Concert Band and Symphonic Band – 8:00 PM, Musical Arts Center – Livestream link
Concert Band, Jason H. Nam, conductor
Scarecrow Overture by Joseph Turrin
Joseph Turrin’s music has been commissioned and performed by the some of the world’s leading orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists. His work encompasses many varied forms, including film, theater, opera, orchestral, chamber, jazz, electronic, and dance. His works have been recorded on: RCA, EMI, Teldec, Naxos, Summit, Klavier, Cala, Albany, Crystal, and others. Not only a recipient of several commissions from the New York Philharmonic, the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, and Live from Lincoln Center, his works have been championed by such noted musicians as: Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Erich Leinsdorf, Bram Tovey, Wynton Marsalis, Frederica von Stade, Canadian Brass, Ann-Sophia Mutter and others. He is currently on the music faculty of Rutgers University, Montclair State University and Kean University.
Scarecrow Overture sets musical ideas from the composer’s opera of the same name. The opera follows a scarecrow coming into sentience and all the subsequent sensations—and particularly emotions—that accompany life. Frequent meter changes encourage an off-kilter feel that imitates the disorientation of experiencing feelings for the first time. Operatic overtures are mood pieces before anything else; here, Turrin flits from uncertainty to exuberance in vivacious succession.
– program note by Margaret Eronimous
Scarecrow Overture was last performed at Indiana University in 2019.
Conductor Esther Tupper is pursuing the Doctor of Music degree in Wind Conducting and serves as a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Bands at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She received a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance and Music Education and a Master of Music in Wind Conducting at the State University of New York at Fredonia. Esther has worked with K-12 general music and vocal programs in various public school settings and several ensembles as a flutist and assistant conductor throughout New York, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Most recently, Esther served as Conducting Fellow to the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
Unquiet Hours by David Biedenbender
David Biedenbender is a composer, conductor, performer, educator, and interdisciplinary collaborator. Biedenbender’s music has been described as “simply beautiful” [twincities.com], “striking” and “brilliantly crafted” [Times Argus] and is noted for its “rhythmic intensity” [NewMusicBox] and “stirring harmonies” [Boston Classical Review]. He has written music for the concert stage as well as for dance and multimedia collaborations, and his work is often influenced by his diverse musical experiences in rock and jazz bands as an electric bassist, in wind, jazz, and New Orleans-style brass bands as a euphonium, bass trombone, and tuba player, and by his study of Indian Carnatic music. Biedenbender has had the privilege of collaboration with many renowned performers and ensembles, including Alarm Will Sound, the PRISM Saxophone Quartet, the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, the United States Navy Band, and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Composition in the College of Music at Michigan State University, having previously taught composition and theory at Boise State University, Eastern Michigan University, Oakland University, Madonna University, the Music in the Mountains Conservatory, and the Interlochen Arts Camp.
– program note by Margaret Eronimous
About the piece, the composer writes: This piece is about the unquiet hours—the times when sadness, doubt, anxiety, loneliness, and frustration overwhelm and become a deluge of unceasing noise. When the distant din of the past and the steadily approaching uncertainty of the future grow closer and become louder than the present moment … this piece is about finding peace inside this noise—it is about listening, it is about being still, and it is about empathy.
Musically, there is one central idea in this piece: an idée fixe around which everything centers. This idea is repeated and varied—even meditated upon—slowly changing color and shape, becoming increasingly tumultuous until eventually returning to the quiet stillness of the opening.
This is the first performance of Unquiet Hours at Indiana University.
Divertimento, Op. 42 by Vincent Persichetti
Audiences in the first half of the twentieth century would not expect to hear a piece like Persichetti’s Divertimento, Op. 42 at a standard wind band concert. With a more modern harmonic language, more prominent brass parts, and a more independent percussion part, Divertimento has a completely different sound from the orchestral transcriptions, formulaic marches, and occasional consonant English work that formed the repertory of the day.
As such, Divertimento helped redefine band repertoire, giving the genre a sound of its own. Persichetti’s piece opens with what he describes as “gritty harmonies” and “a clash between choirs of woodwinds and brass, with a timpani “arguing” with them.” As a genre, the divertimento carries associations of novelty and enjoyment; and Persichetti’s work is no exception (particularly in the quirkiness of the Dance and Burlesque). In addition to his “gritty” harmonies, listen also for the self-described “graceful” counterpart in the solemn Soliloquy and the lilting Song. The ineffable playfulness so common in Persichetti’s works unites this multi-movement piece and has made it a mainstay in the wind band repertoire.
– program note by Margaret Eronimous
Divertimento was last performed at Indiana University in 2016.
New Century Dawn by David Gillingham
Gillingham’s New Century Dawn is a rather untraditional fanfare and chorale. Instead of the fanfare and following chorale functioning as their own closed sections, Gillingham blurs the line between the two in exuberant celebration. The opening highly arpeggiated and dramatic horn riffs quickly give way to smoothly written chorales; and later in the piece, listen for warm chorale sections that begin in the low brass grow and grow until they return to joyous fanfare.
The composer states that the work is intended to evoke feelings of anticipation and optimism about the advent of the new Millennium. If so, then Gillingham’s piece is so thoroughly imbued with hope and excitement for the future that it transcends expected forms.
– program note by Margaret Eronimous
New Century Dawn was last performed at Indiana University in 2012.
Symphonic Band, Eric M. Smedley, conductor
Fanfare Ritmico by Jennifer Higdon
About the piece, Jennifer Higdon writes: Fanfare Ritmico celebrates the rhythm and speed (tempo) of life. Writing this work on the eve of the move into the new Millennium, I found myself reflecting on how all things have quickened as time has progressed. Our lives now move at speeds much greater than what I believe anyone would have ever imagined in years past. Everyone follows the beat of their own drummer, and those drummers are beating faster and faster on many different levels. As we move along day-to-day, rhythm plays an integral part of our lives, from the individual heartbeat to the lightning speed of our computers. This fanfare celebrates that rhythmic motion, of man and machine, and the energy which permeates every moment of our being in the new century. The wind ensemble version of Fanfare Ritmico was commissioned by The Alpha Lambda Chapter of The Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity at Illinois Wesleyan University. This work received its world premiere on April 21, 2002 by The Illinois Wesleyan Wind Ensemble, Steven W. Eggleston, conducting.
Fanfare Ritmico was last performed at Indiana University in 2018.
Lieutenant Luis Espinosa, conductor, is a native of Caguas, Puerto Rico. Having enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 2002, he served as a clarinet and saxophone instrumentalist with the Navy Band Great Lakes, the Naval Forces Europe Band, the U.S. Fleet Forces Band, and as instructor for the Navy and Marine Corps music programs at the Naval School of Music. Following 13 years of distinguished enlisted service, he was commissioned as a Limited Duty Officer in December 2015. As a Naval Officer, he has served as the Assistant Fleet Bandmaster for the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band and most recently as the Fleet Bandmaster for the U.S. 7th Fleet Band, based in Yokosuka, Japan. His military decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (five awards), and several campaign and unit commendations. He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Masters of Arts in Music Education from Liberty University and is a graduate of the Naval School of Music Unit Leader Course.
Caminantes by Ricardo Lorenz
About Caminantes, the composer writes:
These are the facts: About 1.9 million Venezuelans have fled their collapsing nation since 2015 in one of the largest migrations in the world in recent years. The most desperate cannot afford a bus or plane ticket, and so they risk their lives to escape on foot. On average, at the peak of this unprecedented exodus, more than 650 migrants would start on the walk out of Venezuela every day. This crisis is still ongoing. Venezuelans are still rushing illegally across the border into Colombia, frequently encountering armed criminals. They are walking for miles along roads, carrying their belongings. They wrap themselves in blankets, bracing against the cold of frigid mountains.
Latin America’s largest migration in recent years is driven by hyperinflation, violence, and food and medicine shortages stemming from recent years of political turmoil. Once-eradicated diseases like cholera and malaria have returned, and children increasingly are dying of causes related to hunger and malnutrition. An estimated more than 1.1 million people have settled in Colombia, nearly 506,000 in Peru, 288,000 in Chile, 221,000 in Ecuador, 130,000 in Argentina, and 96,000 in Brazil. About 300,000 Venezuelans are in the United States and more than 255,000 in Spain, according to the U.N. International Organization on Migration.
Caminantes—in English, hikers or walkers—explores the different emotional stages undergone by any one of the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who decide to walk to the border between Venezuela and Colombia and continue hiking in the hope of finding a hospitable place that offers basic human rights and opportunities. As a Venezuelan emigrant myself, fortunate to have been welcomed into the United States almost 40 years ago, I empathize deeply with each of those Venezuelans seeking the future they lost all hope of having in their country. Under very different circumstances, I have gone through similar emotions: the hunch that it is time to leave; the feeling of hope challenged by great uncertainty; immense longing for those who remain in Venezuela; acceptance; and the recurring dream of one day being able to return.
I am deeply moved by the support and empathy expressed by every conductor who joined this consortium commission. I am indebted to each one of them, most especially to Thomas Verrier, whose understanding and passion towards all-things Venezuelan made the composition and premiere of Caminantes possible.
This is the Indiana University consortium premiere of Caminantes.
Terrain Unknown by Alex Tedrow
About the piece, Alex Tedrow writes: Terrain Unknown is intended to be a fun, quirky piece inspired by a fictional scenario loosely depicting humankind’s first contact with intelligent life outside of Earth. The music does not necessarily follow a literal narrative, but is structured based on the interaction between what I imagine to be “human-sounding” elements and perhaps more “extraterrestrial-sounding” elements. Obviously (and in case you were worried), the sounds you will hear in this piece, played by live humans on stage or otherwise, will all have been produced by humans. However, I think there is an interesting ever-present tension that exists between what audiences might traditionally expect to hear in the concert hall and sounds that might be perceived more jarringly – i.e. sounds that could be considered “alien” in nature.
My goal for this piece was to present a series of three somehow interconnected movements that firstly portray music in a fun, conventional way interacting with common human emotions: happiness, wonder, annoyance, excitement, anger, etc.; secondly, present music in a less typical manner that might sound surprising or even a bit discomforting to the average concert audience; and thirdly, bring these opposing sound worlds together in a cohesive way to hopefully create an interesting musical structure based on tension, compromise, and resolution of both live and synthesized sounds.
I’m genuinely grateful for your open ears, and I hope you will enjoy the premiere of Terrain Unknown!
Alex Tedrow is an Indiana-based composer, musician, and educator who strives to inspire and connect performers and listeners of all ages to fresh, fun, and innovative music and technology. As a composer of music for concerts, electronics, and film/game soundtracks, his works are performed internationally by musicians and ensembles in both professional and educational settings – from the New York City-based Wet Ink Ensemble to the Las Cruces High School Band in New Mexico. In 2019, Alex studied at the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique in Paris during ManiFeste where he premiered Planet Playground – an interactive, real-time, data-driven sound installation project incorporating crowd participation via mobile devices. In 2021, he was hired to score The Addict’s Wake, a featured documentary at the Heartland Film Festival covering the effects of opioid addiction in rural Midwestern communities. Recent honors include the SEAMUS Allen Strange Memorial Award, the Georgina Joshi New Music Ensemble Commission, the Morris and Sheila Hass Award in Computer Music, “Emerging Artist” in the Tribeca New Music Young Composer Competition, and Finalist and Semi-Finalist for the ASCAP Morton Gould Award. Alex is currently pursuing dual M.M. and M.S. degrees in composition and music education at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Celebration Overture by Paul Creston
The life and career of Paul Creston is a classic American success story. He was born Giuseppe Guttoveggio to Sicilian immigrants living in New York City and grew up in a humble working-class household. His father worked as a house painter, but was keenly aware of his young son’s musical gifts and managed to scrape together enough money to pay for piano lessons. By the time Creston was a teenager he began to compose, but at the age of fifteen was forced to drop out of school to help support his family. He worked at a variety of jobs over the ensuing years, from bank clerk to insurance examiner, but never relinquished his desire to become a composer. Using whatever materials he could get his hands on, Creston continued to study harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration in every spare moment. He stayed after work poring over books checked out from the public library until the early hours of the morning. His indefatigable self-motivation also drove him to study the classics of the humanities, and he even found time to teach himself to play the violin.
It was common practice among immigrants of the time to adopt an Americanized name. Creston’s was derived from his nickname “Cress” after the character Cresppino he portrayed in a school play. He simply liked the name Paul. In 1926, when he was twenty, Creston finally found his first employment as a musician, playing organ in a silent movie house. In 1934, he became organist at St. Malachy’s Church in New York, where he remained for the next 33 years. His career as a composer launched in 1939 when he received a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship. Just two years later, he won the New York Critics Circle Award and suddenly became one of America’s most promising young composers. Although Creston’s star shone brightly for a time, his decidedly tonal music fell out of favor as serialism began to occupy the musical mainstream in the 1950s and 60s. For the remainder of his career, the conservative Creston was adamant that this progressive and fashionable musical movement was an ill-advised escapade that would eventually run its course.
Creston was particularly fascinated by rhythm—a subject about which he wrote extensively. His complete mastery of harnessing the rhythmic energy in music is on full display in Celebration Overture. Unexpected accents and playfully irregular phrases punctuate this festive work, commissioned by the famous bandleader Edwin Franko Goldman and the American Bandmasters Association. The work revels in the clarity of its unique and purely musical building blocks. As Creston himself described: “I was preoccupied with matters of melodic design, harmonic coloring, rhythmic pulse, and formal progression, not with limitations of nature or narrations of fairy tales. The intrinsic worth of a musical work depends on the interrelation of musical elements toward a unified whole.”
– program note by Randall Foster
Celebration Overture was last performed at Indiana University in 2008.
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