Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Marching Hundred – 8:00 PM, Musical Arts Center – Livestream link
Concert Band, Jason H. Nam, conductor
The Ringmaster’s March by John Mackey
The Ringmaster’s March was commissioned by a consortium of student music organizations (Kappa Kappa Psi, Mu Phi Epsilon, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Sigma Alpha Iota, Tau Beta Sigma, and the University of Texas Student Music Educators Association) at the University of Texas in recognition of Richard Floyd’s tireless and passionate advocacy for music education in the State of Texas. It is the fourth movement of The Soul Has Many Motions and is intended to bring the composition to a rambunctious close. John Mackey writes: “The Ringmaster’s March is a riotous Ivesian circus parade, a joyful noise in honor of a man who has always been at the center of the show.” – note from JWPepper.com
This is the first performance of The Ringmaster’s March at Indiana University.
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 thirteen 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 Master of Arts in Music Education from Liberty University; and is a graduate of the Naval School of Music Unit Leader Course.
Rhapsody for Wind Band by Graeme Culpepper
When I was told I had the opportunity to write for one of the wind bands at IU I couldn’t have been more excited. As a composer there is nothing more thrilling than being able to write for a large ensemble, and to have it played by such high caliber musicians just adds more excitement to it all. I wrote this piece throughout 2019 and finished it in 2020 just before the pandemic hit. At the time, I was writing music that was much more driven by little cells of music and textures rather than melody, and my music wasn’t usually written to conform to a certain structure. With the rare opportunity presented to me to write a piece for an ensemble of this size, I set out to make this piece very melodically driven.
Rhapsody is centered around a single theme that is presented in the horns at the very beginning. Throughout the piece, the theme is hidden in different textures of music, and as each section progresses the theme emerges once again in its full glory. As the music approaches its end, the tension continues to build and build until finally we have a celebratory fanfare where for the first time, we hear a variation of the theme in a major key that takes us to a very triumphant conclusion to the piece. – Graeme Culpepper
This is the world premiere of Rhapsody for Wind Band.
Symphonic Band, Eric M. Smedley, conductor
Shoutout by Roshanne Etezady
According to the composer, Shoutout, a rich and vibrant opening fanfare, signals good things to come. The prominent motive in the piece, two quick staccato notes, mimics the articulation of the word “shoutout.”
The piece is organized into three main sections: an opening section that features the main motive above constant background chatter, a calmer section with solo lines and rolling piano figures, and an energetic “dance” with a hard groove. The piece ends with a spirited call of the “shoutout” motive. – note by Lindsay Bronnenkant
Shoutout receives its Indiana University premiere tonight.
Esther Tupper, conductor, 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.
Of Our New Day Begun by Omar Thomas
Of Our New Day Begun was written to honor nine beautiful souls who lost their lives to a callous act of hatred and domestic terrorism on the evening of June 17, 2015, while worshipping in their beloved sanctuary, the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (affectionately referred to as “Mother Emanuel”) in Charleston, South Carolina. My greatest challenge in creating this work was walking the line between reverence for the victims and their families, and honoring my strong, bitter feelings towards both the perpetrator and the segments of our society that continue to create people like him. I realized that the most powerful musical expression I could offer incorporated elements from both sides of that line—embracing my pain and anger while being moved by the displays of grace and forgiveness demonstrated by the victims’ families.
Historically, black Americans have, in great number, turned to the church to find refuge and grounding in the most trying of times. Thus, the musical themes and ideas for Of Our New Day Begun are rooted in the Black American church tradition. The piece is anchored by James and John Johnson’s time-honored song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (known endearingly as the “Negro National Anthem”), and peppered with blues harmonies and melodies. Singing, stomping, and clapping are also prominent features of this work, as they have always been a mainstay of black music traditions, and the inclusion of the tambourine in these sections is a direct nod to black worship services.
Of Our New Day Begun begins with a unison statement of a melodic cell from “Lift Every Voice….” before suddenly giving way to ghostly, bluesy chords in the horns and bassoons. This section moves to a dolorous and bitter dirge presentation of the anthem in irregularly shifting 12/8 and 6/8 meter, which grows in intensity as it offers fleeting glimmers of hope and relief answered by cries of blues-inspired licks. A maddening, ostinato-driven section representing a frustration and weariness that words cannot, grows into a group singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” fueled by the stomping and clapping reminiscent of the black church.
In the latter half of the piece the music turns hopeful, settling into 9/8 time and modulating up a step during its ascent to a glorious statement of the final lines of “Lift Every Voice….” in 4/4, honoring the powerful display of humanity set forth by the families of the victims. There is a long and emotional decrescendo that lands on a pensive and cathartic gospel-inspired hymnsong. Returning to 9/8 time, the piece comes to rest on a unison F that grows from a very distant hum to a thunderous roar, driven forward by march-like stomping to represent the ceaseless marching of black Americans towards equality. – Omar Thomas
The consortium assembled to create this work was led by Dr. Gary Schallert and the Western Kentucky University Wind Ensemble.
This is the Indiana University premiere of Of Our New Day Begun.
Wind Ensemble, Rodney Dorsey, conductor
from Sínfonia No. 3 – La Salsa: Tumbao
Roberto Sierra’s Sínfonia No. 3 is the result of a 2004 commission by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, who premiered the work in 2005 under the baton of Andres Delfs. The wind transcription of the piece was completed by Mark Scatterday in 2009, who premiered it with his Eastman Wind Ensemble in the same year. This four-movement work focuses on the salsa rhythms and motifs that Sierra encountered while growing up in Puerto Rico. Tonight’s performance includes only the first movement, of which the composer has stated:
“As the title of my work implies (“La Salsa”), this symphony is about the music of the Spanish speaking Caribbean: Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba. In the true spirit of salsa music (salsa means ”sauce” in English), I mix diverse types of older and newer rhythms from the music I remember growing up in Puerto Rico. The first movement, Tumbao, is in actual Sonata-Allegro form. The different themes evoke the piano riffs (or tumbaos, as in the subtitle I gave the movement), heard in many salsa pieces.”
Tumbao was last performed in 2016 at Indiana University.
Christopher M. Nelson, conductor, is currently attending the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he serves as an Associate Instructor in the Department of Bands and is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Band Conducting. He received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Brigham Young University, and his Master of Arts in Music degree from Washington State University. Chris has directed bands at the high school level for seven years, working for the Salem-Keizer, and Alpine School Districts in Oregon and Utah, respectively. Mr. Nelson has pieces for wind band published by C. Alan Publications, and works as a band arranger, adjudicator, and clinician throughout the Western United States.
Slavische Fantasie by Carl Höhne, Troy Moeller, soloist (bio in program)
Carl Höhne was a German composer and cornet soloist. In addition to his solo works for brass, Höhne wrote a treatise on cornet performance. Slavische Fantasie (Slavonic Fantasy), a popular showpiece for trumpet/cornet, was written in 1899 for the cornet virtuoso Franz Werner. The work alternates between vocal lyricism and highly demanding technical passages for the soloist. – note by Rodney Dorsey
This is the first performance of this arrangement of Slavische Fantasie at Indiana University.
Candide Suite by Leonard Bernstein, transcribed by Clare Grundman
This Suite for concert band is made up of five numbers from the musical Candide, which premiered on Broadway in 1956. The satiric novella Candide by Voltaire was the basis for a political and musical satire with a libretto by Lillian Hellman and music by Leonard Bernstein. Candide as a musical has since had many reincarnations, but the sections of this Suite utilize musical numbers that have remained virtually unchanged from the original Broadway production.
The Best of All Possible Worlds: Doctor Pangloss, Voltaire’s satirical portrait of the philosopher Gottfried von Leibnitz, tutors his Westphalian pupils (Candide and Cunegonde among them) in the finer points of optimism, refined by a classical education. The music alternately enjoins the pupils’ responses with Pangloss’s pedantic free-associative explanations that the ills of this world are somehow all for the best. The refrain is, of course, that this is the best of all possible worlds.
Westphalia Chorale and Battle Scene: The devout Westphalians sing a chorale praising the integrity of their homeland, after which they are massacred by the invading Bulgarian army. The Battle Scene adroitly juxtaposes major and minor modes of material familiar from the Overture.
Auto-da-fé: Candide and Doctor Pangloss find themselves in Lisbon, where, being free thinkers (and optimists), they are prosecuted as heretics by the Spanish Inquisition. The hanging of heretics was meant to prevent earthquakes, and the joyous music depicts the happy crowd celebrating their deliverance. However, the earthquake happens anyway, and Candide and Doctor Pangloss escape.
Glitter and Be Gay: Cunegonde, Candide’s true love, has become the reigning madam in Paris, France. In a parody of “Jewel Songs”, (such as that in Gounod’s Faust), she sings of how she endeavors to maintain a brilliant, carefree exterior, while she may (or may not) be tortured inwardly by self-doubt.
Make Our Garden Grow: At the conclusion of the musical, and of Voltaire’s novella, Candide realizes that the only purpose of living is to cultivate the earth, and to create a garden. He enjoins the other to assist him in bringing things to life, and even Cunegonde proposes to bake a loaf of daily bread. Optimism is transformed into practical necessity, and the entire cast of characters join in a hymn full of hope. – note from score
Candide Suite was last performed at Indiana University in 2013.
IU Marching Hundred: Eric M. Smedley, Conductor and Director; Tiffany J. Galus, Conductor and Associate Director
Graduate Staff and Crabb Band Directors: Tess Jones, Tim Loman, Chris Nelson, Esi Tupper, Ross Wilkerson
RedStepper Choreographer: Brookelyn Wood
Percussion Instructors: Ben Handel, Benjamin Braude
Drum Majors: Carson Bauer, Kal Ellison
Band Manager: Dan Leathers
Work Crew: Wesley Burris, Angle Muro, Lauren Reed
Librarians: Ben Mangonon, Madeline McCarthy, Jacen Smith
Announcer: Ross Wilkerson
Athletic Trainer: Madelyn Mattfeld
Photographers: Malik Davis, John Gilbert
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