UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY
UVU HONOR BAND & WIND SYMPHONY
“SPINNING GOLD”
UVU HONOR BAND
Diane Soelberg, Conductor
UVU WIND SYMPHONY
Christopher Ramos, Director
February 28, 2026 5:00 p.m.
Concert Hall
PROGRAM
UVU High School Honor Band (40 mins)
Diane Soelberg, Clinician and Conductor
Selections Performed from the Following:
Danzon (2013) Victoriano Valencia (b. 1970)
Earth Song (2012)
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Folksong of Midu (2017) Li Chan (b. 1981)
Symphony No. 1 “The Lord of the Rings” (1987) Johan de Meij (b. 1953)
V. Hobbits
Triumphant Fanfare (1997)
A Walk in the Morning Sun (2010)
Intermission (15 minutes)
Richard Saucedo (b. 1957)
Pierre la Plante (1943–2024)
UVU Wind Symphony (50 minutes)
Christopher Ramos, Director
Dragon Rhyme (2010)
II.Energetically
Lux Aurumque (2005)
Diane Soelberg, Guest Conductor
Chen Yi (b. 1953)
Eric Whitacre (b. 1970)
Bradley Olson (BS, Music Education), Guest Conductor
Concerto for Tuba and Orchestral Winds (1987) Bruce Broughton (b. 1945)
I.Allegro Moderato
Alex Jensen (BM, Commercial Music), Tuba 2025 UVU Concerto Competition Winner
Empyrean (2026) Jocelyn Hagen (b. 1980) World Premiere
Rumpelstilzchen: Jess Langston Turner
A Fairy Tale for Wind Ensemble (2009) (b. 1983)
I. Spinning Straw into Gold
II. Night (The Maiden’s Lament)
III. Rumpelstilzchen’s Furiant (Moto Perpetuo)
CONDUCTOR’S STATEMENT
The Lunar New Year is recently behind us, and if you have the joy of being part of a celebration (members of the Wind Symphony went to one in Salt Lake City just a couple of weeks ago), you will see gold everywhere. Of course, it signifies wealth, but if we dig deeper into what wealth even means to us, we might also see it pointing us toward hope, health, and prosperity. It is the dream, gleam, of a brighter future. In this great, global party of the new year, the firecrackers pop gleefully in brilliant golden showers, and the lion dancers beat their drums and sway the giant puppet with alacrity and seemingly inexhaustible vigor. The yearly passage of the hongbao between generations carries a deep significance of and commitment to care. It is a message of love, along with encouragement. May you prosper. May you live a long and healthy life. May you be safe and happy. Most of the music the Wind Symphony plays for you this evening explores this beautiful radiance.
The golden coin is double-sided though. If you’re like me, you may not have much physical gold in your life. Gold for me is more of an idea I think about rather than a reality I often touch. And this is what I wanted to explore in our repertoire this evening — because gold, while it could point us toward hope, is heavy. For some, it might even carry more darkness than light. After all, its brilliance is but a reflection of the light shining upon it.
All that glitters is not gold— Often have you heard that told. Many a man his life hath sold But my outside to behold. Gilded tombs do worms enfold. Had you been as wise as bold, Young in limbs, in judgment old, Your answer had not been inscrolled Fare you well. Your suit is cold—
—William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
In the fairy tale of “Rumpelstilzchen,” gold is a catalyst for a deeper struggle in our human condition. It awakens not only greed but also desperation in the face of deception. How many lives have been upended in the pursuit of wealth and prosperity? The Brothers Grimm indeed offer us a cautionary tale about the problems of power, control, and deceit. Is it really about the gold? Perhaps the gold just awakens something hidden in us. Shakespeare warned us that
appearances are certainly not everything and may even be paradoxical to the truth within.
Something I love about the fairy tale is that Rumpelstilzchen is really quite an annoying, devilish, even comical figure. At the end he literally explodes into a shower of golden light after dancing maniacally while singing to himself (in some versions, he flies out of the kitchen on a pot ladle, but I like the image of him dancing himself into a golden explosion). I am reminded of how Professor Lupin teaches his students to deal with the bogart in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Sometimes the best way to deal with our darkest fears is with a healthy sense of good humor.
May you find your gold, and may you not take yourself too seriously in the finding of it.
—C.R.
Scan to read more about each work on the program and the artists.
FLUTE
Everly Allen
Simon Allen
Rebecca Anderson
Benjamin Davis
Camryn Houston
Lindsey Johnson
Ava Pettijohn
Lianella Reano
Preston Southam
Sierra St. Felix
Lilith Stewart
Megan Tremayne
OBOE
Megan Fletcher
Holly Hatch
Cade Taylor
BASSOON
Jeremiah Gunter
Alexander Logan
CLARINET
Rebecca Dome
Mark Fluckiger
Kristin Hatch
Eyleen Lindao
Henry Lloyd
Ethan Olsen
Violet Reedy
Mallory Woods
UVU High School Honor Band
Diane Soelberg, Clinician and Conductor
BASS CLARINET
Carmen Ayala
Jacob Braithwaite
Christian Kopp
Grant Palmer
ALTO SAXOPHONE
Graisyn Gallegos
Emma Kolodziej
Benjamin Parker
Jackson Pugmire
TENOR SAXOPHONE
Eliana Harris
Curtis McCorristin
Benjamin Szymanski
BARITONE
SAXOPHONE
Braxton Cherrington
Hazel Robbins
TRUMPET
Braden Bishop
Jared Busker
Olivia Butler
Akoy Gregory
Paige Hamm
Calder Haymond
Tyler Luke
Jonas Metcalf
Coleman Roundy
Ethan Woodruff
HORN
Orion Bateman
Andrew Eliason
Jacob Elliot
Ethan McBride
Brayden McStotts
Ruby Samuelson
Lissa Smith
Cooper Strebel
TROMBONE
Bryce Johnson
Irelyn Ortega
Braden Zahajko
Elijah Wheelwright
BASS TROMBONE
Ethan Delahunty
Johnny Hamm
EUPHONIUM
Andrew Bawden
Cadence Brand
Brennon Holt
Henry Reimschussel
TUBA
James Chapman
Lillian Larsen
David Jeffery
PERCUSSION
Kahana Franco
Aubrielle Miller
Myles Miller
Zachary Warner
Flute
Jessica Allen
Cami Bartholemew
Martha Peterson
Jenifer Swanson*
Ashley Toomey
Oboe
Ayden Wiggins*
Luca de la Florin
Bassoon
Eric Christensen*
Joshua Magnusson
Ellie Sorensen
Clarinet
Adrian Blanco
Kaydence Butler
John Gates
Conner Hodson
Julia McHenry
Jeffrey Rawlings*
Alec Russell, Bass
Julia Taniguchi
Robyn Ward
Kathleen Williams
UVU Wind Symphony
Christopher Ramos, Director
Saxaphone
Gideon Baker, Bari
Addy Hogan, Tenor
Ruth Payne, Alto
Logan Stanford, Alto*
Trumpet
Arye Arteaga
Brandon Ard
Katherine Goehring
Bradly Olson*
Connor Perkins
Jordon Toomey
Horn
Steven Dulger*
Cora Jackson
Sean Knowlton
Michael Rodeback
Andrew Williams
Trombone
Michael Ferrier*
Steven Gravley
Jay Henrie, Bass
Mackay Hill
Millie Knowlton, Bass
Euphonium
Abdallah Elhaddi
Gabriel Nelson
Tuba
Sam Hikida
Alex Jensen
Jarom Lewis*
Giovanni Ochoa
Percussion
Jordan Bushman
James Hatch*
Aaron Slighting
Stephen Tullis
Elliot Uffens
Nick Walker
String Bass
Alexander Willey
Piano
Anna Peterson
Harp
Melanie Harper
* Section Principal
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