Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band

The UW Wind Ensemble (Timothy Salzman, director) and Symphonic Band (Shaun Day, director) present their Autumn Quarter concert.

Masks are required in all indoor spaces on the UW campus, and patrons must show proof of vaccination or recent (within 72 hours of the performance) negative COVID-19 test for entry to live events at Meany Hall. Enhanced sanitation measures and touchless ticketing are among other safety measures in effect for 2021-22. Details of these policies and procedures are at: https://artsevents.washington.edu/covid-protocols 

Program

Wind Ensemble Trumpets

Dürrenhorn Passage - Kevin McKee (b. 1980)

Wind Ensemble Trumpets: Carlos Alvarez, Jennifer Stump, Zach Griffin, Colton Lindstrand, Brandon Cain, Caroline Kelly

University of Washington Symphonic Band
Shaun Day, director

Canzon Noni Toni – Giovanni Gabrieli (1554-1612) ed. Robert King
Brass Choir

Dream Forest (2014/17) – Yosuke Fukuda (b. 1975)
Woodwind Choir & Percussion

Dancer in the Dark (2000) – Björk Guðmundsdóttir (b. 1965)
Brass Choir & Percussion 

Cotswolds Pictures (2010/10) – Hayato Hirose (b. 1974)
Woodwind Choir

Chorale and Alleluia (1954) – Howard Hanson (1896-1981)

Pastime with Good Company – King Henry VIII (1491-1547) arr. Philip Sparke
 

University of Washington Wind Ensemble
Timothy Salzman, director

Introduction et Variations Sur Une Ronde Populaire (1934) – Gabriel Pierné (1863 - 1937) 
University of Washington Wind Ensemble saxophones

Ascent (2020) – Alex Shapiro (b. 1962)

Lux Perpetua (2020) – Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)

Symphony No. 3 ‘Slavyanskaya’ (1950/1995) – Boris Kozhevnikov (1906-1985) (ed. Bourgeois)
I. Allegro, decisively
II. Tempo of a slow waltz
III. Vivace
IV. Moderato, joyously

Shaun Day, conductor 
Roger Wu Fu, conductor
Corey Jahlas, conductor

Program Notes

Dürrenhorn Passage was composed by Kevin McKee was written for six trumpets and was commissioned by Dr. James Zingara and the Troy University trumpet ensemble. Dürrenhorn Passage depicts the flight of an epic alpine landscape brought forth by a development of motor rhythms and soaring melodic themes.

Giovanni Gabrieli was an Italian composer during the Renaissance in the 16th-17th century. His influential compositional style spread throughout Europe with his antiphonal textures, polychordal writing, and introduction to written dynamics. As instruments began taking the place of vocal compositions, Gabrieli published his first collection of works we refer to as Sacrae Symphoniae, consisting of 45 vocal works and 16 instrumental works. Canzon Noni Toniwas first published as part of that collection.

Yosuke Fukuda is a Japanese composer and oboist who has helped expand the music research in multimedia compositions from the 90’s. Dream Forest is a programmatic work that depicts what one may hear or encounter while wandering in a forest. The development of mysterious chords and musical motifs were created by members of the NAKAMURA Dai-ichi Junior High School Band, whom this work was commissioned by.

Björk Guðmundsdóttir is an Icelandic experimental songwriter and singer. Throughout her career she pursued a solo career and in 1999 she was asked to write and produce the musical score for the film Dancer in the Dark, where she also played the lead role. This arrangement of the overture to Dancer in the Dark develops from an open pedal note to layers of a melancholic brass chorale.

Hayato Hirose is an active composer and conductor at the Shobi Music College in Tokyo, Japan. From the late 90’s to today he is credited with composing many adaptable works for winds. Cotswolds Pictures depicts his experience visiting the Cotswolds region in the suburbs of London, England, visualizing the rural landscapes during the harvest season.

Howard Hanson was a main contributor to the American musical world in the early-mid 20th century as an educator, composer, and conductor. Chorale and Alleluia was Hanson’s first work for a wind ensemble, at a time when wind ensembles were becoming well established. This work transitions from a flowing choral to a joyous theme that is pleasantly resonant.

While King Henry VIII is mainly known for his monarch rule in 15th-16th century England, he also is credited with several compositions. Pastime with Good Company is his best-known work and was composed while he was still a prince. The themes depict the joys of dancing and singing and would typically be sung as part of the court entertainment.

Gabriel Pierne was a French composer, pianist, and organist who wrote a great number of works for chamber ensembles as well as larger orchestral and band ensembles. Introduction et Variations Sur Une Ronde Populaire was dedicated to the Marcel Mule saxophone quartet, and it since has been established as standard saxophone repertoire. The piece begins slowly with many colorful and interwoven melodic ideas which are then interrupted multiple times by the jaunty and childlike rondo theme. That theme is then developed and expanded in various ways before ending in a triumphant climax.

Alex Shapiro was born in New York City and was educated at the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music as a student of Ursula Mamlok and John Corigliano. The majority of her catalog is chamber works, and since 2008 she has also composed several commissions for symphonic wind band, several of which include the use of prerecorded electronics. Shapiro is an active participant in the U.S. art music community. She currently serves on the board of directors of the American Music Center and the MacDowell Colony and sits on the ASCAP Symphony & Concert Committee; in 2010 she was elected as the concert music composer representative to the ASCAP Board of Review. She is the recent president of the board of directors of The American Composers Forum of Los Angeles and Moderator of the Los Angeles Composers Salon series from 2000 to the present, for which she has interviewed over 100 composers. Shapiro testified in September 2009 on a Federal Communications Commission panel hearing in Washington, D.C., about broadband access and digital rights issues. Shapiro served on the board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California from 1990 to 1996, including a term as the 30,000-member affiliate's vice president. She is the recipient of three awards from the ACLU honoring her activism, including being named the 1993 Chapter Activist of the Year.

Ascent reflects the effort to get off the ground, literally or figuratively. It's a micro-overture that begins with the promise of upward transcendence, yet soon flies off into rogue disorganization. The raucous flock of many notes finally gathers into a united upward-headed murmuration, but the freedom of soaring into the sky brings an uneasy mystery before settling into the tranquil air of anticipation. Ascent was commissioned by Jeffrey Boeckman and the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, with the participation of the University of Washington and 23 other commissioning institutions.

- Program Note by composer

Frank Ticheli joined the faculty of the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music in 1991, where he is Professor of Composition. He is well-known for his works for concert band, many of which have become standards in the repertoire. In addition to composing, he has appeared as guest conductor of his music at Carnegie Hall, at many American universities and music festivals, and in cities throughout the world. Frank Ticheli is the winner of numerous composition awards including the 2006 NBA/William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest, the Charles Ives and the Goddard Lieberson Awards, both from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Walter Beeler Memorial Prize, and First Prize awards in the Texas Sesquicentennial Orchestral Composition Competition, Britten-on-the-Bay Choral Composition Contest, and Virginia CBDNA Symposium for New Band Music.

Lux Perpetua was composed for the Baylor University Wind Ensemble in memory of two young clarinetist members of that ensemble, Laura Onwudinanti and Jack Stewart, whose lives were tragically cut short in an automobile accident in 2014. The work’s title is drawn from the last line of the Latin text, Lux aeterna: “et lux perpetua luceat eis” ("and let perpetual light shine upon them"). The idea of light as both protector and illuminator was constantly in my mind as I composed the piece. Two kinds of light comprise the work: one soft and meditative, the other more sparkling and effervescent. Also in mind were the respective personality traits of the two dedicatees, Jack being more thoughtful and introspective, Laura being more spontaneous and gregarious.

A simple call motive begins the piece, introduced by the clarinets. Its two main notes form a descending minor 3rd, a sound that is universally associated with a call or greeting (think “yoo-hoo”) but also widely associated with playground games and nursery rhymes. This idea is laced into the entire fabric of the piece, sometimes serving as transition material, other times appearing unexpectedly for purposes of contrast, still other times flowering into main melody.

The main melody is at once longing and noble in quality and is constructed in a way that suggests the notion of infinity. Its accompanying harmony depicts a kind of bellows or the act of breathing, in and out perpetually. It never settles on a final chord, but instead moves to a built-in modulation, compelling the melody to repeat itself in a chain of new keys.

A faster, more energetic middle section serves as a dramatic contrast, but rather than give it a new theme, I chose to continue with a variant of the main melody. The accompanying harmony is still breathing, the lyrical line still permeating the entire section, but this time building to a tremendous climax. The final coda is a brief meditation. The main melody echoes itself tenderly as the harmony begins its slow and fragile ascent to the heavens.

Lux Perpetua received its world premiere by the Baylor University Wind Ensemble, Eric Wilson, conductor, at the centennial meeting of the Texas Music Educators Association on February 13, 2020.

- Program Note by composer

Legend would tell us that the United States Marine Band (“The President’s Own”) performed a feat of great espionage upon their return home from the Soviet Union in 1990. As the military tells us, “Combining music of Sousa with images of Lenin, the Marine Band toured five cities in the former Soviet Union, becoming the only American military band to tour the USSR before its transformation into independent states.” The tour generated a bounty of propaganda during the waning months of the Cold War.

What we did not learn about until years later was the wealth of Russian band music discovered by the Marine Band musicians while on tour and, as some would tell, smuggled into the United States upon the band’s return home. Boris Kozhevnikov’s Slavyanskaya Symphony is one of a handful of contraband works heretofore never heard in the Western world until the fall of the Iron Curtain. Although composed in the late 1950s, the compositional style is pure Classicism colored with Romantic sentimentality; the symphony reflects the ideals of Socialist Realism. The conservative compositional language provides evidence that Boris Kozhevnikov, a Soviet-era bandmaster and conservatory professor, was equally savvy in playing Communist politics as he composed music that was conservative enough for the censors, yet zestfully Slavic and (perhaps subversively) nationalistic.

The work is a four-movement symphony with heavy Russian musical atmosphere and includes the quotation of folk tunes that Kozhevnikov learned in his hometown of Novgorod. The name Slavyanskaya does not have a set meaning as it is a common name – a town square in Moscow as well as a Russian vodka company – and it is unclear where Kozhevnikov acquired the inspiration for the title. The first movement is a mix of militaristic, aggressive and lyrical playing by the ensemble. The second movement is a slow waltz ending in a stirring coda leading to the third movement rondo that moves at lightning speed. The final movement is an exhilarating finale, recalling the militaristic themes and styles of the other movements.   

- Program note by Lawrence Stifle

Personnel

UNIVERSITY OF WASHIINGTON SYMPHONIC BAND

FLUTE

Callum McCubbin, Junior, Physics, Pullman

Bethany Quevedo, Issaquah

Shelly Shen, Freshman, Music, Shanghai, China

Max Williams, Senior, Music Composition/Mathematics, Issaquah

Yue Zhong, Freshman, Pre-Sci & Music, Blacksburg, VA & Shanghai, China

OBOE

Marrakesh Beaner, Freshman, Anthropology, Fort Collins, CO

Cloe Coker, Freshman, Microbiology, Richland WA

CLARINET

Richard Li, Grad, Computer Science, Greenville SC

Jason Liu, Junior, Undeclared, Camas

Raul Arturo Robles, Junior, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Prosser WA

David Wang, Sophomore, Undeclared, Taipei Taiwan 

BASSOON

Nate Chen, Sophomore, Computer Science, Vancouver

SAXOPHONE

Ashley Grinstead, Junior, Chemical Engineering, Bellingham

Zihan Lin, Junior, Computer Science & Music, Irvine CA

Reis Pestano, Freshman, Engineering Undeclared, Lafayette CO

Mikey Prince, Senior, Music Education & Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, Kirkland

TRUMPET

Carter Archuleta, Junior, Physics and Astronomy, Gig Harbor

Brandon Cain, Senior, Music Education & ELS Minor, Spanaway

Nathaniel Gniffke, Junior, Music Education, Shoreline

Riley Huston, Junior, Industrial Design, Kirkland 

HORN

Jacob Angerman, Junior, Electrical Engineering, San Antonio TX 

Sydney Kuhl, Sophomore, Computer Engineering, Prior Lake MN

Noelani Yonahara Stewart, Freshman, Political Science and American Ethnic Studies, San Francisco CA

TROMBONE

Dion Archer-Roll, Freshman, Physics, Vancouver

Peter Lin, Sophomore, ACMS, Seattle 

Duncan Weiner, Sophomore, AA, Seattle

EUPHONIUM

Ivan Nolasco Hernandez, Grad, Music Education, Los Angeles CA

TUBA

Keanu Vestil, Grad, Computer Science, Rancho Santa Margarita CA

PERCUSSION

Lily Gibbs, Junior, Math & Astronomy, Kirkland

Billie Reafs, Sophomore, Music, Reno NV

Sarah Quach, Sophomore, Psychology B.S., Huntington Beach CA

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON WIND ENSEMBLE

FLUTE

Tracia Pan, Fr., Music Performance, Bellevue*

Elizabeth Nilles, So., Music Performance/Biology, Camas

Stephanie Chuang, Sr., Computer Science/Cinema and Media Studies, Camas

Carson Chadd, Fr., Music Performance, Marysville

OBOE

Daren Weissfisch, Grad., Orchestral Conducting, Ridgewood, NJ*

Kamill Tarnawczyk, Sr., Physics/Music, Edmonds

Oliver Wang, Jr., undeclared, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

BASSOON

Julien Tsang, Grad., Accounting, Kent*

Chloe Person, So., Music History, Kenmore

Nate Chen, So., Computer Science, Vancouver

CLARINET

Khang Zhie Phoong, Sr., Computer Science, Singapore*

Alex Gee, Fr., undeclared, Camas

Conrad Lin, So., Statistics, Boise, ID

Megan Rideout Redeker, Jr., Music Performance, Bainbridge Island

Tyler Roberts, Post Bac., Music Education, Redmond

Mina Hung, Jr., Art & Food System, Nutrition, and Health, Taipei, Taiwan

BASS CLARINET

Emerson Bowles, Jr., Physics, San Diego, CA

SAXOPHONE

Nicholas Franks, Jr., Music Education, Camarillo, CA*

Diego Mesquita, So., Civil Engineering, Bellingham

Lisa Dockendorff, Jr., Society, Ethics, and Human Behavior, Vernon, CT

Katie Zundel, Fr., Music Performance/Engineering, Clinton

TRUMPET

Shaun Day, Grad., Wind Conducting, Cincinnati, OH*

Zach Griffin, So., Music Performance, Bothell

Carlos Alvarez, So., undeclared, Kirkland

Caroline Kelly, Music Performance/Environmental Science, Chelan

Colton Lindstrand, So., Biology, Marysville

Brandon Cain, Jr., Music Education, Graham

Jennifer Stump, So., undeclared, Lynnwood 

HORN

Anna Perry, Grad., Music Performance, Hilliard, OH*

Nicholas Hidy, Grad., Music Performance, Sebastopol, CA

Maia Willebrand, So., Aeronautics and Astronautics, Puyallup

Kiyoshi Colon, Fr., Chemistry, Everett

Aaron Anderson, Jr., Music Performance, Tigard, OR

TROMBONE

Neal Muppidi, So., Physics/Music, Austin, TX*

Sean Grimm, Sr., Statistics, Vancouver

Jonathan Elsner, Jr., Mathematics, Kent

Alberto Macias, Jr., Psychology, Yakima

Clayton Thomas, Sr., Electrical Engineering, Kenmore

EUPHONIUM

Corey Jahlas, Grad., Wind Conducting, Highland, MI

Ethan Walker, So., Music Education, Kenmore

TUBA

Ben Berlien, community member, Seattle*

Roger Wu Fu, Grad., Wind Conducting, Santiago, Chile

BASS

Beau Wood, Sr., Music Performance, Longview

PERCUSSION

Scott Farkas, Grad., Music Performance, Twin Falls, ID*

Abigail George, So., Music Performance, Redmond

Nina Okubo, So., undeclared, Yakima

Brindha Jaeger, Fr., Music Performance/Environmental Science, Stanford, CA

Simon Harty, Fr., undeclared, Boise, ID

Ryan Baker, So., Music Performance, Gig Harbor

PIANO

Yen-Chun (Kay) Yeh, Grad., Music Performance, Chaiyi, Taiwan

Cicy Li, Grad,. Music Performance, Shenzen, Guangdong, China

HARP

Kelly Guangyin Hou, So., Music Performance/Informatics, Bellevue

GRADUATE STUDENT CONDUCTORS

Shaun Day, Grad., Wind Conducting, Cincinnati, Ohio

Corey Jahlas, Grad., Wind Conducting, Highland, MI

Roger Wu Fu, Grad., Wind Conducting, Santiago, Chile

*principal

Ensemble Bios

Wind Ensemble

The University of Washington Wind Ensemble has performed at many prestigious music conventions, has presented several world premiere performances of outstanding new music for wind band and in 2004, undertook a highly acclaimed nine-day concert tour of the Kansai region of Japan, returning for more extensive tours of that country in 2007 and 2010. The UW Wind Ensemble presented several concerts in the main concert venues of Beijing, China in March of 2013, including a sold-out concert in the National Center for the Performing Arts in Tiananmen Square that was broadcast nationwide on China Central Television. The ensemble returned to China in both 2016 and 2019, playing before large crowds in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an and Chengdu. In the spring of 2006, the ensemble was invited by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra to present a concert at Benaroya Hall as a part of the Symphony’s Made in AmericaFestival. The London Financial Times review of the concert applauded “music of surprising sophistication…Cindy McTee’s Finish Line pulsated energetically, and William Bolcom’s Song was simply gorgeous.” Following the 2006 performance the ensemble was invited for return appearances on Seattle Symphony concert series in 2007, 2008 and, most recently in 2011 when Maestro Gerard Schwarz conducted the ensemble. The UW Wind Ensemble has collaborated with internationally renowned guest artists, conductors and composers including Eddie Daniels, Steve Houghton, Allen Vizzutti, Jeffery Fair, Chris Olka, James Walker, Douglas Yeo, Leigh Howard Stevens, David Maslanka, Michael Colgrass, Bonnie Whiting, Cindy McTee, Eric Ewazen, Satoshi Yagisawa, David Stanhope, John DiCesare, David Gordon, Mary Lynch, Seth Krimsky, Michael Brockman and Huck Hodge. Nihon Pals, a music education resource company based in Osaka, Japan, released a set of instructional DVDs regarding ensemble musicality featuring the UW Wind Ensemble. 

Symphonic Band

The Symphonic Band (Shaun Day, director) is the second auditioned wind group at the University of Washington, performing a repertoire of classic and contemporary wind music. Membership is open to students from all schools and departments of the University of Washington. The Symphonic Band performs at least one on-campus concert per quarter with occasional off-campus performances.

Director Bios