Concert Band & Wind Ensemble - October 2, 2026 by Purdue Bands & Orchestras

Purdue Bands & Orchestras Presents

CONCERT BAND & WIND ENSEMBLE Long Center for the Performing Arts

7:00 PM October 2, 2026

FACULTY & STAFF Jay S. Gephart.....................................................................................................Director and AI G. Wright Chair Matthew R. Conaway............Professor, Director of the Purdue “All-American” Marching Band Dr. Pamela J. Nave................................................................Associate Professor, Director of Percussion Adam Bodony..........................................................................Associate Professor, Director of Orchestras Jarrard Harris.............................................................................................................Clinical Associate Professor Bethany Robinson...............................................Clinical Assistant Professor, Director of Jazz Bands Dr. David M. Blon.......................................................................................................Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Lucas Petersen..................................................................................................Clinical Assistant Professor Douglas R. Fletcher.............................................................................................................Director of Operations Amy Brandfonbrener................................................................................................Chamber Music Instructor Esther Kirgiss........................................................................................................Director of External Relations Caitlin Cotten........................................................................Manager of Recruitment & Student Success Humza Nasir..............................................................................................................................Multimedia Designer Susan Lipscomb.............................................................................................Senior Administrative Assistant Kim Delks.........................................................................................................................................Business Assistant Adisyn Nichols..................................................................................................................Student Office Assistant Udochukwu Akorah...................................................................................................Social Media Ambassador

CONCER T ARCHIVE

DIGITAL PROGRAMS

PROGRAM C O NC ER T BAN D

Dr. David M. Blon, conductor Fanfare 250 (2026).................................................................................................................Noah Taylor (b. 1982)

Riff Raff (2012).........................................................................................................................Ryan George (b. 1978)

Rozana (2025).......................................................................................................................Reena Esmail (b. 1983)

Haunted Objects: 付喪神 Tsukumogami (2024)................................................John Mackey (b. 1973) I. II.

WIND EN SEMBLE

Jay S. Gephart, conductor Dr. David M. Blon, assistant conductor American Hero (2001)...............................................................................................Bruce Broughton (b. 1945)

Traveler (2003)..........................................................................................................David Maslanka (1943-2017)

In the Offing (2021).......................................................................................................................Joel Love (b. 1982)

Enigma (2024).......................................................................................................David Biedenbender (b. 1984)

The Sesquicentennial Exposition March (1926/2022)..................John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)

WIND ENSEMBLE FLU TE Jeana Yeo Keya Upadhyay Linda Xu Mary Pechman Yeonsoo Choi OBOE Ava Baker Balin Pugsley Isaak Gutierrez BAS SOO N Seth Cowan Luke Trahin Porter Stone CO N T R A BAS S O O N Porter Stone Eb C LA R I NE T Aiden Taheri Bb C LA R I NE T Jeremy Moon Max Xue Aiden Taheri Keshav Sreekantham Gabe Morgenstern Seojeong Huh Bella Gonzalez Leanne So Jonathan Rhee

BAS S C LA RINET Ellie Heaney Leo Sun A LTO SA XOP HONE Chanul Sumanasinghe Thomas Colton Gavin Stine TENOR SA XOP HONE Tarek Osman BA RITONE SA XOP HON E Yonathan Endashaw TRUMP ET Sathya Devarajan Patton Duvall Aneesh Pannala Norah Kopolow Coen Budde Steven Win Gerald Han Joe Mastri HORN Ryan Sierra Connor Hall Jared Hasty Katherine Kuzmic Joseph Weideman Shaurya Bansal

TROMBON E Daniel Henze Arman Pathan Owen Toro Ben Wasson EUPH ON I UM Michael Gardner Ethan Kim TUBA Rhys Bulham Rushil Yeluri STRI N G BASS Ava Hoskins PI AN O Audrey Wise PERCUSSI ON Shrey Vedantham Leon Wang Koree Arndt Arthur Prudius Kavin Karthikeyan Grant Jackson Matt Vaughn Wesley Arrington

CONCERT BAND P ICC O L O Quentin Benak FLU TE Mateo Barileau Kaitlyn Calland* Dakota Carson Anita Dinakar Kaitlyn Liu Emma Senter Hannah Wene O B O E /E NG L I S H HO RN Regan Allen* Amy Basca BAS SOO N Alexander Frabell Idris Stevenson* Eb C LA R I NE T Braden Mekeel Bb C LA R I NE T Savannah Bellamy Calvin Carper Orien King Isaac Lublin Mason Moyle Daniel Shimizu William Sullivan* Sebin Yeom Bowen Zheng

BAS S C LA RINET Elizabeth Hoppenrath* Anton Rettig A LTO SA XOP HONE Theo Do Joseph Johnson Sanil Shetty* TENOR SA XOP HONE Isabella Rabadi BA RITONE SA XOP HON E Drew Jansen

TEN OR TROMBON E Peter Arroyo* Jamie Cridge Thomas Flamm Elena Gutierrez Carson Richards BASS TROMBON E Varun Achanta EUPH ON I UM Hayden Goldsmith Jonah Rosner* Tj Sandor

HORN Emma Anderson Alexa Barron* Justin French Kaylee Gnivecki Abby Jones Victoria Kendall

TUBA Gabe Boutin Diego Garcia* Max Tung

TRUMP ET Ryan Borruso Ava Dickert Drew Lehner* Sara Sahlhoff Nadav Shalinsky Craigen Shearer Ben Whitney

PI AN O Annabel Gainey

STRI N G BASS Mr. Ben Foerster

PERCUSSI ON Addison Akers Jamie Blair Rohan Cherukuri Jack Farley* Derek Larson Tommy Mccabe Amaan Oliyath

This ensemble is listed alphabetically to reinforce the importance of each member to the group. * Indicates section leader

FANFARE 250 - TAYLO R Fanfare 250 was composed and dedicated to the men and women of the United States Army and their 250 years of service to a grateful nation. From the bravery of soldiers to the beauty of the Heartland, this music captures the American story — filled with pride, hope, and history. Noah D. Taylor currently produces music for a variety of mediums, serving as a staff arranger and composer for the United States Military Academy at West Point as well as doing work for Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts, and various television programs.

RIFF RAF F - G EO R G E Riff Raff was born out of a recently renewed interest in post-war jazz and big band. The works of composers and arrangers like Kenton, Riddle, Graettinger, Ellington, and even the jazz-inspired sounds in some of Bernstein’s symphonic music conjure up images (in my mind anyway) of the “urban rebel” found within mid-century American pop culture. This idea of the brooding lone figure who forges through life on his own terms can be found in some of the fictional film characters played by James Dean and Marion Brando or in the hard-boiled detectives and heroes within pulp novels and film noir. What I find interesting about these characters is the double-persona that they usually possess. On one hand they exude an über-cool toughness and an “I don’t care what the world thinks” bravado. Yet internally there is often a conflicted and troubled soul in need of redemption. - Program note by composer

ROZ ANA - E SM AI L This melody came from a work for choir that I never ended up writing -- in that piece, I set a line from the Catholic Our Father: “Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie”, which translates to “Give us this day our daily bread.” The title, Rozana (रोज़ाना) in Hindi means ‘daily’, or ‘day after day’ – a ritual that becomes part of who you are. That daily bread, the thing that keeps us sustained, both physically and spiritually, might look different for every one of us. What is your daily bread? What sustains you? And how do you invite it into your life with each new day? - Program note by composer

H AU NT ED O B J ECT S - M AC K E Y The thing about ghost stories -- the good ones, anyway -- is that they reflect the psychological inclinations of the reader. They may surprise, frighten, inspire or dazzle, but at the end of the tale an impression is made only if we see our own dreams, fears, and hopes in the characters. Sometimes we’re the protagonists, and sometimes we’re the ghosts, but the magic happens in the creeping realization that what lurks in the pages might also be right behind us. Haunted Objects (Tsukumogami) is a musical ghost story, one that aesthetically captures the spirit of a particular supernatural cultural phenomenon of Japan, as the composer writes: I love Japanese culture, and wanted to write something that would honor its people’s traditions from my own perspective. I first visited in 2007 for the premiere of Kingfishers Catch Fire, and have been back several times since, including with my wife Abby on our honeymoon. She’s the person who first introduced me to the concept of tsukumogami, which are everyday items or tools that, after being around for a century, acquire a spirit and take on a life of their own. The idea inspired me to write music that alternated -- and danced -- between harmless and mischievous. I don’t consider the tsukumogami to be hurtful; they’re pranksters! They’re always reminding us that they have a use, and you should discard them with caution, as they might end up haunting you... Haunted Objects (Tsukumogami) is cast in two relatively short movements, each of which captures the phantasmagoric nature of these pseudo-creatures. The first movement begins with a wail of terror: clanging percussion and dissonant clusters of notes with an insistent marching rhythm set the stage for the unexpected. Out of this cacophony emerges a gentle, bubbling pointillism that seems far removed from anything unnatural, except for the strange ghostly descent of ethereal trombone glissandi. A dreamy oboe solo feigns a continuation of the musical material, but is almost immediately (and repeatedly) disrupted by loud interjections of fragments of the opening wail. Adding to the foreboding atmosphere, each new phrase finds itself in a shifting harmonic landscape, giving a sense of instability and unease. At the apex of the movement, the two ideas merge, as the dreamy melody takes on the aggressive character and shows that, in reality, the two were the same all along. The movement ends ominously, with the monstrous side of the tsukumogami in full display. The second movement begins with the contrast of a short, beautiful chorale that emphasizes a rising motif, before bursting forth with a quirky dance in asymmetric mixed meters. In many ways, this movement mirrors the first: the effervescent textures mimic those from the opening movement, and the primary melody is once again stated in a long oboe line before being conjoined with the opening chorale material. One might suggest that the two movements envision the tsukumogami from two different perspectives: in the first movement, we feel the terror and disquiet of a home’s resident suddenly aware that there may be spirits surrounding them, and in the second, we hear the perspective of the tsukumogami themselves, with unassuming love for their home and a playful sense of purpose. The coda of the work, however, spins out of control with velocity and fervor, showing that despite their (mostly) friendly intentions, these kindly spirits sometimes just can’t help sending their human counterparts running for the hills. - Program note by Jake Wallace

AM ERICA N H E R O - B R O U GHTO N American Hero was written in the summer of 2000 and dedicated to Brigadier General Robert L. Scott, Jr., author of the book God Is My Co-Pilot. This book is the story of his World War II flying experiences. In musical terms, American Hero represents the qualities of courage, compassion, and nobility that are the hallmarks of all American heroes, young or old. Composer Bruce Broughton has won ten Emmy Awards and has been nominated once for the Academy Award for Best Original Score - Silverado.

T RAV EL E R - M AS LAN K A 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. Ray has been a close friend and champion of my music for many years, and it was a great pleasure for me to write this piece for his final concert. 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. - Program note by composer

IN THE O F F I NG - LOV E The word “offing” has two meanings: 1) the more distant part of the sea seen from the shore, beyond the anchoring ground; and 2) the near or foreseeable future. When I was writing this piece during my Copland House Residency in the summer of 2021, I frequently went to Charles Point on the Hudson to run in the evenings and watch the boats come in and out of the harbor. The sunset colors above the hills and the views from the shore were inspiring and are where this piece first got its genesis. Over the past 18 months, everyone has been challenged by the pandemic. This piece is an expression of hope and forward-looking optimism about the full return to making music that is in the near or foreseeable future. Like many other composers, it has been difficult to write while in semi or full lockdown, but when I was at Copland House, I was reminded of why I write music; I consider composing an awesome privilege and to be able to create something that we can all commune with in the moment is truly wonderful. I was reminded of one of my favorite Einstein quotes: “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” As we return from our homes and back into the wonderful world of making music again, I hope that we are all rapt in awe, can open our eyes and ears, and ultimately are grateful for this wonderful thing that I took for granted: the simple act of making music together. - Program note by composer

E N IG M A - B I E D E NB EN D E R Enigma was originally written for brass choir and organ for the dedication of the Red Cedar Organ in the Michigan State University Alumni Chapel. This version was created for my friend Henry Dorn and the St. Olaf Band. Enigma comes from a Greek word that means “to speak in riddles,” and in this piece, the riddle -- or theme -- is revealed gradually. The theme comes from the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, which is one of my favorite pieces of music, and, once the theme is revealed, it is repeated cyclically with 21 variations, just like in Bach’s original. This piece is dedicated to my former teacher, José-Luis Maúrtua, a composer, theorist, conductor, and teacher with whom I studied at Central Michigan University. José-Luis was an extraordinary musician and teacher who was tirelessly dedicated to his students and to pushing them to do their best. I am forever grateful for the lessons I learned from him, and my music and my life are far better for having known him. Unfortunately, he was taken from this earth far too young -- at the age of 57 -- by pancreatic cancer in the spring of 2022. I miss him dearly, and this music is for him. - Program Note by composer

T H E SESQUI C E N T E NN I A L E X P O S I TI O N M A R C H - S O U SA The Sesquicentennial Exposition of 1926 was held in Philadelphia, the occasion being the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of American independence. Sousa composed this march at the request of exposition officials and dedicated it to the mayor of Philadelphia, W. Freeland Kendrick. - Program Note by from The Works of John Philip Sousa by Paul Bierly

E V E N TS CA L E N DA R

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