Yale Concert Band

Yale Concert Band

Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director featuring special guest

Scott Hartman, trombone Woolsey Hall, Yale University

Friday, March 30, 2012, at 7:30 pm

ROGER NIXON

THOMAS C. DUFFY STEVE REICH

RICHARD STRAUSS

Pacific Celebration Suite (1979)

I. Parade II. Prayer III. Pageant The Song of Hiawatha (1995) Music for Pieces of Wood (1973)

Yale Band Percussion Group Serenade in Eb Major (1882)

~ INTERMISSION ~

JOHN MACKEY

FRANK TICHELI

Harvest: Concerto for Trombone (2010)

Scott Hartman, trombone Blue Shades (1995)

About Tonight’s Music Pacific Celebration Suite (1979) Roger Nixon

Pacific Celebration Suite was composed in celebration of the bicentennial of San Francisco. Colonists settled the pueblo of Yerba Buena beside a shallow cove inside the Golden Gate. This piece embodies a good deal of imagery related to the events of that settlement. The first movement, “Parade,” is a fanfare-march that embodies some of the spirit of San Francisco, with horses, soldiers, and weapons on parade during the old Spanish days of California. The mood of the second movement, “Prayer,” is that of prayerful meditation within the sanctuary of Mission Dolores. Images associated with the musical ideas of the third movement, “Pageant,” include Spanish conquistadors, soldiers riding and marching, children playing in the pueblo of Yerba Buena, lovely senoritas and senoras, horsemen, etc.

Roger Nixon (1921-2009) attended Modesto Junior College from 1938-1940 where he studied clarinet with Frank Mancini, formerly of Sousa’s Band. He continued his studies at the University of California at Berkeley, majoring in composition and receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1941.

The Song of Hiawatha (1995) Thomas C. Duffy

This piece was written for the Connecticut Liberty Concert, the state of Connecticut’s official celebration of the centennial of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which took place in Woolsey Hall on October 29, 1986. When programming the concert, Duffy felt the need for a piece of music which in some respectful and appropriate way paid tribute to the native American Indians, the first Americans. The Song of Hiawatha is based on stanzas from the epic poem of the same name by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It speaks of a people in touch with the elements, with great respect for nature: By the shores of Gitche Gumee, By the shining Big-Sea-Water, Stood the wigwam of Nokomis, Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis, Dark before it rose the forest, Rose the black and gloomy pine trees, Rose the firs with cones upon them; Bright before it beat the water, Beat the clear and sunny water, Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.

Saw the fire-fly, Wah-wah-taysee, Flitting through the dusk of evening, With the twinkle of its candle, Lighting up the brakes and bushes, And he sang the song of children, Sang the song Nokomis taught him: Wah-wah-taysee, little fire-fly, Little flitting white-fire insect, Little dancing white-fire creature, Light me with your little candle.

Music for Pieces of Wood (1973) Steve Reich

This piece is a fine example of how something of interest can be made with only basic elements. Pitch is involved in the tuning of the claves, but after the piece is launched, that parameter fades more to the background. To understand the piece, imagine listening to a kaleidoscope. A pattern is established, then it shifts as with the click of the kaleidoscope. There are 58 shifts of pattern within a general 10 minute time frame. Three general sections comprise the overall form. Each section employs an additive progression to build density and is linked to the neighboring section by the underlying quarter note laid down by the first clave player.

Steve Reich (b. October 3, 1936) is a pioneering composer of minimal music. Reich’s style of composition has influenced many other composers and musical groups, and in 2009 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his Double Sextet.

YALE CONCERT BAND Serenade in Eb Major (1882) Richard Strauss

Strauss was only seventeen years old when he wrote this piece, scoring it for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, plus four horns and a contrabassoon. The music is cast in one large movement embracing a short sonata form. Although one of his first works, reminiscent of the andantes of Mozart, all of the typical Straussian qualities are present—the long, arching, melodic lines; the rich harmonic textures; and instrumental virtuosity. The delightful nature of the melodies and Strauss’s knowledgeable use of the instruments make the Serenade a gem in the wind instrument literature.

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) was a leading German composer and conductor of the late Romantic and early Modern eras.

Harvest: Concerto for Trombone (2010) John Mackey

Harvest: Concerto for Trombone is based on the myths and mystery rituals of the Greek god Dionysus. As the Olympian god of the vine, Dionysus is famous for inspiring ecstasy and creativity. But this agricultural, earth-walking god was also subjected each year to a cycle of agonizing death before glorious rebirth, analogous to the harsh pruning and long winter the vines endure before blooming again in the spring. The concerto’s movements attempt to represent this dual nature and the cycle of suffering and return.

The concerto is set in three connected sections. The first section begins with a slow introduction, heavy on ritualistic percussion, representing the summoning of Dionysus’s worshippers to the ceremony. The rite itself builds in intensity, with Dionysus (represented, of course, by the solo trombone) engaging in call and response with his followers, some of whom are driven to an ecstatic outcry—almost a “speaking in tongues”—represented by insistent woodwind trills. But when Dionysus transitions to a gentler tone, his frenzied worshippers do not follow. Their fervor overcomes them, and they tear their god to shreds in an act of ritual madness.

This brutal sacrifice by the ecstatic worshippers—the pruning of the vine—is followed without pause by the second section, representing Dionysus in the stillness of death, or winter. The god is distant, the music like a prayer.

The shoots of spring burst forth in the final section, following again without pause. The earth is reborn as Dionysus rises again, bringing the ecstasy and liberation that have been celebrated in his name for centuries.

Harvest: Concerto for Trombone is dedicated to trombonist Joseph Alessi.

John Mackey (b. October 1, 1973) particularly enjoys writing music for dance and for symphonic winds, and he has focused on those mediums for the past few years.

Blue Shades (1995) Frank Ticheli

Blue Shades was composed during the summer and fall of 1995. Much of the work possesses a jazzy feeling, but it is not, as the title might suggest, a Blues piece. There is not a single 12-bar blues progression in the piece, and, except for a few exceptions indicated in the score, the eighth-note is not swung. The work is, however, heavily influenced by the Blues. Blues harmonies, rhythms, and melodic idioms pervade the work, and many “shades of blue” are depicted, from bright blue, to dark, to dirty, to hot blue. “Blue notes” (flatted 3rd, 7th, and sometimes 5th) are used constantly. Quite often the flatted 3rd is mixed with the major third producing a polymodal effect. For example, the key of G Minor is often implied in the bass under a G Major middle-register accompaniment.

There are many solo passages in the piece, the longest and “hottest” of which occurs near the end of the piece in the solo clarinet, accompanied by the marimba and low woodwinds. After this, the full ensemble reenters and wells to a huge, “wailing” climax.

Frank Ticheli (b. January 21, 1958) is an American composer of orchestral, choral, chamber, and orchestral works. He is currently Professor of Composition at University of California-Los Angeles.

About The Yale Band Percussion Group Ian Rosenbaum, Director Leonardo Gorosito, Assistant Director Matías Anaya SM 15 Sam Anklesaria ES 15 Chris Chow JE 13 Jessica Hahne SM 15 Erin Maher SM 14 Christian Schmidt MC 14 Adam S. Thomas BR 12 Daniel Whitcombe JE 12 Chase Young CC 13 Yale School of Music alumnus Ian Rosenbaum formed the Yale Band Percussion Group to connect the percussionists in Yale College with the percussion department at the Yale School of Music. The YBPG made its debut in 2011 performing Thomas C. Duffy’s concerto for marimba, four percussionists and wind ensemble, Three Places in New Haven, and since then members have performed with the acclaimed Yale Percussion Group.

The YBPG exists as an extension of the Yale Bands, augmenting its percussion section and performing on its concerts. The group will give its inaugural full-length concert on April 25th in Hendrie Hall. The concert will include works by Steve Reich as well as by YSM alumni Tawnie Olson and David Skidmore.

Upcoming Yale Bands Performances • Sunday, April 15: Yale Jazz Ensemble: 2012 Stan Wheeler Memorial Jazz Concert. With the Reunion Jazz Ensemble. Music and arrangements by Tom Bergeron, Garth Neustadter, and Jeff Fuller. With special guest vocalists. 2:00pm, Levinson Auditorium, Yale Law School (127 Wall Street, New Haven). Free.

• Sunday, May 20: Yale Concert Band: Annual Twilight Concert. Ceremonial music on the eve of Yale’s Commencement. 7:00 PM, outside on the Old Campus. Free.

YALE CONCERT BAND

About Tonight’s Guest Artist Scott Hartman, trombone, received his B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Eastman School of Music and began his career by joining the Empire Brass Quintet and the Boston University faculty in 1984. As a trombone soloist and with his various chamber groups, Mr. Hartman has taught and played concerts throughout the world and in all fifty states. Mr. Hartman performs and records with Proteus7, the Millennium Brass, the Brass Band of Battle Creek, the Hollywood Brass, and the trombone quartet Four of a Kind. He has recorded for the Angel EMI, Sony, Telarc, Summit, and Dorian labels. He is a clinician for the Bach instrument company and has served as a member of the faculties of Indiana University and the New England Conservatory.

He joined the Yale faculty in 2001.

About the Music Director Thomas C. Duffy (b. 1955), composer and conductor, is Professor (adjunct) of Music and Director of Bands at Yale University. He served as Acting Dean of the School of Music in 2005-2006, having served as Associate Dean since 1996 and Deputy ­­Dean since 1999. He has served as a member of the Fulbright National Selection Committee and was a member of the historic Tanglewood II Symposium (2007). He attended the Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership in Education in 2005. He has served as president of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) and the New England College Band Association (NECBA), 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, and has represented music education in Yale’s Teacher Preparation Program. He is member of American Bandmasters Association, American Composers Alliance, Connecticut Composers Inc., the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, and BMI. An active composer with a D.M.A. in composition from Cornell University, where he was a student of Karel Husa and Steven Stucky, he has accepted commissions from the American Composers Forum, the United States Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Army Field Band, and numerous bands, choruses and orchestras. He joined the Yale faculty in 1982.

In 2009 he received an award from the United States Attorney’s Office for his innovative program with the Yale Concert Band (Yale 4Peace Rap for Justice) which, through the integration of classical and rap music, addressed gangs, crime and violence in Connecticut’s cities.

For further information please contact: Yale University Bands P.O. Box 209048, New Haven, CT 06520–9048 ph: (203) 432–4113; fax: (203) 432–7213 stephanie.hubbard@yale.edu; www.yale.edu/yaleband

YALE CONCERT BAND 2011-2012 THOMAS C. DUFFY, Music Director STEPHANIE T. HUBBARD, Business Manager Piccolo Joohee Son SY 15 § Flute Leah Latterner CC 14 *§ Principal Hannah Perfecto SY 12 *§† Monica Ague SM 14 § Hayden Hashimoto CC 12 † Shira Calamaro GSAS 14 Oboe Rachel Perfecto SY 15 *§ Kaitlin Taylor SM 12 *§ English Horn Alexa Detyniecki YSM 11 § Clarinet Anthony Hsu ES 12 *§† Principal Kate Carter SM 12 † Molly Haig DC 14 § Acshi Haggenmiller MC 15 *§ Nathan Prillaman JE 13 James Mandilk SY 13 Carrie Cao MC 15 Liz Jones BR 15 Melinda Becker TC 15 Rachel Yen SM 14 Eb Clarinet Kate Carter SM 12 § Bass Clarinet Jared Bard BK 12 §†

Bassoon Nick Baskin ES 14 *§ Principal Bilal Siddaqui MD 15 Ellie Killiam DC 15 *§

Trombone Melvin Loong SY 14 § Principal Hope Wilson SY 15 § Emily Massey JE 14 §

Contrabassoon Alex Pappas SM 15 §

Euphonium Tim Gladding SY 13

Alto Saxophone Alex Pappas SM 15 Principal Alyssa Hasbrouck MC 14

Tuba Landres Bryant YSM 12 James Volz SY 15 Christofer Rodelo JE 15 Quinn White BR 14 §

Tenor Saxophone William Gearty BR 14 Baritone Saxophone Kelsey Sakimoto ES 12 † Trumpet Jean Laurenz YSM 13 § Principal Benjamin Long JE 12 §† Jeffrey March TD 15 Connor Moseley BK 14 Sagar Setru BR 13 § Joshua Stein TD 13 French Horn Daniel Rigberg BK 15 *§ Katherine McDaniel JE 14 *§ Austin Long CC 15 *§ David Bruns-Smith BR 15 *§ * playing on Strauss § playing on Mackey

String Bass John Greenawalt SY 12 *§† Percussion Samuel Anklesaria ES 15 § Tim Gladding SY 13 § Alyssa Hasbrouck MC 14 § Erin Maher SM 14 § Anne Schweikert BK 15 § Victor Caccese YSM 13 § Harp Lara Zipperer MC 14 § Piano David Molina TD 15 § Music Librarian Nick Baskin ES 14

† Seniors

Yale Band Percussion Group

Ian Rosenbaum, Director Matías Anaya, Sam Anklesaria, Leonardo Gorosito, Christian Schmidt, Adam S. Thomas

Yale Concert Band Officers

President: Sagar Setru Personnel Manager: Katherine McDaniel General Managers: Monica Ague, Erin Maher Media Specialist: Rachel Yen Social Chairs: Melinda Becker, Annie Schweikert