UIC Symphonic Band Concert

featuring the UIC Trumpet Ensemble presents:

UIC Mainstage Theatre Monday November 22, 2021 7:30 pm Christopher Vongvithayamathakul, conductor

JOURNEYS

The UIC Symphonic Band

Land Acknowledgement Statement

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The UIC School of Theatre and Music sits on the traditional homeland of the original peoples of the area: the Three Fires Confederacy (the Potawatomi, Odawa, and Ojibwe Nations) as well as the Menominee and Ho-Chunk who—along with many Indigenous people—were among its first inhabitants.

With respect and gratitude, The School of Theatre and Music honors the many Native Americans who have, do, and will call this land their home.

STM acknowledges that we have benefitted from the repeated attacks on Native Americans that forced tribal representatives to sign the 1816 Treaty of St Louis, relinquishing to the U.S. all claims of the land from Lake Michigan to the Illinois River. This land seizure led to the era of economic development and rapid growth that made Chicago the metropolis that it is today.

We have an obligation to our students and the nearly 65,000 Native Americans now living in Chicago to do no further harm, to amplify Native voices, and to fight for equity and inclusion by engaging in anti-racism policies and practices. For us, this work begins with this statement, and must be followed by actions that immediately affect our work and life on campus. STM therefore commits to the following initiatives: / The creation of an Antiracism Action Plan and Committee / Antiracism training for all STM faculty and staff / Annual Recruitment workshops and on-site special events for Native high-schoolers. / An annual master class or talk with Native musicians and/or theatre artists. / Free tickets to STM performances and concerts, provided through UIC’s Native American Support Program. / Increased representation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) voices and perspectives in STM pedagogy, classrooms, and performances.

This is only the beginning of our work. We look forward to expanded and sustained STM programming that addresses ignorance, systemic racism, and white dominance.

Developed by STM Theatre Faculty 08.25.2020

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Repertoire

UIC Trumpet Ensemble Poet and Peasant Overture (1846) Quasar (2015)

Franz von Suppé (1819–1895) Daniel Baldwin (b. 1979)

Juan Penaido, guest conductor Dürrenhorn Passage (2009)

Kevin McKee (b. 1980)

UIC Symphonic Band Postcard from Sequoia (2019)

Nicole Piunno (b. 1985)

Sea Songs (1924)

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)

Letter from Sado (2006) Star Ship (2003)

Jodie Blackshaw (b. 1971) Yukiko Nishimura (b. 1967)

Rhythm Stand (2004)

Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962)

Menlo Park, 1879 (2020)

James M. David (b. 1978)

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Personnel Symphonic Band

Tuba Matthew Kelly +

Flute

Emmanuel Pizana

Michael Crosby Alexis Griffin

String Bass

Alicia Ramirez Pineda +

Sanna Halsted

Joanne Yu Percussion Clarinet

Josue Avila

Alex Campillanos

Ethan Cruz

Lawrence Hanyzewski

Anna Elsen

Kattya Orozco

Adrian Knight Huzaifa Nadeem

Bassoon

Angelo Sfyris

Natalia Rivera + + Denotes member of Saxophone Derek Perez + Trumpet Aubrie DaVall Rodrigo Orozco Pranav Shridhar Sammy Weintraub French Horn Julio De La Rosa Sally Whitesides Trombone Robert Cornett Joshua Montanez Rebecca Nika Euphonium Francisco Cruz Cruz Gabriel Flemenbaum

Kappa Kappa Psi

Personnel Trumpet Emsemble Maya Cornejo Lily Cruz Trevor Gagnon Gabby Jones Luis Ortiz Louis Quigley Sammy Weintraub Carolina Wozniczka

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Program Notes

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Franz von Suppé - Poet and Peasant Overture Notes by Program Notes for Band Two overtures associated with the old-time park band concerts of the day when those events were at their peak in popularity are Rossini's William Tell and Suppé's Poet and Peasant. Although Suppé is noted as the composer of a great number of comic operas, this particular work did not belong to an opera until several years after its 1845 composition date. The themes from this overture are among the most often quoted material for comic effects for stage productions and animated cartoons probably because they represent, in sound, an era of nostalgia and are familiar to audiences of all age groups.

It is for this reason, if no other, that the composition deserves to be heard in its original context as a serious but highly entertaining selection.

Jaime Teixidor - Quasar Notes by composer This, my first composition for trumpet choir, with its powerful and shimmering energy, was a color palette I have long been interested in trying out.

That opportunity came in 2015 when I was completing my DMA. There was an opportunity to write a short piece for my final DMA recital, which is where it was premiered by a community trumpet choir. The piece begins with a chorale alluding to shifting colors in space. The piece then shifts into an energetic homage to a few of my favorite trumpet choir pieces that I came across in my research.

Kevin McKee - Dürrenhorn Passage Notes by composer Dürrenhorn Passage was commissioned by Dr. James Zingara and Troy University trumpet ensemble. The work was premiered at the 2009 ITG Conference in Harrisburg, PA. The piece depicts flight through an epic alpine landscape.

Program Notes

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Nicole Punnio - Postcard from Sequoia Notes by composer I often have to travel to new places as a composer. Whenever I spend time in a new location, I enjoy sending my niece a postcard. I do this because she loves getting mail, but also to show her the many places music can take us.

I want to increase her imagination and help her dream. I decided to write a musical postcard after my experience hiking at Sequoia National Park.

Ralph Vaughan Williams - Sea Songs Notes by Nikk Pilato Written in 1923 for the following year’s Wembley Exhibition, Sea Songs is a march medley of three well-known sea shanties: Princess Royal, Admiral Benbow, and Portsmouth. Written in typical march form with a trio, it was published simultaneously for brass band and wind band, and was later ranscribed by the composer for symphony orchestra. It should be noted that Sea Songs was originally intended to be the final movement of Vaughan Williams’s Folk Song Suite.

Jodie Blackshaw - Letter from Sado Notes by Jeff Girard, Midwest Sheet Music Stormy sea: Stretching over Sado, Heaven’s River.

Letter from Sado is based on a Japanese haiku of the same name. Sado refers to Sado Island in Japan in which various artists, religious and military leaders were sent in exile many years ago. In this work, the students are invited to become decision makers during aleatoric sections at the beginning and ending of the piece. For example, the opening and closing sections of the piece use the same material, which is a selection of repeated melodic figures. The students themselves decide how to play these figures as individuals, in small teams and then as a whole band, based partly upon

Program Notes

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the haiku that this work is inspired from.

In-between the aleatoric sections, there is an elaborate, heavily textured section that becomes increasingly powerful. The music doesn’t rest harmonically until the whole band plays in unison. These multiple layers of sound represent the many thoughts and ideas that would have surrounded those individuals sent to Sado Island in exile, and the final unison is representative of their own breakthrough experience sending them on a pathway to inner peace and acceptance.

Yukiko Nishimura - Star Ship Notes by composer In Japan there is an old tale which has been told since before time began.

Two of the most beautiful stars in the night sky are Altair, representing Man and Vega, representing Woman. These two lovers can meet each other only one time each year, on the night of July 7th. Living on opposite sides of the Milky Way, they have to ride a ship to meet each other on that night. If it rains, they cannot see each other because the river of light in the sky is swollen.

The name of the star ship that Altair and Vega ride is called “Hoshi no Fune”.

I wanted to express in music the pain of these separated lovers.

Jennifer Hidgon - Rhythm Stand Notes by publisher Rhythm Stand pays tribute to the constant presence of rhythm in our lives, from the pulse of a heart beating to the rhythmic sounds of the world around us. Celebrating the "regular order" we all experience, Jennifer Higdon incorporates traditional and non-traditional sound within a 4/4 meter American style swing to heighten student awareness and enhance their creativity. Organized in unique compositional and rhythmic patterns, this work invites students to explore multiple ways of organizing sounds and making music.

In the composer's own words: "Since rhythm is everywhere, not just in music (ever listened to the tires of a car running across pavement, or a train on railroad tracks?), I've incorporated sounds that come not from the

Program Notes

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instruments that you might find in a band, but from 'objects' that sit nearby ... music stands and pencils! Music stands are played with pencils, which are both 'objects' at hand. Not only that, but some of the performers in this piece get even more basic ... they snap their fingers. Because music can be any kind of sound arranged into an interesting pattern, I decided to add sounds that you wouldn't normally hear coming from band instruments, sounds which are created out of ordinary things that might be sitting nearby.

Composing is merely the job of combining interesting sounds into interesting patterns. And interesting patterns create cool rhythms. So... I'm making a STAND FOR RHYTHM!"

James M. David - Menlo Park, 1879 notes by composer On the evening of December 31, 1879, Thomas Edison unveiled the first practical electric light bulb to the public at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. A train was commissioned to bring the New York press and others from the city to Edison’s tiny outpost. Upon arriving, the passengers walked up a small snow-covered hill that was lit by 20 electric lampposts leading to his laboratory filled with the warm glow of incandescent bulbs.

My piece is a tone poem inspired by this special moment in history. The work opens with the gloomy night train, slowly bringing up speed and chattering with the passengers’ anticipation for what is to come. This is followed by a lyrical adagio based on a sarabande progression that represents the ascent to the illuminated building on the hilltop. The work concludes with the return journey that describes the excitement and hope for a new electrical age. Ultimately, I hope that this composition will inspire listeners to remember that even in the darkest of times we can always look towards the future.

Band Program Personnel & Faculty

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Faculty and Staff Nicholas J. Carlson; acting director of bands Christopher Vongvithayamathaku; symphonic band director Ronald Stemley; pep band director Jordan Kamps; percussion Jen Eng; supervising librarian, wind ensemble librarian, percussion assistant Andres Ferreira; logistics, festival assistant Juan Peinado; equipment/locker manager, logistics Julia Soulsby; assistant librarian/symphonic band librarian, logistics, festival assistant Jason Soto; equipment/locker manager, logistics Phoebe Stoughton; assistant librarian/pep band librarian, logistics, festival assistant Kappa Kappa Psi National Band Fraternity Executive Board Natalia Rivera; president Luis Lema; vice president Daniel McCarrick; treasurer Guadalupe Esquinca; historian Applied Faculty Mariana Gariazzo, flute Eugenia Moliner, flute Ricardo Castañeda, oboe John Gaudette, bassoon Nicholas Carlson, clarinet Gene Collerd, clarinet Jordan Lulloff, saxophone David Inmon, trumpet Kelly Langenberg, horn Andy Baker, trombone Scott Tegge, tuba/euphonium John Floeter, string bass Jordan Kamps, percussion Ivana Bukvich, piano

Biographies

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Christopher Vongvithayamathakul Christopher Vongvithayamathakul (Mathakul) joins the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Theatre and Music in the 2021-22 academic year as the Ensemble Programs/Public Engagement Coordinator and director of the Symphonic Band. Currently, Mr. Mathakul is a doctoral candidate in Instrumental Conducting at the University of Washington, studying with Professor Timothy Salzman. As concert bands graduate assistant at Washington, Mr. Mathakul served as the director of the Concert Band and assistant conductor for the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band. In the Spring of 2021, Mr. Mathakul and fellow graduate conducting student Daniel Fischer presented a clinic entitled “Creative Learning Experiences for Music Ensembles Using Digital Audio Tools” at multiple state music education conferences. This presentation was inspired by the virtual composition project entitled "Putting the E in E-nsemble" piloted by the University of Washington Wind Ensemble in collaboration with composer Alex Shapiro in the Spring of 2020.

Mr. Mathakul earned a Master of Music degree in Wind Conducting from the University of New Mexico where he studied conducting with Professor Eric Rombach-Kendall and clarinet with Professor Keith Lemmons. During his time at New Mexico, Mathakul served as graduate assistant for the UNM bands, where his responsibilities included assisting and conducting the concert bands, marching band, and running the “Soundpack” basketball pep band. Mr. Mathakul also served as the music director for the Symphony Orchestra of Albuquerque, a community orchestra.

Prior to his doctoral studies, Mr. Mathakul served for seven years as a high school and middle school band director in schools on the island of

Biographies

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O’ahu, Hawai’i, where he was an active member of the O'ahu Band Directors Association and chair of its Beginning Honor Band.

UIC Music Concert Series Fall 2021

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Tuesday, November 23 Pop Rock Concert Recital Hall L285 1040 W. Harrison St. 7:30pm Nov 29–Dec 3 Campus Caroling with UIC Choirs UIC campus 11am–2pm (during rehearsal times) December 1–2 UIC Jazz Recital Room L285 Friday, December 3 UIC Percussion Ensemble UIC Theatre L280 1040 W. Harrison St. 7:30pm Saturday, December 4 UIC Orchestra UIC Theatre L280 1040 W. Harrison St. 3pm Saturday, December 4 UIC Wind Ensemble UIC Theatre L280 1040 W. Harrison St. 7:30pm

Our student concerts are free and open to the public. Dates are subject to change. Visit us at theatreandmusic.uic.edu for a full listing of events.

Please RSVP your attendance registration link coming soon.

For accessibility and accommodations contact our box office at (312) 996-2939 or email nealmac@uic.edu

Mission

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The School of Theatre & Music provides innovative, rigorous, and comprehensive academic and performance programs as part of our diverse, urban context. Our programs develop practical knowledge, cultural sensitivity, intellectual resourcefulness, and imaginative daring in emerging artists and scholars. We connect students to Chicago's abundant, vibrant theatre culture and to the city's dynamic jazz and classical music networks.

Thank you for being a dedicated member of our community!

When you make a gift of any size to the School of Theatre & Music, you invest in the future of our students and encourage them to discover and nurture their passions and talents. The School has funds that support a wide range of areas and programs: Theatre & Music Scholarship Fund Theatre & Music Annual Fund Music Ensembles (jazz, wind bands, orchestra, choir, etc.)

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