Ridge View High School Wind Ensemble Concert Program

Ridge View High School

Wind Ensemble Cover page

University of South Carolina Band Clinic S o u t h C a ro l i n a M u s i c E d u c ato r s A s s o c i at i o n C o n f e r e n c e

S at u r d ay, F e b r u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 2 1 12:30 p.m.

Koger Center for the Arts

December 2020 To All Concert Attendees: On behalf of Richland School District Two, it is with great pride that Richland Two School District shares the award-winning Ridge View High School Blazer Band with you at the 2020-2021 South Carolina Music Educators Association Conference and University of South Carolina Band Clinic. This group of outstanding student musicians, under the direction of Mr. Dustin King and Mr. Wesley Hipps, exemplifies the high level of visual and performing arts that support and cultivate the lives of students throughout the district. The success of the Ridge View High School Band is reflective of the dedication and collaborative efforts of the ensemble’s director, students, and community. During a challenging year, Ridge View’s Band is a shining example of the importance of music education, the joy of music, and the unity that music brings.

Members of the Ridge View High Band and its leaders have worked diligently to prepare for the performance. This year, as we all know, rehearsing a large ensemble has looked different, but the resilience of the members kept the band pressing forward. Providing quality visual and performing arts to all students is a vital part of our mission as we are committed to creating, sustaining, and investing in a culture and environment of excellence where all are afforded the opportunity to maximize their gifts and talents as they pursue their pathway to purpose. It is through this learning that students build upon the cornerstone of their achievements, talents, culture, and environment.

The Ridge View High School Band continues to support and exceed the high-performance standards established in South Carolina. Mr. King and Mr. Hipps share their talents daily with their students in an effort to live out the vision and mission of Richland Two Schools. Thank you to the parents, teachers, and students for working collectively to allow this performance to come to fruition, even in the midst of a pandemic. 2020 could not stop the music!

Sincerely,

Wendy F. Campbell

Wendy F. Campbell. Ed.D Coordinator for Fine Arts

Throughout its 25 year history, the Bands of Ridge View High School have enjoyed much success. The RVHS Blazer Band has been a SCBDA State Marching Championships finalist for twenty-four consecutive years, having placed in the top three on four occasions. In addition to a strong marching band program, the top concert band at RVHS has been a featured ensemble at the South Carolina Music Educators Association Conference, the University of South Carolina Honor Band Clinic, the University of Southern Mississippi Honor Band Clinic, the Bands of America National Concert Band Festival, and the U.S. Army Band “President’s Cup” Invitational. Ridge View High School band students are also involved in the R&B Jazz Ensemble, Region & All State bands, the UofSC Honor Band Clinic, the Winthrop University Honor Invitational, the Coastal Carolina University Band Clinic, the Bands of America National Honor Band & Orchestra, and the SC Youth Philharmonic.

Today’s performance marks the program’s 4th SCMEA Conference & 3rd UofSC Band Clinic appearance. Much has changed in our world over the past year, and many have experienced overwhelming pain, sadness, loss, and hopelessness. The Ridge View High School Wind Ensemble would like to dedicate our performance today to the frontline workers that have sacrificed so much to help those directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We dedicate our performance today to those that have suffered under racial injustice and to those with the courage to stand up, and work, for a better society. We dedicate our performance today to the Randazzo family and continue to remember Sam as the incredible young man that he was. It is our desire that today’s performance will offer a moment of hope and healing to all who hear us. “The night is darkest just before the dawn” and a new day has begun that will hopefully sing with the harmonies of liberty and equality for everyone in our great nation. A new day that is filled with joy, kindness, light, and love.

Program The Governor’s Own Alton Adams Edited by Mark Clague

Of Our New Day Begun Omar Thomas

A Light Unveiled* Christian Thomas

No. 4 “Danse Nègre” from African Suite, Op. 35 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Transcribed by Ryan Adamsons

*World Premiere

Program Notes Alton Augustus Adams, Sr. (November 4, 1889 – November 23, 1987) is remembered primarily as the first black bandmaster in the United States Navy (beginning 1917). His music was performed by the bands of John Philip Sousa and Edwin Franko Goldman.

The St. Thomas-born son of aspiring artisan parents, Adams attended elementary school and later apprenticed to become a carpenter and then a shoemaker. During this time, he nurtured a passion for music and literature. Adams learned to play piccolo (chosen primarily because the instrument was less expensive than a full-size flute) and joined the St. Thomas Municipal Band in 1906. Simultaneously, he studied music theory and composition late into the nights through correspondence courses with Dr. Hugh A. Clark at the University of Pennsylvania. In June 1910, Adams broke away from the Municipal Band to form his own ensemble—the Adams Juvenile Band. Adams’ band developed rapidly, becoming part of the social fabric in the islands’ capital city—the port of Charlotte Amalie—by playing for a variety of social and charitable events as well as regular concerts in the city’s bandstand at Emancipation Garden, a location that remembers and celebrates Governor von Scholten proclamation which gave freedom to the slaves in 1848.

On June 2, 1917, Adams and his entire Juvenile Band were inducted into the United States Navy, thus becoming the first African-Americans to receive official musical appointments in the U.S. Navy since at least the War of 1812 and making Adams the Navy’s first black bandmaster. It was an exceptional situation inspired by exceptional circumstance: the need to build a bridge between an all-white naval administration and a predominantly black population. Adams used his authority as bandleader and Chief Petty Officer with the Navy as a source of power, wealth, and influence. Their induction not only helped to defuse the racial tension that plagued the Navy’s presence on the island during World War I, but the band, and Adams in particular, functioned as educators to naval administrators about the needs and attitudes of Virgin Islanders. Further, Adams continued to grow into his role as a social leader on the islands, serving as an officer of the local chapter of the Red Cross, helping to found the public library in Charlotte Amalie, and developing the islands’ public school music education program.

He traveled to the U.S. mainland for the first time in 1922 to research music education programs, but the highpoint of his naval career was a 1924 tour of the U.S. eastern seaboard. With his U.S. Navy Band of the Virgin Islands in top form, Adams and the band won accolades from concert and radio audiences in Hampton Roads Virginia, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Adams’ music is in the style of John Philip Sousa and communicates energy along with a core patriotism. His best known works include the Virgin Islands March (1919), The Governor’s Own (1921), and The Spirit of the U.S.N. (1924), dedicated to President Calvin Coolidge.

This trip would turn out to be the apex of the band’s success; the band never again enjoyed the notoriety on the U.S. mainland that its parades in Harlem had generated.

Back in St. Thomas, Adams fused his interest in business and the community when he was appointed to the governing committee of the St. Thomas Power Authority. In 1947, he answered a call to increase the island’s number of hotel rooms by opening up his home as the Adams 1799 Guest House. In 1952, Adams became a charter member of the Virgin Islands Hotel Association and was soon elected president, a position he held until 1971. During this entire period Adams served as a reporter, working as a stringer for the Associated Press as well as the Associated Negro Press and contributing regular articles to George Schuyler’s Pittsburgh Courier and a host of other publications. He never ran for public office, but was closely involved in island politics as an advisor and editorial commentator.

Described as “elegant, beautiful, sophisticated, intense, and crystal clear in emotional intent,” the music of Omar Thomas continues to move listeners everywhere it is performed. Born to Guyanese parents in Brooklyn, New York in 1984, Omar moved to Boston in 2006 to pursue a Master of Music in Jazz Composition at the New England Conservatory of Music after studying Music Education at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He is the protégé of lauded composers and educators Ken Schaphorst and Frank Carlberg, and has studied under multiple Grammy-winning composer and bandleader Maria Schneider.

Thomas states, Of Our New Day Begun was written to honor nine beautiful souls who lost their lives to a callous act of hatred and domestic terrorism on the evening of June 17, 2015 while worshiping in their beloved sanctuary, the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (affectionately referred to as “Mother Emanuel”) in Charleston, South Carolina. My greatest challenge in creating this work was walking the line between reverence for the victims and their families, and honoring my strong, bitter feelings towards both the perpetrator and the segments of our society that continue to create people like him.

I realized that the most powerful musical expression I could offer incorporated elements from both sides of that line - embracing my pain and anger while being moved by the displays of grace and forgiveness demonstrated by the victims’ families.

Historically, black Americans have, in great number, turned to the church to find refuge and grounding in the most trying of times. Thus, the musical themes and ideas for Of Our New Day Begun are rooted in the Black American church tradition. The piece is anchored by James and John Johnson’s time-honored song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and peppered with blues harmonies and melodies. Singing, stomping, and clapping are also prominent features of this work, as they have always been a mainstay of black music traditions, and the inclusion of the tambourine in these sections is a direct nod to black worship services.

Of Our New Day Begun begins with a unison statement of a melodic cell from “Lift Every Voice….” before suddenly giving way to ghostly, bluesy chords in the horns and bassoons. This section moves to a dolorous and bitter dirge presentation of the anthem in irregularly shifting 12/8 and 6/8 meter, which grows in intensity as it offers fleeting glimmers of hope and relief answered by cries of blues-inspired licks. A maddening, ostinatodriven section representing a frustration and weariness that words cannot, grows into a group singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” fueled by the stomping and clapping reminiscent of the black church.

In the latter half of the piece the music turns hopeful, settling into 9/8 time and modulating up a step during its ascent to a glorious statement of the final lines of “Lift Every Voice….” in 4/4, honoring the powerful display of humanity set forth by the families of the victims. There is a long and emotional decrescendo that lands on a pensive and cathartic gospel-inspired hymnsong. Returning to 9/8 time, the piece comes to rest on a unison F that grows from a very distant hum to a thunderous roar, driven forward by march-like stomping to represent the ceaseless marching of black Americans towards equality.

Rev. Clementa Pinckney Cynthia Hurd Myra Thompson

In Memoriam Tywanza Sanders Rev. Daniel Simmons Depayne Middleton-Doctor

Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton Susie Jackson Ethel Lance

Maryland-native Christian L. Thomas is an emerging band composer and conductor.

Heavily inspired by personal experiences, his music brings life to memories and emotion to his audience through sound. His philosophy of music depends on breaking the fourth wall and immersing the audience and musicians in vivid soundscapes depicting moments like haunting nightmares, and more.

As a euphoniumist and trombonist, Thomas enjoys performing and making music in diverse settings. From participating in the music ministry with Crossroads Apostolic Church, where he found his passion, Thomas also delved into performing with community ensembles such as the Greater Huntington Symphonic Band and the Southern Maryland Concert Band. Thomas also had the pleasure of performing academically with the George Mason University Wind Symphony and professionally with the Chamber Orchestra of Southern Maryland in Concert as well as various workshops with the Capital Wind Symphony.

A personal passion of C.L. Thomas is creating a more fulfilling and enriching experience in music programs by lending the insight of a composer to band literature and sharing his music as a conductor. Working with ensembles as a marching brass instructor, guest clinician and guest speaker, Thomas never fails to challenge students to grow and mature as humans through development in musicianship. With his most recent opportunity of writing a piece for the Minnesota Consortium for Black American Composers, Thomas is excited to share this experience with various high school and undergraduate ensembles across the state of Minnesota.

During his undergraduate studies at Marshall University (under Dr. Mark Zanter) and graduate studies at George Mason University (under professor Mark Camphouse), Thomas set a high standard. Receiving commissions by faculty members of both universities, conducting various large ensembles across the Huntington, WV and Fairfax, VA areas, and performances at Arizona State University and the West Virginia public radio speak for the quality of his work and his character.

A Light Unveiled tells the story of Ridge View High School student and band member Samuel Randazzo, who passed away unexpectedly in March 2020 from a severe seizure. He chose to press on despite battling mental illness, and the piece echoes a message of encouragement and hope to those who fight that same battle. In an essay by Sam he states,

Samuel D. Randazzo

“You see, in spite of my illness I have found living to be a choice far superior to not living. In living, I allow myself to see the world’s beauty.

I allow myself to hear the music that will raise my spirits. I allow myself to feel the warmth of a friendly embrace. I allow myself to taste the food that has been prepared with love by those who love me. I allow myself to feel the happiness that no one, no thing, no illness can take away from me. That happiness has kept me alive so far. I believe it will continue.�

The piece begins with a reflective trombone solo that pays homage to Sam as a trombonist and reflects a quiet struggle within. The music builds moments of tension and release as the Ridge View High School alma mater is woven throughout the piece.

Moments of darkness give way to hope and resolve as the piece fades to a calming conclusion.

Samuel Coleridge Taylor, known to his family simply as Coleridge, was born in suburban London to Alice Martin, the daughter of a blacksmith. His father, Dr. Daniel Peter Hughes Taylor, was a surgeon from Sierra Leone who returned to Africa before Coleridge was born. The child was raised by his mother and her father, Benjamin Holmans, who was also a violinist. In the 1880s, a single English mother with a mixedrace child was destined to a meager existence. Economic conditions were difficult for the family, but she soon married George William Evans and life became easier. Coleridge moved on from violin lessons with his grandfather to studies with Joseph Beckwith. He also sang in the choir of St. George Presbyterian Church under Herbert Walters, a friend of George Grove who accepted the fifteen-year-old Coleridge to the Royal College of Music. In his second year, he changed his major from violin to composition and studied with the legendary Charles Villiers Stanford. It was under Stanford’s supervision that Taylor composed his most famous work, Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, based on a poem

by Longfellow.

By 1896, Coleridge-Taylor was already earning a reputation as a composer. He was later helped by Edward Elgar, who recommended him to the Three Choirs Festival. His “Ballade in A minor” was premiered there. His early work was also guided by the influential music editor and critic August Jaeger of music publisher Novello; he told Elgar that Taylor was “a genius”. On the strength of Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, which was conducted

by Professor Charles Villiers Stanford at its 1898 premiere and proved to be highly popular, Coleridge-Taylor made three tours of the United States.[10] In the United States, he became increasingly interested in his paternal racial heritage. His father Daniel Taylor was descended from African-American slaves who were freed by the British and evacuated from the colonies at the end of the American Revolutionary War; some 3,000 of these Black Loyalists were resettled in Nova Scotia. In 1792, many moved from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone, which the British had established as a colony for freed slaves. In 1904, on his first tour to the United States, Coleridge-Taylor was received by President Theodore Roosevelt at the White House, a rare event in those days for a man of African descent. His music was widely performed and he had great support among African Americans.

The artistic turning point of Samuel Coleridge Taylor’s career happened when he met the African-American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar at the Pan-African Conference. Taylor was about twenty years of age at the time and the two were soon collaborating on musical projects. Dunbar influenced the young composer to concentrate on his African heritage. London performances of spirituals by the Fisk Jubilee Singers cemented his focus. It was under Dunbar’s influence that Taylor composed his African Suite for piano in 1898. The composer orchestrated the work shortly thereafter. The four movements depict different elements of the African experience, but the finale, “Danse Negre,” is the most familiar. The work begins with two introductory chords and proceeds with a rhythmic and angular melody. A festive second theme appears and is followed by a short development section. A graceful, almost dainty theme appears before the return of all previous material in an exciting coda.

Flu t e Ann a Jone s T y re se An derson T r av is G outier M at the w M ac o Wy l sonne Brown A r i el Bl ackwood

Personnel

Cl ar i n e t A m a ra Haywood Oliv ia Re mbert K ea ry n Wa shington S k yl a r Ra dcliff Naomi Hurst C a leb Tyler Ba ss Cl ar i n e t A lija h Norris M a son Cato C on t r ab a ss C l ar i n e t Morga n Whitelow

Horn Makayla Kraftc hak Mykaela Werdeni e Gab ri elle Moore J enna Jordan

Tromb one A s hley Hu b b ard H ayden Pendergrass H arvey Brown Eu p honium J alen Mahone Hec tor Sant i ago Tu ba J ames Wat s on Rondalyn Wat ers Mekhi Johns on Dallas Radc li ff

Te nor Saxophone D ’Andre Cook

Percu ssion Domeniqu e Branc h Donni e Maroney J ac ody Wi ls on Kennedy Poag Lei la E ngelhardt Le’ Davi ah Terry Samu el Di xon Sophi a DeLanc ey Tyler Jones

T rum pe t C h r istop her Dav is C a leb Bl a nton J a son Are va lo Br adle y Rogers X av ier Comer

Gu e st Perfor mer s Avery Jones , Tromb on e Coleman Wright, Bari ton e Sax Elliot t St ewart, Trump et Mallory Mu llen, Frenc h Hor n Ryan Fox, Bas s oon

A lto Saxophone K r i stin Robertson Ca rlin Pa rrot t Tava rus Wil son

Dustin King, Director of Bands Originally from North Carolina, Dustin King received his Bachelor’s of Music Education degree from Western Carolina University and his Master’s in Music Education from the University of South Carolina.

From 2012-2016, Mr. King was the Director of Bands at Batesburg-Leesville High School. The band under his leadership received numerous awards at the SCBDA State Marching Band Championships, excellent & superior ratings at the SCBDA Concert Performance Assessment, and the Outstanding Performance Award each year. In addition to the accolades, the BLHS Panther Band was one of sixteen American marching bands to perform in the London New Year’s Day Parade on January 1, 2015.

In 2016, Mr. King became the Director of Bands at Ridge View High School in Columbia, SC. In 2019, the RVHS Blazer Band was named the SCBDA 3A Lower State Champion and made its 23rd consecutive state championships appearance. The Bands of Ridge View have received superior ratings at concert assessments and the Outstanding Performance Award. In 2020, the RVHS Wind Ensemble was selected as a featured ensemble at the U.S. Army Band’s “President’s Cup” Invitational.

In February 2019, Mr. King received the Outstanding Music Educator Award by the South Carolina Music Educators Association. He has performed with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, Carolina Wind Symphony and the Palmetto Concert Band. In addition to leading the RVHS Band, Mr. King serves as an adjunct professor of music with the University of South Carolina-Sumter. While he is not leading the RVHS Band, he enjoys spending time with his wife Kristen, son Evan and the family dog, Bentley.

Wesley Hipps, Associate Director of Bands

Director of Percussion Mr. Hipps is a graduate from Western Carolina University where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Industry. Mr. Hipps studied percussion under Dr. Mario Gaetano and performed with the percussion ensemble, wind ensemble, concert band, Gamelan ensemble, and held leadership positions for the Pride of Mountains Marching Band under the direction of Bob Buckner and Matt Henley. During his time at WCU, he was also a member of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps.

In 2001, Mr. Hipps started his teaching career in Richland School District Two at Dent Middle School. He was named the DMS Honor Teacher of the Year in 2010 for establishing the world percussion and percussion ensemble programs. From 2007 to 2019, Mr. Hipps directed the Blue Diamond Steel Band, Percussion Ensembles, and Brazilian Batucada Ensemble. World percussion ensembles under the direction of Mr. Hipps have been recognized across the Southeast and regularly receive superior ratings at state festivals.

Mr. Hipps joined the Ridge View High School band program as Associate Director of Bands/Director of Percussion in 2019. He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, South Carolina Band Directors Association and is proudly endorsed by Innovative Percussion as an Artist/Educator. Mr. Hipps lives in Columbia with his wife Andrea who is also a music teacher in Richland Two.

Ridge View H

Wind E

High School

Ensemble

FLUTE Back Row: Matthew Maco, Travis Goutier, Tyrese Anderson Front Row: Ariel Blackwood, Wylsonne Brown, Anna Jones

CLARINET Back Row: Kearyn Washington, Caleb Tyler, Skylar Radcliff Front Row: Amara Haywood, Olivia Rembert, Naomi Hurst

BASS/CONTRABASS CLARINET Alijah Norris, Morgan Whitelow, Mason Cato

ALTO/TENOR SAXOPHONE Tavarus Wilson, Kristin Robertson, Carlin Parrott, D’Andre Cook

TRUMPET Back Row: Jason Arevalo, Bradley Rogers, Christopher Davis Front Row: Xavier Comer, Caleb Blanton

FRENCH HORN Jenna Jordan, Gabrielle Moore, Mykaela Werdenie, Makayla Kraftchak

TROMBONE Harvey Brown, Ashley Hubbard, Hayden Pendergrass

EUPHONIUM Jalen Mahone & Hector Santiago

TUBA James Watson, Dallas Radcliff, Rondalyn Waters, Mekhi Johnson

PERCUSSION Back Row: Tyler Jones, Samuel Dixon, Jacody Wilson, Donnie Maroney Front Row: Le’Daviah Terry, Sophia DeLancey, Leila Engelhardt, Dominique Branch, Kennedy Poag

GUEST PERFORMERS

Ryan Fox, Coleman Wright, Mallory Mullen, Elliott Stewart

Avery Jones

Class of 2021

Back Row: Samuel Dixon, Jacody Wilson, Hector Santiago, Mekhi Johnson, James Watson, Travis Goutier, Christopher Davis, Tyrese Anderson Front Row: Naomi Hurst, Mykaela Werdenie, Skylar Radcliff, Olivia Rembert, Amara Haywood, Anna Jones

Appreciation To Richland School District Two Administrators Dr. Baron Davis, Superintendent Dr. James Ann Sheley, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Wendy Campbell, Fine Arts Coordinator Ridge View High School Administrators Dr. Brenda Mack-Foxworth, Principal Dr. Chastity Evans, Assistant Principal Mrs. Melissa Myers, Assistant Principal Mr. Mike Young, Assistant Principal Mr. Brandon Ross, Assistant Principal Mr. Kenneth Pace, Assistant Administrator Mr. Alan Wolf, Assistant Administrator Ridge View High School Band Parent Organization Angela Moore, President Kimberley Kraftchak, Vice President Janeen Blanton, Treasurer Katey Tyler, Secretary South Carolina Band Directors Association Chaz Paxton, President Leah Turner, Vice President Chuck Deen, President-Elect The University of South Carolina Dr. Cormac Canon, Director of Bands Dr. Jay Jacobs, Associate Director of Bands

Acknowledgments RVHS Masterclass Faculty Jessica Little, Flute Steven Christ, Clarinet Dustin King, Saxophone Elliott Stewart, Trumpet Morgan Bostick, Horn Rochelle Doty, Trombone Liam Martin, Euphonium/Tuba Wesley Hipps, Percussion

Special Thanks The 2018-2020 RVHS Wind Ensemble Members Brian Wargel Christian Thomas David Allison Dr. David O’Shields Dr. Jay Jacobs Dr. Jerry Gatch Michelle Ortiz Mindy Moore Roger Simpson Ryan Adamsons Dr. Quintus Wrighten Vince Clayton

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