed. by Edward Lisk (b. 1934)

On the Mall, Edwin Franko Goldman’s most popular march, was composed in 1923 for the dedication of the splendid new bandstand in New York City’s Central Park, where the famous Goldman Band had given its summer concerts for many years. This concert version is the one used by Dr. Goldman in his own renditions at the Mall concerts.

The march derives its name from the Park’s spacious Mall or Promenade, where the bandstand is located, and where thousands of New Yorkers gathered to stroll or listen to the strains of melodious music.

On the Mall is a musical suggestion of the enthusiasm and spirit of the huge audiences, which attended these concerts. Its animation and cheerfulness are direct and spontaneous and it never fails to arouse in the auditors a mood of brisk alertness – a definite indication of a truly great march.

The enjoyment derived from joining in the singing and whistling refrains has further endeared this march to millions of music lovers. The march enjoys enormous and deserved popularity.

Program Note by Edward Lisk

Elegy for a Young American (1967)

Ronald Lo Presti (1933-1985)

Elegy for a Young American is a testament to the vision and commitment of our 35th president, as well as a deeply emotional meditation on his tragic passing. The work is often described as moving through the various stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Interestingly, the idea of a codified progression of grief was not put forward until 1969, five years after the premiere, but there is no doubt that the piece travels through many of the emotional states felt by so many Americans in November of 1963. Gentle, homophonic choruses give way to discordant outbursts and massive climaxes as the composer struggles to make sense of Kennedy’s death. Finally, the anguish settles into a peaceful resolution, suggesting that even in the face of tragedy there is some room for acceptance.

Program Note by Kevin Simpson for the United States Army Band

Music for Prague, 1968 (1968) I. Introduction and Fanfare II. Aria III. Interlude IV. Toccata and Chorale

Karel Husa (1921-2016)

"It is not as beautiful a music as one always would like to hear. But we cannot always paint flowers, we cannot always speak in poetry about beautiful clouds, there are some times we would like to express the fight for freedom."

— Karel Husa In 1968, Czechoslovakia began to experience a relaxing of Communist economic policies and a lifting of restrictions on media, speech and travel. The Soviets denounced this “Prague Spring” and, after several failed attempts at negotiation, sent Eastern Bloc armies to invade the country on the night of Aug. 20. Composer Karel Husa heard about the invasion while on vacation at his summer cottage in upstate New York. The professor of music at Cornell University and Czech expatriate resolved to write a new composition for band that would honor the beauty of his native city, Prague, but also express the tragedy of the occupation. He based his Music for Prague 1968, which has been called one of the most important original compositions for band, entirely on a 15th-century Hussite war song, Ye Warriors of God and His Law, which Husa called “a symbol of resistance and hope for hundreds of years, whenever fate lay heavy on the Czech nation.”

It is the composer’s wish that the following foreword be printed in its entirety in all concert programs of each performance of Music for Prague 1968: Foreword: Three main ideas bind the composition together. The first and most important is an old Hussite war song from the 15th century, Ye Warriors of God and His Law, a symbol of resistance and hope for hundreds of years, whenever fate lay heavy on the Czech nation. It has been utilized also by many Czech composers, including Smetana in My Country. The beginning of this religious song is announced very softly in the first movement by the timpani and concludes in a strong unison (Chorale). The song is never used in its entirety.

The second idea is the sound of bells throughout, Prague, named also the City of “Hundreds of Towers,” has used its magnificently sounding church bells as calls of distress as well as of victory. The last idea is a motif of three chords first appearing very softly under the piccolo solo at the beginning of the piece, in flutes, clarinets and horns. Later it reappears at extremely strong dynamic levels, for example, in the middle of the Aria.

Different techniques of composing as well as orchestrating have been used in Music for Prague 1968 and some new sounds explored, such as the percussion section in the Interlude, the ending of the work, etc. Much symbolism also appears: in addition to the distress calls in the first movement (Fanfares), the unbroken hope of the Hussite song, sound of bells, or the tragedy (Aria), there is also the bird call at the beginning (piccolo solo), a symbol of the liberty which the City of Prague has seen only for moments during its thousand years of existence.

— Karel Husa Program Note by Andrew Skaggs for the U.S. Navy Band

APPALACHIAN SYMPHONY BAND Dr. Jason Gardner, Music Director & Conductor Flute MJ Olsen* Carson Gill Rebeca Coronel Tristan Morrow, Piccolo 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

Alto Saxophone Justin Holloway* Genavieve Neff Lawson Kyle Brooke Palmer

Tenor Saxophone Camellia Peery* Lily Loughnane

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* Will Rivers Raegan Estep Layla Bouis Ben Gibson Hailey Walker Preston Tow Parker Smith Andrew Southard Vince Pituccio Violet Goldberg 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

Inglesina: “The Little English Girl” (1897/2000)

Davide Delle Cese (1856-1938) Ed. by John R. Bourgeois (b. 1934)

Inglesina, originally L'Inglesina (The Little English Girl), was written in 1871. A concert march or marcia sinfonica, it is composed in a more flexible form than the standard military march. Its phrases and sections are often asymmetrical. Various elements are reintroduced to create dramatic effect, along with sudden dynamic shifts and wide-ranging expressiveness. This piece is an important part of the march repertoire, particularly as an example of the late nineteenth-century, Italian concert march style. This edition by John Bourgeois, former director of the United States Marine Band, brings new excitement and freshness to the original European classic.

Composer Davide Delle Cese (1856–1938) was an Italian band leader, composer and teacher. He received initial musical instruction from his godfather, a theater conductor in Rome, and formal musical training at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella in Naples. By the age of 26, at the direction of the Italian War Office, he had scored for wind band all known national anthems. Following military service, he led bands in Pontecorvo, Venice, and San Leo, finally settling in the port of Bitonto where he became resident bandmaster. He wrote more than 35 pieces for band including 13 marches, lyric works, waltzes, and mazurkas.

Program note by the Palatine Concert Band

Song for Silent Voices (2018)

Wayne Oquin (b. 1977)

I love composing for the human voice. Nothing is more musically meaningful than finding the perfect poem, however unknown, and letting it transport me into worlds of sound I otherwise might not have considered. For me, the process of setting any text usually involves culling from the countless ways a stanza could be sung, to find the one I feel best captures the essence of the written word. I labor on every detail of the language -syllables, vowels, and consonants -- giving each element its own unique melodic shape. Without fail, the music brings added meaning.

In October 2017, I began an unaccompanied choral work to honor the memory of a remarkable man, my longtime friend, Herbert M. Loyd, M.D. The text consisted of one word: Alleluia. I became fascinated with the idea of setting this single utterance hundreds of ways, each repetition determined to portray some new element of this ancient sacred expression.

Even before I knew the ending or how it would arrive, I was certain I wanted to explore an instrumental version.

Beyond the affirmative title, beyond the emphatic nature of the repetitive lyric -- alleluia ... alleluia -- the slow harmonic rhythm in the opening, the song-like simplicity of the themes, the long soaring lines of the climax -at times as many as eight singing simultaneously -- all urged me to undertake a transcription for the many colors of the wind ensemble.

Continually I'm drawn to music's power to connect, its gift of going beyond words. To enter music, this seemingly separate world of pitches, harmonies, rhythms, and textures, is to plunge more deeply into life itself.

How true of the current work: unresolved dissonances speaking to our collective humanity in all its beauty and many imperfections; frequent modulations reflecting a world of constant change; a single solo voice signifying child-like innocence; the final diminuendo depicting life’s brevity. Words alone would be inadequate.

What an honor to have my work premiered by The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Wind Symphony. These brave young musicians, having been through unspeakable tragedy, are an inspiration to all. My hope is that this music somehow merges grief and gratitude; the quiet void from a life lost and the thankfulness for times shared. Song for Silent Voices, inspired by the loss of my friend Herb, is dedicated to Alex Kaminsky and is to be premiered December 20, 2018, at the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago. Gary Green will lead the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Wind Symphony, Alex Kaminsky, director.

Program note by the composer Joe Figliolo, conductor

Theme and Variations, Op. 43a (1943)

Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)

In 1943, Arnold Schoenberg composed Theme and Variations, Op. 43a after numerous requests for a wind band composition by his dear friend and president of G. Schirmer Music, Carl Engel. While not written in the composer’s famed twelve-­tone style, Schoenberg still believed Opus 43a to be of practical and artistic significance. In a 1944 letter to Fritz Reiner, the composer stated: "...this is not one of my main works, as everybody can see, because it is not a composition with twelve tones. It is one of those compositions which one writes in order to enjoy one’s own virtuosity and, on the other hand, to give a certain group of music lovers – here it is the bands – something better to play. I can assure you – and I think I can prove it – technically this piece is a masterwork."

Although Opus 43a establishes itself clearly as a tonal work in g-­minor, Schoenberg gives himself free reign to assert his mastery of the contrapuntal techniques developed in his prior twelve­‐tone compositions by utilizing variation form. In order to achieve maximum diversity of character, Schoenberg clearly delineates each of the sections of the piece, giving these sections a specific melodic, orchestrational and formal framework. Not only is the melody of the theme, heard in the first twenty-­one measures, developed over the course of the work’s seven variations, but background elements shift from structural scenery to predominance in the ensuing contrapuntal elaboration before the original theme reasserts itself in the climactic finale of the piece. By fracturing and passing around melody and other primary material, Schoenberg plays upon the coloristic strengths inherent in wind band instrumentation. Finally, over the course of Opus 43a the formal structure of contrapuntal development receives elaboration, so the listener hears in various sections an adagio, a waltz, a strict canon and a fugato before the final variation [a “choral fantasy”] and finale.

Theme and Variations is comprised of a 21-measure theme followed by seven variations. At the onset, the composition appears to be firmly rooted in the key of G minor. From there, however, the composer exercises his compositional mastery to create seven variations of increasing complexity which often mask the melody with various contrapuntal techniques. The original theme returns toward the end of the work, culminating in a subtle tip of the hat to George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

APPALACHIAN WIND ENSEMBLE Dr. John Stanley Ross, Music Director & Conductor Mr. Joe Figliolo, Graduate Conductor Flute Bella Carter* Elena Purcell Nick Phairas Keira Howald, Piccolo

Alto Saxophone Casey Barlow* Ben Bouressa Josie Sanders

Oboe Stephanie Gochring* Emma Buettner* Alexandra MacLean, English Horn

Tenor Saxophone Sam Beasley Olivia Koss

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

*Denotes Principal Player

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 Laura Packer Emma Neely String Bass Care Fortune Kappa Kappa President Brayden Ferguson Band Librarians Joe Figliolo Jimmy McKenzie

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Program Notes Compiled and Edited By Jimmy McKenzie Program By Kyla Borro Poster By Rachel Harshman