4/22/2021 Emory Wind Ensemble

2020–2021

MUSIC AT EMORY

This livestream concert is presented by the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts schwartz.emory.edu/virtual-stage

Box Office/Audience Information 404.727.5050 • boxoffice@emory.edu Photographs and Recordings Digital capture or recording of this concert is not permitted.

Event and Program Information Available online at schwartz.emory.edu Cover Photo

By Mark Teague Acknowledgment Eternal thanks to Donna and Marvin Schwartz for their many contributions.

2020–2021

MUSIC AT EMORY

Music with Friends Emory Wind Ensemble Tyler Ehrlich, conductor Thursday, April 22, 2021 Emory Chambers Winds at 7:30 p.m.

Emory Brass Choir at 9:00 p.m.

Schwartz Center for Performing Arts Virtual Stage

Emory Chamber Winds Atop the Hillside (2021)

Joshua MacLean (b. 1999)

Six Romances After Mendelssohn (2013)

Stephen Michael Gryc (b. 1949)

Tico-Tico (1917) Zequinha de Abreu (1880–1935)

Emory Brass Choir “Fanfare pour précéder” from La péri (1927)

Paul Dukas (b. 1954)

The Earle of Oxford’s Marche (c. 1588) William Byrd (1542–1623)

Hungarian Dance, No. 5 (1885) Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)

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Program Notes Josh MacLean is a senior at Emory University studying music composition and mathematics. About Atop the Hillside, he writes, “This pastoral, energetic piece is meant to evoke the feeling of grand movie scores while also maintaining playfulness. Using this amazing opportunity to write for the Emory Wind Ensemble in my last semester at Emory, I infused this piece with a love of movies and storytelling in order to create a piece that truly captures an aesthetic of joy.”

Composer Stephen Michael Gryc is professor emeritus at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School where he has served on the faculty since 1980. He received his professional training at the University of Michigan where he earned four degrees in music including the degree of doctor of musical arts. His composition teachers included William Albright, Leslie Bassett, and William Bolcom, and he performed as a trombonist in the university bands under legendary conductors William Revelli and George Cavender. Gryc has received grants and fellowships from the ASCAP Foundation, the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, the MacDowell Colony, the Charles Ives Center for American Music, Meet the Composer, the Ucross Foundation, and the University of Hartford.

Six Romances after Mendelssohn was commissioned by the University of New Mexico in honor of Susan Brake (administrative assistant, bassoonist, and patron of the arts) on the occasion of her retirement. The work was composed during the first three months of 2013 and premiered on May 1 of that year by University of New Mexico students under the baton of Eric Rombach-Kendall. About the work, Gryc writes, “I have long admired the orchestral music of Felix Mendelssohn for its luminous instrumental colors and haunting lyricism. My piece is based on the opening tune of the composer’s third symphony, the Scottish Symphony, which features the same 10 wind instruments employed in my romances. This music is Mendelssohn at his moody, melodious best. The romances of the title of my piece refer not only to love stories but also to tales of heroism, exoticism, and fantasy. The listener is free to make up a story to suit each idiosyncratic variation. I’m not sure Mendelssohn would approve of my playful treatment of his work. He would be taken aback by the use of such modern devices as bitonality, and he would surely be scandalized by the idea of tango.”

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The song Tico-Tico, an enduring international hit, passed the century mark just a few years ago; it was composed in 1917 by Zequinha de Abreu, a Portuguese émigré to Brazil, but its global popularity—launched in Hollywood—came later. Dating from a 1937 movie, Ethel Smith’s performance of an arrangement for theater organ sold more than two million copies worldwide. A decade later, in Copacabana, the “Brazilian Bombshell” Carmen Miranda sang it opposite Groucho Marx and made a sensation with Hollywood-ized lyrics about a hot date and a cuckoo clock, spurring more than 40 American-style covers. But in Brazilian music, which does not exile pop forms from classical traditions, Tico-Tico is actually a choro—a song form that typically shrugs off misfortune with good humor, good tunes, and fast tempos. The title refers to a bird that got into the cornmeal, but we can imagine the same kind of grousing over morning coffee at the office. The catchy, emphatically syncopated rhythm of Tico-Tico is irresistible and still lends itself to virtuosic arrangements for every conceivable solo instrument and ensemble, from finger-tangling guitar transcriptions to full-on orchestral arrangements.

In Persian mythology, a peri is a magical creature like a fairy, who serves the God of Light. Paul Dukas, the composer of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, chose the topic for his last major work, a ballet called La péri that he subtitled poème dansé, or “danced poem.” The scenario tells of a prince in search of the Flower of Immortality, which is guarded by the peri. When he finds her, he becomes obsessed by desire for her, as well as for the flower, and thus is fated to perish. Sadly, La péri was the last work Dukas published, although he lived for more than 20 years beyond its premiere. The ballet has been revived occasionally but has never become a repertory staple.

The brilliant brass fanfare that precedes it, however, has become almost as familiar as Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. Ironically, Dukas added it as an afterthought. He later stated that he sought to bring the tale to life through an orchestra he called “a kind of translucent, dazzling enamel.”

Both the glittering trumpet and horn calls and the rich harmonies of the fanfare’s middle section amply fulfill his goal. Even separated from the ballet score, the fanfare lavishly delivers the promise of all good fairy tales: “once upon a time, in a land far away . . .”

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William Byrd, a student of Thomas Tallis, was known for his polyphonic choral and keyboard music, both sacred and secular. His works were preserved in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, which is a significant reference work on Elizabethan keyboard music.

Keyboard musicians had no way of creating dynamic shading or timbral contrast due to the instruments’ construction from the time period, so composers added accompanimental melodies and ornaments to maintain interest. Our performance this afternoon features these compositional effects, as well as varied orchestration and dynamics made possible through the brass choir medium.

As a boy in Hamburg, Johannes Brahms first encountered Hungarian music from refugees fleeing Hungary for a new life in America. He was introduced to fiddle tunes at age 20 while on tour with the Hungarian violinist Eduard Reményi. It was on that tour that Brahms began his lifelong collection of Hungarian folk-tunes. During several years, Brahms wrote a number of Hungarian Dances for piano fourhands and played them for (and with) his friends. He published 10 of these in 1869 and another 11 in 1880, and they proved to be a huge success. There was a ready market for this sort of music that could be played at home by talented amateurs, and these fiery, fun pieces carried Brahms’s name around the world.

The unique arrangement performed this evening features jazz inflections, harmonies, and a rockin’ swing section. Please enjoy this final work by members of the Emory Wind Ensemble and plan to attend events coming this fall for more captivating music.

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The Emory Wind Ensemble

The Emory Wind Ensemble (EWE) is dedicated to performing wind band and chamber literature of the highest caliber while nurturing individual artistic excellence within an ensemble setting.

Concert programming comprises a wide variety of styles, forms, and genres from several centuries of compositional practice, designed to provide a comprehensive exposure to the masterpieces for winds and percussion from the Renaissance period through the modern era.

The EWE performs two concerts each semester; regularly participates in world premieres of new music; tours the United States and abroad; and is a national leader in the commissioning of new music, including works by Warren Benson, Bruce Broughton, Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, John Mackey, Jonathan Newman, Joseph Schwantner, and many others.

The EWE’s recent collaborations include performances with the Emory University Chorus; the Emory Dance Company; Emory’s Mary Emerson Professor of Piano William Ransom; Chris Martin, principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Stuart Stephenson, principal trumpet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Joe Alessi, principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic; Adam Frey, international euphonium solo artist; and Grammy Award–winning solo clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, among many others.

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The EWE has performed concert tours of Munich, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Lucerne, Graz, Prague, Vienna, and Greece. Additionally, the EWE has performed at the Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) State Convention in Savannah, Georgia; the Southern Division College Band Directors National Association Conference (CBDNA); and for various events on the Emory campus, including the inauguration of James Wagner as president of Emory University. The EWE was recognized in 2017 as a “Top 10” program among its peers by CBDNA and featured at the 2017 CBDNA National Conference “Small Band Showcase.” The EWE is recorded on the NAXOS music label.

Tyler Ehrlich, conductor​ Tyler Ehrlich is the director of bands at Decatur High School, where he is responsible for the instruction and administration of the concert bands, marching band, and chamber ensembles. In addition to his responsibilities at Decatur, Ehrlich serves as conductor of the Emory Wind Ensemble and associate conductor of the Atlanta Wind Symphony.

Ehrlich previously taught band and music technology, and served as the fine arts department chair at Centennial High School in Roswell, Georgia. He has a master’s degree in conducting from the University of Georgia (UGA) and a bachelor of arts degree, summa cum laude, from Cornell University. While at Cornell, Ehrlich served as the teaching assistant for the Cornell Wind Ensembles and directed pit orchestras for Ithaca’s largest student musical theater organization, the Melodramatics Theatre Company.

Funded by research grants from the Consortium of College and University Media Centers and UGA’s Ideas for Creative Exploration Lab, Ehrlich has worked with Cynthia Johnston Turner to bring their ideas involving conducting technology to fruition. They have presented their research at several of the largest band conferences in the world: the College Band Directors National Association National Conference, the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles International Conference, and the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. Work that he has completed has been published in the Verge and USA Today.

Ehrlich lives in Atlanta with his partner, Brent Allman, a PhD student at Emory University, and their dog, Milo.

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Emory Chamber Winds Flute 1 Claudia Wahoski

Fayetteville, GA

Biology

Flute 2 Megan Zhang

Los Angeles, CA

Biology

Oboe 1 Jane Farrell

Worthington, OH

Linguistics/Music

Oboe 2 Rachel Jennings

Savannah, GA

Biology/Music

Clarinet 1 Eli Parrish

Bremen, GA

Music/Environmental Science

Clarinet 2 Chunjin Park

Duluth, GA

NBB

Horn 1 Harry Li

Beijing, China

Chemistry/QSS

Horn 2 Sophie West

Palm City, FL

NBB/Chemistry

Bassoon Trisha Sengupta

Saratoga, CA

NBB/Human Health

Bass Clarinet Rodrigo Salinas

Lakeland, FL

NBB

String Bass Hannah Perron

Princeton Junction, NJ History

Virtual Students Flute 1 Ella Zhao

Changsha, China

Biology

Clarinet 1 Henry Mangalapalli Chicago, IL

Biology/ African American Studies

Clarinet 2 Andrew Mijacika

Biology

New York City, NY

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Emory Brass Choir Trumpet 1 Sonya Carrillo

Miami, FL

Music/Economics

Trumpet 2 Nathaniel Lechtzin

Towson, MD

Biophysics/Music

Trumpet 3 Tony Kasper

Lloyd Harbor, NY

Environmental Studies

Trumpet 4 Joseph Rosenbaum Los Angeles, CA

Political Science/Music

Horn 1 Michael Bian

Buffalo Grove, IL

NBB

Horn 2 Harry Li

Beijing, China

Chemistry/QSS

Horn 3 Sophie West

Palm City, FL

NBB/Chemistry

Horn 4 Jang Soo Lee

College Station, TX

Chemistry

Trombone 1 Graham Crain Shiven Sinha

Maryville, TN Redmond, WA

Business Business/Music

Trombone 2 Ethan Feldman Griffin Noble

Minneapolis, MN Mobile, AL

Quantitative Sciences Music/English

Trombone Bass Josh Peacock

Elkhart, IN

Physics/Math

Tuba Tito Tomei

Dacula, GA

Music/Environmental Studies

Virtual Students Euphonium Kerry Zhu

Omaha, NE

Chemistry/Computer Science

Horn 1 Pulkit Gupta

Dallas, TX

Physics/Biology

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Emory Wind and Percussion Faculty Laura Ardan, clarinet • Marc Boehm, trombone Emily Brebach, oboe • Jason Eklund, horn s Adam Frey, euphonium Anthony Georgeson, bassoon • Marci Gurnow, clarinet • Michael Moore, tuba • Ed Nicholson, trombone s Gary Paulo, saxophone

Scott Pollard, percussion Jaclyn Rainey, horn • Sasha Shatalova Prior, oboe Jessica Sherer, flute Christina Smith, flute • Stuart Stephenson, trumpet • Amy Trotz, horn H Shelly Unger, bassoon Mark Yancich, percussion • Jim Zellers, flute s • Atlanta Symphony Orchestra s Atlanta Opera Orchestra H Atlanta Ballet Orchestra

Department of Music Administration Stephen Crist, Chair Kristin Wendland, Director of Undergraduate Studies Martha Shockey, Senior Secretary Kathy Summers, Academic Department Administrator Sasha Shatalova Prior, Program Coordinator Julia Hudgins, Academic Services Coordinator

Music at Emory The Department of Music at Emory University provides an exciting and innovative environment for developing knowledge and skills as a performer, composer, and scholar. Led by a faculty of more than 60 nationally and internationally recognized artists and researchers, undergraduate and graduate students experience a rich diversity of performance and academic opportunities. Undergraduate students in the department earn a BA in music with a specialization in performance, composition, or research, many of whom simultaneously earn a second degree in another department.

True to the spirit of Emory, a liberal arts college in the heart of a research university, the faculty and ensembles also welcome the participation of nonmajor students from across the Emory campus.

Become a part of Music at Emory by giving to the Friends of Music. A gift provides crucial support to all of the activities. To learn more, visit music. emory.edu or call 404.727.1401.

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More events coming soon to the Schwartz Center Virtual Stage schwartz.emory.edu/virtual-stage

Emory’s Young Artists, ECMSA Family Series Saturday, April 25 at 4 p.m.

Some of Emory’s finest undergraduate musicians are featured in this annual showcase of student excellence.

Brahms Piano Quartet in G Minor ECMSA Cooke Noontime Series Friday, May 7 at noon The season closes with Brahms’s Piano Quartet in G Minor which includes the thrilling “Gypsy Rondo’’ Finale. Members of the Vega String Quartet with pianist William Ransom perform.

Student Recitals Sydney Chung, senior piano recital, Saturday, April 24 at 2 p.m.

Rachel Jennings, senior oboe recital, Saturday, April 24 at 5 p.m.

Elizabeth Sun, senior piano recital, Saturday, May 1 at 2 p.m.

Amy Zhang, senior violin recital, Saturday, May 1 at 5 p.m.

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Music at Emory Music at Emory brings together students, faculty, and world-class artists to create an exciting and innovative season of performances and events.

In a typical year, Music at Emory presents more than 150 events across multiple Emory venues; however, in this challenging season, we are committed to coming together virtually for a variety of musical offerings.

For spring 2021 concerts, we remain steadfast in our mission and continue to present events virtually based on guidance from Emory University and public health officials. Please visit music.emory.edu for the most up-to-date schedule and announcements.

404.727.5050 music.emory.edu