Trivial Pursuit Programme

Tr iv ia l

P u rs u i t

PROGRAMME

City Wind Orchestra Shea Lolin

Thank you for supporting the City Wind Orchestra tonight in our tenth anniversary year.

Programme design and content by Shea Lolin.

All images in this booklet are sourced from the internet and labelled for non-commercial reuse.

Cover image © Isle of the Dead (1880) by Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901).

Trivial

Pu rsu i t

City Wind Orchestra Shea Lolin Alfred Reed A Festive Overture

8’

Edvard Grieg Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46 Keiron Anderson Alice in Wonderland

15’

10’

INTERVAL (20 minutes) Harry Gregson-Williams The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe John Barnes Chance Elegy

9’

Sergei Rachmaninoff Isle of the Dead, Op.29

22’

Concert will end c.21:15 Please ensure that all electrical devices including mobile phones are switched off.

The taking of photographs and use of recording equipment is strictly forbidden without formal consent from the City Wind Orchestra.

5’

Alfred Reed (1921–2005) A Festive Overture (1963)

Alfred Reed was an American composer and conductor of Austrian descent. Born Alfred Friedman, he began studying the trumpet at the age of ten and was playing professionally under the name Alan Reed while still in high school. Private study in theory and harmony with John Sacco and Paul Yartin (1937–8) led to a position as staff composer, arranger and assistant conductor for the Radio Workshop, New York (1938–42). After serving as associate conductor of the 529th US Air Force Band, he attended the Juilliard School (1946–8) where his teachers included Giannini. In 1948 he took a post as staff composer and arranger for NBC and later held a similar position at ABC. He became conductor of the Baylor University SO in 1953, and continued his education at that institution (BM 1955, MM 1956). In 1955 he joined Hansen Publications as Executive Editor. From 1966 to 1993 he taught theory, composition, music marketing and music education at the University of Miami, where he also conducted the wind ensemble (1980–87). He appeared as a guest conductor throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

His over 250 works for band, orchestra, chorus and chamber ensemble are written in a melodic, post-Romantic style.

A Festive Overture was commissioned by the Tri-State Festival, held annually under the auspices of the Music

Alfred Reed

Division of Dickinson State College in Dickinson. North Dakota, for performance at the 1963 Festival. The first performance took place on 2 November 1963, at the concluding Grand Concert of the Festival, with the Dickinson State College Symphonic Band under the composer’s direction.

The score is in traditional overture form, a brilliant opening allegro followed by a reflective, lyrical interlude, and concluding with a return to the first themes and mood. The entire work is built on three motifs which are heard in the first section, with the middle section developed from one of these, which first appears as the bass line to the main theme. In the course of the work the full resources of the modern, integrated concert band are called upon, to present these motifs in constantly varied forms and combinations, and in scintillating tone colours.

Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)

Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46 (1875) Arranged for wind orchestra by Christiaan Janssen

1.

2.

3.

4.

Morning Mood The Death of Åse Anitra’s Dance In the Hall of the Mountain King

Edvard Grieg was a Norwegian composer, pianist and conductor.

He was the foremost Scandinavian composer of his generation Edvard Grieg

and the principal promoter of Norwegian music. His genius was for lyric pieces – songs and piano miniatures – in which he drew on both folktunes and the Romantic tradition, but his Piano Concerto found a place in the central repertory, and his String Quartet foreshadows Debussy.

Grieg’s music is noted for a refined lyrical sense. Between 1867 and 1901 he wrote ten collections of Lyric Pieces (Lyriske Stykker) for piano. His spirited rhythms often have a folk song association. His harmonies, developed from the late Romantic style, were considered novel. In his few works in the larger forms—the Piano Concerto, Op.16; the String Quartet, Op.27; and the three violin and piano sonatas—he uses a free sonata form. Among his most popular works are his incidental music to Peer Gynt, Op. 23, and the Holberg Suite, Op. 40.

Peer Gynt is the incidental music to Henrik Ibsen’s 1867 play of the same name. When Ibsen asked Grieg to write music for the play in 1874, he reluctantly agreed. However, it was much more difficult for Grieg than he imagined. “Peer Gynt progresses slowly”, he wrote to a friend in August 1874, “and there is no possibility of having it finished by autumn. It is a terribly unmanageable subject.” Over a decade after composing the full incidental music for Peer Gynt, Grieg extracted eight movements to make two four-movement suites.

The Peer Gynt suites are among his best-known works.

Peer Gynt In the Hall of the Mountain King (1890)

by Theodor Severin Kittelsen (1857–1914)

Keiron Anderson (b.1955) Alice in Wonderland (2015) 1. Alice and her sister 2. The White Rabbit 3. The Chase 4. Falling and shrinking 5. Cheshire Cat 6. Exploring Wonderland 7. A tea party 8. The Queen 9. The Mock Turtle 10. The Lobster Quadrille 11. The Trial Keiron Anderson was born in Aberdeen and studied trumpet and keyboard at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

Whilst at the RNCM he started both a light orchestra and big band, and apart from playing in leading orchestras has become one of the most experienced and innovative conductors of wind groups in the country.

In 1994 Keiron took over from Frank Renton as musical director of the Yorkshire Wind Orchestra and has steadily brought it to its present level of excellence. He also includes the musical direction of the outstanding Harlequin Brass Ensemble based in Sheffield and more recently has taken the Phoenix Concert Band in Leeds under his wing.

Keiron Anderson

Alice in Wonderland is a fantasy for wind orchestra, written for the Yorkshire Wind Orchestra in 2015.

The score begins with Alice and her sister relaxing in an English summer garden in the sunshine. As we hear Alice’s theme, a white rabbit appears and runs past in a hurry. The compound time chase sequence leads to a descending chromatic sequence which lands Alice in a pool of tears as her music adjusts to the strange environment. The Cheshire Cat and other creatures appear in her journey through Wonderland until she joins the Mad Hatter for tea. His slightly chromatic theme dodges from key to key until Alice encounters the military march of the Queen of Hearts and her army. There is a reflective theme, as Alice’s music tries to cheer up the sad Mock Turtle followed by a lively Lobster Quadrille. The trial scene is a musical interaction between two themes often played across one another, until a fanfare declares “Off with her head!” As Alice grows and rises to the garden, her music takes her home safely. Was it a dream?

Sir John Tenniel’s (1820–1914) Classic Illustrations of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865).

Harry Gregson-Williams (b.1961) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

Harry Gregson-Williams is an English composer, orchestrator, conductor, and music producer. He has regularly written for video games, television and films, such as the Metal Gear series, Spy Game, Phone Booth, Man on Fire, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Déjà Vu, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Martian, and the Shrek franchise.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 British-American high fantasy film co-written and directed by Andrew Adamson, based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis’s children’s epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It was co-produced by Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures.

William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley play Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, four British children evacuated during the Blitz to the countryside, who find a wardrobe that leads to the fantasy world of Narnia. There they ally with the Lion Aslan against the forces of Jadis, the White Witch.

Harry Gregson-Williams

John Barnes Chance (1932–1972) Elegy (1972)

John Barnes Chance was an American composer. Chance studied composition with Clifton Williams at the University of Texas, Austin, and is best known for his concert band works, which include Variations on a Korean Folk Song, Incantation and Dance, and Blue Lake Overture.

When a member of the West Genesee Senior High School Band died, Elegy was commissioned in his memory. It is a single-movement, solemn work based on a five-note motif stated initially in the low woodwinds. The piece builds to a bold statement in the horns which grows to a dramatic climax. A brass fanfare played with the theme in the woodwinds again ends abruptly, after which the piece closes in a fragmented echo of the beginning. The music symbolises the tragedy of a life cut short, seemingly unfinished, as a portion of the original motif is left hanging while each instrument dies away.

Sadly, Chance wrote Elegy only months before his own sudden and tragic death. The piece stands as an emotional monument to the composers unfinished career.

John Barnes Chance

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) Isle of the Dead, Op.29 (1908)

Arranged for wind orchestra by Simon Scheiwiller

Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist and conductor of the late Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular in the Romantic repertoire.

Born into a musical family, Rachmaninoff took up the piano at age four. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1892, having already composed several piano and orchestral pieces.

In 1897, following the negative critical reaction to his Symphony No. 1, Rachmaninoff entered a four-year depression and composed little until successful therapy allowed him to complete his enthusiastically received Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1901. For the next sixteen years, Rachmaninoff conducted at the Bolshoi Theatre, relocated to Dresden, Germany, and toured the United States for the first time.

Following the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia; in 1918, they settled in the United States, first in New York City. With his main source of income coming from piano and conducting performances, demanding tour schedules led to a reduction in his time for composition; between 1918 and 1943, he completed just six works, including Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Symphony No. 3, and Symphonic Dances. By 1942, his failing health led to his relocation to Beverly Hills, California.

One month before his death from advanced melanoma, Rachmaninoff was granted American citizenship.

Sergi Rachmaninov

Isle of the Dead is a symphonic poem completed by Rachmaninoff while staying in Dresden in 1908. It is considered a classic example of Russian late-Romanticism of the beginning of the 20th century. The piece was inspired by a black and white reproduction of Arnold Böcklin’s painting, Isle of the Dead, which Rachmaninoff saw in Paris in 1907. Rachmaninoff was disappointed by the original painting when he later saw it, saying, “If I had seen first the original, I, probably, would have not written my Isle of the Dead. I like it in black and white.”

The music begins by suggesting the sound of the oars as they meet the waters on the way to the Isle of the Dead. The slowly heaving and sinking music could also be interpreted as waves. Rachmaninoff uses a recurring figure in 5/8 time to depict what may be the rowing of the oarsman or the movement of the water, and as in several other of his works, quotes the Dies Irae plainchant, an allusion to death. In contrast to the theme of death, the 5/8 time also depicts breathing, creating a holistic reflection on how life and death are intertwined.

In 1929, Rachmaninoff conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in a recording of the music for the Victor Talking Machine Company, which was purchased by RCA that same year and became known as RCA Victor. This recording was made in the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, using one microphone, and was later reissued on LP and CD by RCA Victor.

Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901) produced several versions of Isle of the Dead between 1880 and 1901.

Rachmaninoff was inspired by the fourth version created in 1884 (opposite).

The original was burned after a bomb attack during World War II and survives only as a black and white photograph.

About the Orchestra

The City Wind Orchestra is a community wind ensemble who rehearse and perform in the City of London. Since its formation in 2009, it has attracted players from all over London and from a range of backgrounds. CWO gave their debut performance in June 2009 at the City Temple and have since become a resident ensemble at St. Katharine Cree, a guild church in the Aldgate ward of the City of London. Like other societies, the City

Flutes

Jennifer Ashford

Clarinets

Wind Orchestra is a not-for-profit organisation.

The City Wind Orchestra is committed to performing original works for the medium. Since 2009 the cornerstone repertoire from America, Asia and Europe has been performed.

With a rich heritage of wind music in the United Kingdom, many works have been performed with the ambition to continue to do so for forthcoming concerts. Other concerts have reflected particular places, people or musical periods.

Sarah Halls (alto)

Adele Gordon â€

Bethany Pearson (bari)

Roger Blake

Rebecca Jarvis

Tim Silman (alto)

Amy Cleaves

Deborah McCarthy

Kate Davis

Lucy Mavers

Esha Glen

Barry Sullivan

Sarah Gravenstede

Richard Uhler

Maria Thaller *

Bethany Wright

Oboe

Rebecca Palmer

Saxophones

Emily Collier (tenor)

Horns

Neil Bennet Peter Peecock Jasmine Wei Rou Tan

Bass Clarinets Beth Carney

Craig Maxwell

Trombones Robert Merry

Paul Radford

Trumpets

Hannah Emmett Edward Szram

Euphonium Robin White

The CWO is equally as committed to producing concerts which are engaging with the audiences that support them. Works by contemporary composers are often sharply contrasted with lighter musical styles. citywind.org.uk

Tuba

Alan Henry

Percussion

Sarah Collier

Timpani

David Coronel † Doubling Eb & Bb * Doubling Piccolo

About the Music Director

Shea Lolin studied at the Colchester Institute School of Music, with Charles Hine and Angela Fussell for performance, Alan Bullard for composition and Christopher Phelps for conducting. While at ‘The Institute’, Shea won several awards including the John Myatt Cup for Solo Woodwind. Shea is Music Director of the London Woodwind Orchestra, Bloomsbury Woodwind Ensemble, City Wind Orchestra and the East London Clarinet Choir in addition to freelance conducting engagements for rehearsals, concerts and recordings and his schedule has placed him throughout Europe. Shea has conducted several world premieres, having secured funding from all the major awarding bodies. Since 2014 Shea has been diversifying his freelancing with other creative media including commercial marketing and production. shealolin.co.uk

citywind.org.uk