Yale Concert Band
Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director Yale’s Premier Wind Ensemble feat. guest artist Ole Akahoshi
Yale School of Music Professor of Cello
Sunday, November 16, 2025, at 3:00 p.m., Woolsey Hall, Yale University
DUKE ELLINGTON
arr. James Spinazzola
Out of Darkness (2024)*
I. Lament II. Hope III. Prayer Ole Akahoshi, cello
A Tone Parallel to Harlem (1951/2024)
James Spinazzola, guest conductor
~ intermission ~
Symphony No. 2 (1986)
I. Moderato
II. “Deep River”
III. Allegro Molto
*commissioned with funds from the Robert Flanagan Yale Band Commissions Endowment
DANA WILSON
DAVID MASLANKA
The Yale Concert Band was organized by Keith L Wilson in 1946. At that time and for decades afterward, the majority of music played by wind bands in the United States consisted of arrangements and transcriptions of popular orchestral, opera, and show music. Wilson was a nationally recognized band director, composer, and arranger, whose work is still held in the highest regard. As president of the College Band Directors National Association in 1962, he led the organization in the commissioning of music specifically for the wind band; these compositions were solicited from nationally and internationally known composers. The many years of music being transcribed for wind band did generate some masterpieces, and many Americans learned and loved opera, orchestral, and popular music through their local wind bands.
About Tonight’s Music
Out of Darkness: Concerto for Cello and Wind Ensemble (2024)
DANA WILSON (b. 1946)
The composer writes of his piece:
“As I began thinking about this work, the world was in turmoil in a way that didn’t involve the U.S. militarily but still affected us in profound ways. The war in Ukraine had been languishing, and the attack in Israel and the counterattacks in Gaza had just begun. These horrors seemed unending and unsolvable; there would be no victors, only victims. Many, many innocent civilians would become literally caught in the crossfire.
“Originally, I had no intention of addressing these events in a concerto but gradually felt some relief in turning to the plaintive and intense sound of the cello for solace and to help me attempt to process these relentless human tragedies. What resulted is a three-movement work performed without pause: a first movement titled ‘Lament,’ followed by a second movement, ‘Hope,’ which inspires the cello soloist to gain strength and attempt escape – even becoming somewhat whimsical – before becoming ensnared once again in the overriding emotion. The only meaningful response to all this seemed to be a third movement, ‘Prayer.’
“I am grateful to the consortium of ensembles and their directors who commissioned the work, and to the cello soloists who bring their artistry and virtuosity to making the music so much more than what’s written on the page.”
A Tone Parallel to Harlem (1951)
DUKE ELLINGTON (1899-1974)
(arr. James Spinazzola)
Arranger and guest conductor James Spinazzola writes of this piece:
“In 1950, the NBC Symphony Orchestra—then under the direction of Arturo Toscanini—commissioned Duke Ellington to compose an orchestral work inspired by New York City. That September, Ellington visited President Harry Truman at the White House and presented him with the manuscript of A Tone Parallel to Harlem, known to Truman as the Portrait of New York Suite, scored for the composer’s jazz ensemble. Truman’s official record notes: ‘Mr. Ellington personally gave to the President the original manuscript of his contribution toward the new musical suite commissioned by Toscanini, Portrait of New York Suite.’
“Ellington later wrote that he completed the piece while returning from a European tour in the summer of 1950, apart from the final ten bars, composed by Billy Strayhorn. The jazz ensemble version of the work was premiered on January 21, 1951, at the Metropolitan Opera House in a benefit concert for the NAACP. Like Ellington’s 1943 Carnegie Hall premiere of Black, Brown, and Beige, this performance marked the first time an African American ensemble had appeared on that stage. Later that year, Ellington recorded the piece for his Ellington Uptown album.
“Because the NBC commission required a symphonic work, Ellington enlisted orchestrator Luther Henderson to create a full orchestral version, which was premiered in 1955 at Carnegie Hall by Don Gillis and the Symphony of the Air. For a later performance in Washington, D.C., Ellington introduced the piece as follows:
“‘And now, one of our extended pieces: Harlem. Harlem, of course, is A Tone Parallel to Harlem, and we tried to picture some of the major ingredients of Harlem: a little sadness, a little gladness. And, of course, there’s so many good things to say about us; a lot of very handsome people who live in Harlem endowed with great advantages… The home of many champions, great dancers have come from there. Well, we’re bordered on the west by the Hudson River, on the east by the East River, on the south by the Rumba Belt, and on the north by the New York Giants. We’re even represented in Congress by a minister which brings us to the point that despite its tremendous reputation, which, of course, is varied and sundry, Harlem has more churches than cabarets. And we find ourselves, along about halfway through this piece, in front of a church on Easter Sunday morning witnessing an Easter parade: a little sadness, a little gladness, a dazzling satin doll but moving on progressively. The word ‘Harlem’ is spoken as the opening statement by [trumpeter] Ray Nance.’
“Ellington’s music was always alive—constantly evolving alongside his ensemble. He composed with specific musicians in mind, tailoring each line to their unique sound and strengths. This highly personalized approach gives his music its distinctive vitality but also results in frequent discrepancies between his scores and parts. These variations are not errors so much as artifacts of Ellington’s creative process: a record of how his music grew through performance, collaboration, and adaptation.
“In preparing this arrangement, I consulted several invaluable sources: a meticulously prepared edition of the jazz ensemble score published by Jazz Lines Publications, as well as orchestral versions by Luther Henderson, Maurice Peress, and John Mauceri. The majority of the material presented here draws from those editions, with the addition of newly composed woodwind accompaniments and percussion figures supporting Strayhorn’s coda.”
Symphony No. 2 (1986)
DAVID MASLANKA (1943-2017)
“Symphony No. 2 was commissioned by the Big Ten Band Directors Association in 1983. I was asked to write a major work for full band. The Symphony was given its premiere at the 1987 CBDNA Convention in Evanston, Illinois. The performing group was the combined Symphonic Band and Symphonic Wind Ensemble of Northwestern University under the direction of John P. Paynter.
“The first movement is in sonata form. It travels with gathering force to a climax area halfway through and then dissolves suddenly into a heated fantasia. A very simple restatement of the opening theme and a brief coda finish the movement. This music is deeply personal for me, dealing with issues of loss, resignation, and acceptance.
“The second movement opens with an arrangement of ‘Deep River,’ a traditional African-American melody. The words of the song read in part: ‘Deep River, my home is over Jordan. Deep River, Lord, I want to cross over to camp ground.’ The composition of this movement involved for me two meaningful coincidences. The body of the movement was completed, and then I came across ‘Deep River’ while working on another project. The song and my composition fit as if made for each other, so I brought the song into the Symphony. The last notes were put onto the score of this movement almost to the hour of the space shuttle Challenger disaster. The power of these coincidences was such that I have dedicated this music to the memory of the astronauts who lost their lives: Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith A. Resnick, Ellison S. Onizuka, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.
“The finale of this Symphony is once again in sonata form. There are three broad theme areas occupying more than a third of the movement, a development based primarily on themes one and three, a recapitulation (minus the third theme area), and a brief coda. The underlying impulse of this movement is an exuberant, insistent outpouring of energy, demanding a high level of playing precision and physical endurance from the performers.”
— David Maslanka
About Tonight’s Guest Artists
Cellist Ole Akahoshi, hailing from Germany, enjoys a concert career before audiences in North and South Americas, Asia, and Europe in recitals, chamber music concerts, and as soloist with orchestras, such as the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Symphonisches Orchester Berlin, and the Czech Radio Orchestra. He has won numerous competitions including Concertino Praga and Jugend Musiziert and is the recipient of the fellowship award from Charlotte White’s Salon de Virtuosi. Mr. Akahoshi has performed in Avery-Fisher-Hall, Benaroya Hall Seattle, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center Washington, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Seoul Arts Center, Beijing National Center for the Performing Arts, Shanghai Concert Hall, Taipei National Concert Hall, Salle Pleyel and Salle Cortot in Paris, Royal Festival and Wigmore Halls in London, Wiener Musikverein, and Berliner Philharmonie. His performances have been featured on CNN, NPR, Sender-Freies-Berlin, RIAS-Berlin, Hessischer Rundfunk, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Korean Broadcasting Station, and WQXR. He has made recordings for the Albany, New World Records, Composers Recording Inc., Calliope, Bridge, Sanga Records, and Naxos labels. Most recent releases include the String Quartet by Behzad Ranjbaran, the Mendelssohn Octet with Gil Shaham, the Solo Partita by Ezra Laderman, and works by Boris Tishchenko, Gennady Banshchikov, David Fulmer, and Louis Karchin.
He has performed at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Bowdoin Festival, Mimir Festival, New York Summer Music Festival, Appalachian Summer Festival in Boone NC, Festival des Artes Brazil, and the Great Mountains Music Festival in Korea. He has given numerous master classes, most recently at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, University of Natal Brazil, Korean National University of Arts, Yonsei University, Hanyang University, University of Ulsan, Kyung Hee University, Michigan University, Eastman School of Music, Rice University, New York University, Brooklyn College of Music, Bard College, and Duke University. Mr. Akahoshi has been serving as a judge for competitions such as the Isang Yun International Cello Competition, Aram Khachaturian International Cello Competition, the Harmonium International Cello Competition in Armenia, Hong Kong Generation Next Arts International Competition, Juilliard Concerto Competition, and the William Waite Concerto Competition.
Mr. Akahoshi was a student of Pierre Fournier. He continued his studies with Aldo Parisot at Juilliard and Yale, and with Janos Starker at Bloomington Indiana. He has served as teaching assistant for both Aldo Parisot and Janos Starker. His other mentors were Georg Donderer and Wolfgang Boettcher.
Mr. Akahoshi is Assistant Professor of Cello at the Yale School of Music where he serves as the artistic director of the Yale Cellos. He is also on the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music precollege division, the Longy Conservatory in Boston, and the Mannes School of Music The New School.
Mr. Akahoshi is the principal cellist of the Sejong Soloists in New York and a member of the Horszowski trio.
James Spinazzola is the Barbara & Richard T. Silver ’50, MD ’53 Associate Professor, and Director of Winds at Cornell University. He is an active conductor, ensemble clinician, arranger, and saxophonist. In addition to directing the Cornell wind program, he teaches various courses on a rotating basis, including undergraduate conducting, music theory, and chamber music. He also serves as a faculty adviser to CU Winds, a student-driven organization devoted to performing and promoting wind band music. James hosted the 2024 Eastern Division conference of the College Band Directors National Association, and the Eastern Division conferences invited the Cornell Wind Symphony (CWS) to perform in 2018 and 2022. On behalf of the CWS, James has commissioned and premiered over 25 compositions in the last eight years, including those by Byron Adams, Sydney Guillaume, Kathryn Likhuta, Da-
vid Maslanka, Christopher Rouse, Dana Wilson, and Mark Winges. He has also hosted on-campus collaborations with a diverse collection of high-profile artists, including Tania León, Wynton Marsalis, David Maslanka, Joshua Redman, Yosvany Terry, and Patrick Williams; as well as numerous artists and ensembles from the campus and local communities. Publishers of James’s music and writings include Alfred Music, Boosey & Hawkes, Gorilla Salad, Mark Records, Routledge, Scarecrow, and Subito; and ensembles under his direction premiered his arrangements and transcriptions of music by John Adams, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Dave Grusin, Tania León, Wynton Marsalis, Roberto Sierra, and Patrick Williams, among others. He has guest conducted throughout the U.S. and in eight countries and presented his research in a variety of contexts, including the Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic, multiple CBDNA conferences, and lectures in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia. James has led the Cornell Wind Symphony on community-engaged performance tours of Cuba (2024), Haiti, and the Dominican Republic (2019, 2017), and has built lasting, reciprocal partnerships with multiple community organizations. Stemming from those initiatives, James authored a book, Community-Engaged Performance Tours: A Handbook for Ensemble Directors and Educators (Routledge, 2023), which is a guide for ensemble directors and educators interested in leading similar projects. James is currently researching the use of XR technologies in undergraduate conducting construction.
James has been a Cornell Engaged Faculty Fellow and has received multiple grants from the Cornell Center for Teaching Innovation, Center for the Humanities, Council for the Arts, and the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement. He has also earned two grants from the Central New York Humanities Corridor for founding a working group called Banding Together. This group fosters interactions between college wind ensembles and composers from historically underrepresented populations. Through this initiative, Cornell has partnered with ensembles from Syracuse University and the Eastman Conservatory.
Before his current post, James was an associate professor at the University of Indianapolis and an assistant professor at Tennessee Tech University. He holds degrees from Duquesne University (BS), the University of Colorado (MM), and Louisiana State University (DMA).
Upcoming Yale Bands Performances 2025-26
• Friday, December 5 – 7:30 p.m. “Side by Side: The Nutcracker Swings!” The Yale Concert Band (Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director) and the Yale Jazz Ensembles Big Band (Wayne Escoffery, Music Director) present two settings of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. With both bands seated side by side on stage, the YCB performs the traditional classical arrangement by Mayhew F. Lake, with the YJEBB answering movements with Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn’s jazzy interpretation of this holiday classic. Woolsey Hall. Tickets General Admission $15, $10 students. Scan code for tickets>
• Friday, February 13 – 7:30 p.m. Yale Concert Band Winter Concert, Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. Vespers by Susan Botti, with special guests the Yale Glee Club, Jeffrey Douma, Music Director. Other music TBA. Woolsey Hall. Free/no tickets required.
• Wednesday, March 4 – 7:30 p.m. Yale Jazz Ensembles Big Band Spring Concert. Wayne Escoffery, Music Director. Celelebrating the centennial of Miles Davis. Program TBA. Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall. Free/no tickets required.
• Monday, April 8 – Yale Jazz Ensembles Big Band at Dizzy’s Club, New York. Wayne Escoffery, Music Director. Two sets, 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. Info/$Tickets TBA. https://jazz.org/dizzys/
• Friday, April 10 – 7:30 p.m. Yale Concert Band, Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. The Thomas C. Duffy Annual Spring Concert. Juvenalia for Solo Percussion and Wind Ensemble (Robert Honstein), feat. guest artist Garrett Arney, percussion. Also feat. Frank Morelli, Yale School of Music Professor of Bassoon: Bassoon Concertino (Francisco Mignone). Other music TBA. Woolsey Hall. Free/no tickets required.
• Sunday, May 17 – 7:00 p.m. Yale Concert Band Annual Twilight Concert, Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. Celebratory music and Yale songs on the eve of Yale’s Commencement. Outside on the Old Campus. Free/no tickets required.
Yale University Bands P.O. Box 209048
New Haven, CT 06520-9048
ph: 203-432-4111 | stephanie.hubbard@yale.edu | bands.yale.edu
Photo: Harold Shapiro
About the Music Director
Thomas C. Duffy is Professor in the Pracice of Music, Director of University Bands, and Clinical Professor of Nursing at Yale University, where he has worked since 1982. He is known as a composer, a conductor, a teacher, an administrator, and a leader. His interests and research range from non-tonal analysis to jazz, from wind band history to creativity and the brain. Under his direction, the Yale Bands have performed at conferences of the College Band Directors National Association and New England College Band Association; for club audiences at New York City’s Village Vanguard, Birdland, Dizzy’s Club, and Iridium; Ronnie Scott’s (London); the Belmont (Bermuda); as part of the inaugural ceremonies for President George H.W. Bush; and concertized in twenty-one countries in the course of nineteen international tours. Duffy produced a two-year lecture/performance series, Music and the Brain, with the Yale School of Medicine; and, with the Yale School of Nursing, developed a musical intervention to train nursing students to better hear and identify body sounds with the stethoscope. He combined his interests in music and science to create a genre of music for the bilateral conductor – in which a “split-brained conductor” must conduct a different meter in each hand, sharing downbeats. His compositions have introduced a generation of school musicians to aleatory, the integration of spoken/sung words and “body rhythms” with instrumental performance, and the pairing of music with political, social, historical and scientific themes. He has been awarded the Yale Tercentennial Medal for Composition, the Elm/ Ivy Award, the Yale School of Music Cultural Leadership Citation and certificates of appreciation by the United States Attorney’s Office for his Yale 4/Peace: Rap for Justice concerts – music programs designed for social impact by using the power of music to deliver a message of peace and justice to impressionable middle and high school students. Duffy has served as associate, deputy, and acting dean of the Yale School of Music. He has served as a member of the Fulbright National Selection Committee, the Tanglewood II Symposium planning committee, the Grammy Foundation Music Educators Award Screening Committee, and completed the MLE program at the Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership in Education. He has served as: president of the Connecticut Composers Inc., the New England College Band Directors Association and the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA); editor of the CBDNA Journal; publicity chair for the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles; and chair of the Connecticut Music Educators Association’s Professional Affairs and Government Relations committees. He is a member of American Bandmasters Association, American Composers Alliance, the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, Connecticut Composers Incorporated, the Social Science Club, and BMI. Duffy has conducted ensembles all over the world, including the National Association for Music Education’s National Honor Band in the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. (More extensive data is available at www.duffymusic.com, including a high resolution downloadable photo.)
Photos: Harold Shapiro
Piccolos
YALE CONCERT BAND 2025-2026
THOMAS C. DUFFY, Music Director
STEPHANIE HUBBARD, Operations and Productions Manager
President: Jared Wyetzner | General Managers: Isaiah Harvey, William Wakefield
Social Chairs: Zoe Frost, Lizzie Seward | Publicity Chairs: Greta Garrison, Amelia Shaw
Salena Huang YSEAS ’26* Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Flutes
Zoe Frost MY ’27* American Studies
Noah Watson TD ’28 Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Diego Lee TC ’29 Undeclared
Allie Gruber PC ’26 English
Allan An BR ’28 Music/Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Kaustuv Mohanty MC ’29 Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
Peter Nelson JE ’26 Biomedical Engineering
Mei Hao YSEAS ’28 Mechanical Engineering
Noelle Smith BK ’28 History
Oboes
Sophia Graham DC ’26* Economics
Penelope Emerson MY ’29 Applied Physics
Estelle Balsirow JE ’26 Linguistics
Cameron Gray-Lee DC ’27 Math and Physics/Music
English Horn
Sophia Graham DC ’26* Economics
Eb Clarinet
Nickolas Hamblin MUS MM ’25/MMA ’26 Music
Bb Clarinets
Sammy Feingold MY ’28 Keith L. Wilson Principal Clarinet Chair † Neuroscience
Amelia Shaw TC ’28 Undeclared
Ben Swinchoski BF ’25‡ Neuroscience
Joshua Chen SY ’27 Mechanical Engineering
Su Min Pyo PC ’29 Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Trevor Strano MC ’28 Earth and Planetary Sciences
Eleanor Kandoll PC ’29 Music
Cameron Nye BR ’27 Political Science
Amalee Bowen GSAS ’28 Egyptology
Bass Clarinet
Jacob Knowles ES ’28 History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health
Contrabass Clarinet
Ian McAndrews MUS ’27 Music
Bassoons
Ari Blehert JE ’28* Applied Physics/Music
Bryce Falkoff TC ’29 Undeclared
Contrabassoon
Laressa Winters YSM ’26‡ Music
Soprano Saxophone
Lizzie Seward DC ’27* Physics and Philosophy
Alto Saxophones
Lizzie Seward DC ’27* Physics and Philosophy
Sean Yu PC ’29 Undeclared
Daniel Guo DC ’29 Undeclared
Tenor Saxophones
William Wakefield BF ’29 Undeclared
Esteban Figueroa MC ’25 Electrical Engineering
Baritone Saxophone
Hanson Qin ES ’28 Computer Science and Economics
Cornets/Trumpets (rotating)
Jared Wyetzner PC ’27* Physics
Lydia Berger MY ’29 Undeclared
Graydon Nolen DC ’28 Undeclared
Isaiah Harvey TD ’28 Ethics, Politics, and Economics
Kyle Chen SY ’27 Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Terri Rauschenbach MUS ’27‡ Music
Luke Fox‡
French Horns (rotating)
Micah Draper PM ’28* Urban Studies
Cristina Vieyetz MUS ’26 Music
Atticus Chan TC ’29 Mechanical Engineering
Shell Ross GH ’26 Classical Civilization
Zakariya Bouzid GH ’28 Undeclared
Trombones
Griffin Rupp MUS ’26* Music
Max Watzky BF ’27 Physics
Beatrice Beale Tate PC ’28 Undeclared
Nathan Lange SY ’27 Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
Will Roberts MUS ’26‡ Music
Alex Felker MUS ’26‡ Music
Euphoniums
Alfred Ma JE ’29 Music/Computer Science
Will Roberts MUS ’26§ Music
Tubas
Benson Wang BK ’27* Economics
Gregory Wolf TD ’26 Psychology
Lillian Adey MY ’29 Electrical Engineering
Michael Toben BK ’27‡ Statistics and Data Science/Applied Mathematics
String Bass
Ziv Shah SM ’29 Undeclared
Piano/Celeste
Matthew Li MY ’29 Economics/Mathematics
Harp
Sebastian Gobbels YSM ’26§ Music
Percussion (rotating)
Madeline Chun SM ’26* Economics/Humanities
Nikolai Stephens-Zumbaum BF ’26* Mechanical Engineering
Gaby Garcia SM ’29 Undeclared
Jacob Leshnower GH ’27 Statistics and Data Science/Music
Mirabel Solomon BF ’28 Undeclared
Tally Vaneman GH ’27 Astrophysics
Zahra Virani SY ’26 Urban Studies/History of Art
Music Librarians
Allan An BR ’28 Music/Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Zahra Virani SY ’26 Urban Studies/History of Art
* principal
† Friends of Keith L. Wilson (Director of Yale Bands from 1946-1973) honored him by endowing the principal clarinet chair in the Yale Concert Band in his name. If you would like information about naming a Yale Concert Band chair, please contact the Yale Bands Office.
‡ playing on Symphony No. 2 only
§ playing on A Tone Parallel to Harlem only