Wind Ensemble and Alumni Band: Finish Line

Timothy Salzman wraps up a 38-year career as head of the UW Bands program with "Finish Line," a program of music by Cindy McTee, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Percy Grainger, and David Maslanka, performed by the UW Wind Ensemble and the UW Alumni Band.

Program

University of Washington Wind Ensemble

Timothy Salzman, conductor

Finish Line (2006) – Cindy McTee (b. 1953)

Three Vespers from the All Night Vigil (1915/2008) – Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)/transc. T. Salzman
1. Blagoslovi, dushe moya, Ghospoda (Bless the Lord, O My Soul) 
2. Svete tihiy (O Gladsome Light) 
3. Bogoroditse Devo (Rejoice, O Virgin)

Lincolnshire Posy (1937) – Percy Grainger (1882-1961)
1. Dublin Bay (Lisbon)
2. Horkstow Grange
3. Rufford Park Poachers
4. The Brisk Young Sailor
5. Lord Melbourne
6. The Lost Lady Found

University of Washington Alumni Band

Symphony 7 (2004) – David Maslanka (1943-2017)
1. Moderate
2. Slow
4. Moderately Slow

Program Notes

Cindy McTee, born in Tacoma, Washington, is an American composer and educator who holds degrees from Pacific Lutheran University, the Yale School of Music, and the University of Iowa. She also completed one year of study in Poland with Krzysztof Penderecki at the Academy of Music in Kracow. Originally hailed by critics as a composer whose music reflects a “charging, churning celebration of the musical and cultural energy of modern-day America,” Cindy McTee “brings to the world of concert music a fresh and imaginative voice." Ms. McTee has received numerous awards for her music, most significantly a "Creative Connections Award" from Meet The Composer, two awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Fellowship, and a Composers Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She was also winner of the 2001 Louisville Orchestra Composition Competition, and in 2002 was selected to participate with the National Symphony Orchestra in "Music Alive." a residency program sponsored by Meet the Composer and the American Symphony Orchestra League. Her music has been performed by leading orchestras, bands, and chamber ensembles in Japan, South America, Europe, Australia, and the United States in such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Sydney Opera House. Among the many ensembles to have performed her music are: the Pacific Symphony, the North Texas and Dallas Wind Symphonies, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo's NHK Symphony Orchestra, London's Philharmonia Orchestra, the United States Army Field Band, and the symphony orchestras of Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, Rochester, Saint Louis, San Antonio, Seattle, and Sydney.

In May of 2011, she retired from the University of North Texas as Regents Professor Emerita, and in November of 2011 married internationally acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin. Their principal place of residence is in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Of this evening’s work the composer writes:

I decided to use the work of Futurist artist Giacomo Balla as a point of departure for the creation of Finish Line and chose several paintings suggesting the transformation of landscape by the passage of a speeding automobile. The title of one work in particular, Abstract Speed + Sound, suggests that Balla sought to render on canvas the whirling noise of the automobile itself.

In Finish Line, the use of repeated fragments (ostinatos), a steady pulse, and a spirited tempo attempt to portray the swirling gestures and mechanized agitation of Balla’s paintings. Multiple points of view (characteristic of Futurist art) are represented by the simultaneous presentation of two tempos at the beginning and end of the work, and also by a seamless, temporal transformation process analogous to gear shifting, where the speed, or RPM, of the engine modulates smoothly to a new frequency.

There are also three short sections in Finish Line during which forward momentum and time are slowed down and ultimately suspended. This is achieved by inserting varying amounts of silence between the repetitions of melodic fragments which are therefore heard in ever-changing relationships to create a non-linear texture of circles within circles and a dreamlike, hovering, effect.

Italian Futurists were, of course, not the only artists affected by the dawn of the machine age. Russian composer Igor Stravinsky is credited with having produced the first important piece of “machine music,” the Rite of Spring, its rhythmic pulsations depicting not just prehistoric, ritualistic dance, but also the nervous energy of a modern, mechanized city. There are references to this famous work at the beginning and end of Finish Line. Pitch structures in this work are derived from both octatonic (8-note) and 12-note scales, while the note “A” (for Amarillo) launches the piece in a flurry of percussion.

I completed Finish Line by mid-summer of 2005 and then set out on a 6000-mile road trip, often imagining myself racing through Balla’s paintings. Like Balla, I too delighted in the ability of a speeding automobile to transform time and space, with vast expanses of changing landscape playing like a movie on my windshield. Fasten your seatbelts!

The wind symphony version of Finish Line was commissioned by a consortium of ensembles and premièred on May 20, 2006, by the University of Washington Wind Ensemble, Timothy Salzman, conductor, in Benaroya Hall in Seattle at the invitation of the Seattle Symphony.

CONDUCTOR NOTE: Without the University of Washington Band Program there literally would be no Cindy McTee as her parents met in the UW Concert Band! I first heard her work in 1992 at a College Band Directors National Association conference in Kansas City and was immediately captivated by her artistic originality and excited by the inherent performance/compositional requirements for wind ensembles engaging in the study and performance of her music. Getting to know her through the years, and premiering two of her works for wind ensemble, has been an honor.

The hauntingly beautiful All-Night Vigil by Sergei Rachmaninov is one of the great sacred choral treasures of the 20th century. This lush and virtuosic masterpiece, for unaccompanied chorus in its original form, captures both the spirit of the Orthodox Church and the soul of Russia. For the original choral setting Rachmaninov chose fifteen major psalms and hymns that form the unchanging framework of the Resurrection Vigil. Written in less than two weeks, this sublimely peaceful chant-based music was Rachmaninoff's reaction to the destruction of Europe during World War I, and is widely recognized as the finest of the composer's, and Russia's, sacred choral compositions. The composer’s own story has several important parallels to current global affairs. Rachmaninoff composed the piece in 1915 during the gathering violence of World War I, something with which he was deeply uncomfortable. The work was viewed at the time by some contemporaries as a pacifistic repudiation of the war. Rachmaninoff himself fled Russia and became an immigrant to America just two years after he wrote the piece, never to return to his home country. He became a citizen of the United States, and co-authored an article in the New York Times with other Russian exiles condemning violence against the Russian people inflicted by the government of Stalin.

In this arrangement by Professor Salzman three of the fifteen movements have been set for wind ensemble:   

Movement II. Blagoslovi, dushe moya, Ghospoda (Bless the Lord, O My Soul)

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

blessed art Thou, O Lord.

O Lord my God, Thou art very great.Blessed art Thou, O Lord.

Thou art clothed with honor and majesty.

Blessed art Thou, O Lord.

The waters stand upon the mountains.

Marvelous are Thy works, O Lord.

The waters flow between the hills.

Marvelous are Thy works, O Lord.

In wisdom hast Thou made all things.

Glory to Thee, O Lord, who hast created all!

—Psalm 103[104]:1-2, 6, 24

Movement IV. Svete Tikhyi (O Gladsome Light)

Gladsome Light of the holy glory of the Immortal One—

the Heavenly Father, holy and blessed—

O Jesus Christ!

Now that we have come to the setting of the sun,

and behold the light of evening,

we praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—God.

Thou art worthy at every moment

to be praised in hymns by reverent voices.

O Son of God, Thou art the Giver of Life;

therefore all the world glorifies Thee.

Movement VI. Bogoroditse Devo (Rejoice, O Virgin)

Rejoice, O Virgin Mother of God,

Mary full of grace, the Lord is with Thee.

Blessed art Thee among women,

and blessed is the Fruit of Thy womb,

for Thou hast borne the Savior of our souls.

CONDUCTOR NOTE: In 1993 I was asked to go to Moscow and St. Petersburg for purposes of participating in a wind ensemble festival. It was probably the most art-immersive ten days of my life as I had opportunity to hear the Moscow Symphony in rehearsal (Stravinsky’s Petrushka no less!), the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in concert (playing Stravinsky’s The Firebird!) and a couple of the top-tier conservatory orchestras. And, touring The State Hermitage Museum, the world’s largest collection of paintings housed in the Winter Palace, was quite astounding. However…hearing a professional Russian chorus was truly overwhelming. I’ve long admired the awe-inspiring beauty of the All Night Vigil so I scored three of the fifteen movements for UWWE, solely intending to use it for purposes of rehearsal only, an attempt to develop higher level listening skills and musicianship. Initially it was a solely a ‘warm-up’ piece as I have a bit of a bias against transcriptions. However, we played the work on tour in Japan and executives from an Osaka-based Japanese music education resource company heard it and asked if they could publish it. Over the years we’ve played it routinely in rehearsal as it has really helped the ensemble in terms of musicianship as the phrasing, breath control, intonation, tone, etc., demands so much commitment from the performers.

Australian born Percy Grainger began his musical career as a concert pianist and took the London musical scene by storm. His first public concert took place at Steinway Hall on October 29, 1901, and his flamboyant stage presence made him the darling of London’s best families. His life as a virtuoso pianist was not without its pressures, however, and Grainger soon discovered that he was happy not as a performer, but as a composer. In 1905, Grainger attended a lecture on folk music delivered by Miss Lucy E. Broadwood, where he became fascinated with English folksong collecting. He collected his first song while attending a competition festival in Lincolnshire, and with that, was hooked. At first, Grainger would simply wander up to a farmer plowing his fields and ask if he knew any songs. As the man sang, Grainger would jot down the melody, and someone else would notate the words. On one expedition he was accompanied by the British literary figure H.G. Wells, who remarked, “you are trying to do a more difficult thing than record fold songs, you are trying to record life.” Eventually the exercise proved too arduous and Grainger sought a better method. The result was the acquisition of an Edison-Bell wax cylinder phonograph, which Grainger carried along with him on his bicycle as he traversed the English countryside. In the 1940s, these cylinder discs were donated to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. where they were transferred to audiotape and eventually returned to the Grainger Museum at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Of Lincolnshire Posy, the composer writes: “Lincolnshire Posy, as a whole work, was conceived and scored by me direct for wind band early in 1937. Five, out of the six, movements of which it is made up, existed in no other finished form, though most of these movements (as is the case with almost all my compositions and settings, for whatever medium) were indebted, more or less, to unfinished sketches for a variety of mediums covering many years (in this case the sketches dated from 1905 to 1937).”

Program Notes from the CD liner notes “Songs of the Earth. The United States Air Force Band Washington DC Lieutenant Colonel Lowell E. Graham, Commander/Conductor”

CONDUCTOR NOTE: I first conducted Lincolnshire Posy (four of the six movements) with the Herscher (IL) High School Wind Ensemble about forty-three years ago and have performed it on multiple occasions since then. It is widely considered to be a ‘masterwork’ for wind ensemble and has captivated performers and audiences around the world. I have also utilized the six movements of the piece in teaching undergraduate instrumental conducting throughout my years at the UW. The work, constructed of variations on six different British folksongs, is at once beautiful and extraordinarily complex as Grainger was attempting to capture the rhythmically and metrically irregular singing of the various dock workers, shepherds, pub crawlers, farmers, etc., throughout the country, all singing tunes handed down through the generations. Grainger dedicated this "bunch of Wildflowers to the old folksingers who sang so sweetly to me".

Theoretically…at this point…I should know this one… ;)  

David Maslanka, born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, attended the Oberlin College Conservatory where he studied composition with Joseph Wood. He spent a year at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and did masters and doctoral study in composition at Michigan State University where his principal teacher was H. Owen Reed. Maslanka’s music for winds has become especially well known. Among his more than 150 works are over 50 pieces for wind ensemble, including eight symphonies, seventeen concertos, a Mass, and many concert pieces. His chamber music includes four wind quintets, five saxophone quartets, and many works for solo instrument and piano. In addition, he has written a variety of orchestral and choral pieces. David Maslanka’s compositions are published by Maslanka Press, Carl Fischer, Kjos Music, Marimba Productions, and OU Percussion Press. They have been recorded on Albany, Reference Recordings, BIS (Sweden), Naxos, Cambria, CRI, Mark, Novisse, AUR, Cafua (Japan), Brain Music (Japan), Barking Dog, and Klavier labels. He served on the faculties of the State University of New York at Geneseo, Sarah Lawrence College, New York University, and Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York, and was a freelance composer in Missoula, Montana from 1990 until his death in 2017.

Symphony No. 7 for Wind Ensemble, completed in 2004, was commissioned by a consortium organized by Illinois State University/Stephen K. Steele. The work was premiered March 10, 2005, at the Illinois State University Center for the Performing Arts, Normal, Illinois.

The composer said the following about this work:

I am strongly affected by American folk songs and hymn tunes, and I think of this symphony as old songs remembered, with one exception. All the tunes are original, but they all feel familiar. Each song has a bright side and a dark side, a surface and the dream underneath. Each is a signal or call, which evokes an inner world of associations.

I. Sunday night church services from your youth. Mr. Smith played the piano. The opening piano piece is marked "enthusiastically" in the score. A dream travels to a far place.
II. In the manner of an American folk song, with a setting that might come out of the 19th or early 20th centuries.
IV. A simple song of peace and healing.

CONDUCTOR NOTE: In the invitation to alumni to sign up for the UWWE alumni ensemble, participants were asked what composers they would most like to perform at the retirement concert – nearly half listed Maslanka. Throughout my tenure at the UW the Wind Ensemble has played his symphonies on tour in Japan, China, Korea and Canada. I’ve also been privileged to conduct the 4^th Symphony on tour with the Senzoku Gakuen Uozu (Japan) Wind Ensemble on one of their Japan tours; with China’s People’s Liberation Army Band in their beautiful hall in Beijing and with the United States Army Field Band in Maryland.

In 1982 I took the Herscher High School Wind Ensemble to Northwestern University for purposes of having a master class with John Paynter, Director of Bands there for about forty years. After his time with the group, he invited us to a dress rehearsal where the Northwestern Wind Ensemble played Maslanka’s first great work for the idiom, “A Child’s Garden of Dreams”. I had never heard of Maslanka and that dress rehearsal run-through left me dumbstruck…a seminal moment…as I knew that I wanted to be able to be in a place that would afford the opportunity to perform music of that nature. His music, and the time he spent on several occasions with UWWE through the years, is/was remarkable. Students absolutely crave playing Maslanka…personally I think it’s his proclivity for huge symphonic form coupled with an unbridled musical/emotional passion and tendency to compose the ‘impossible’ in terms of ensemble technical demands. Once accomplished, the view from the top of the mountain is spectacular. Can an ensemble play the majority of the movements from one of his major symphonies on two rehearsals? We’re about to find out…

Retirement

My retirement from the University of Washington at the end of this school year hasn’t been a secret by any means as it was announced to the UW School of Music faculty in January of 2024. Some of my colleagues were surprised by this decision but once I ‘ran the data’ they were quick to understand… When I finish on July 1 I will have taught for 47 years; five at Herscher (IL) High School, four at Montana State University and 38 at the University of Washington. And I will be 70 ½ years old. I gave it my best…and it is enough. 

In part, this decision has been brought about by my ongoing battle with cancer, something I’ve been fighting for the past eight years. Modern medicine is amazing, a true gift from God, and for the most part I’ve able to teach, conduct and travel without much restriction, only missing a few rehearsals here and there and never a performance. In fact, since the initial onset I’ve been able to respond to invitations from China (twice), France, England, South Korea, and around the U.S. My medical team is second to none and have brought new treatments to bear on the situation that have allowed me to continue to teach and conduct. That is not to suggest that it has been easy by any means…in fact, it’s been occasionally fairly brutal as the cancer has come back four times, most recently at the end of this past August after being cancer-free for four years. I’ve had to learn what it means to really dig deep, to get through some tough treatments and four surgeries. All of that has been worth it as, simply put, it is imperative to do what I can do for the ones I love. Most importantly, I have learned so much about what it means to ‘let go and let God,’ who provides peace in the storm, comfort when none seems possible, hope when it seems hopeless…all very real now.

A few of my dearest friends have given wise and pointed counsel over the past couple of years…those friends are quite direct with their advice, something I deeply value. They’re not afraid to speak truth into my life and I’ve certainly reciprocated from time-to-time. Two friends made it quite clear to me that the most valuable commodity that I have at this stage of life is time. The investment of time in those I love is more important to me than it has ever been, and I am so looking forward to family time that unfolds and extends without the pressure of having to run off to a rehearsal, class, lesson, concert, airport, meeting…. I look forward to the freedom of being present. 

This decision has been gut-wrenching as I feel that I still have a lot to give and, in certain ways, am better than ever on the podium. But when I think about aspects of my job that I will miss in retirement, one eclipses all the rest: the students. That’s what makes this so tough. I’m deeply grateful to every student that I’ve worked with, literally thousands of remarkable young people who taught me far more than I taught them. 

To the members of the Herscher High School Band: in 1978 you gave a total novice a chance. You did what I asked even when I wasn’t sure what I was asking. You believed. Those were five of the best years of my life and I remember them like they were yesterday. The 40th reunion of the 1982 Band of America national championship band two years ago was possibly the highlight of my entire career. Your words meant so much to me and I will treasure them always.

To the members of the Montana State University Band: I wasn’t a lot older than you when I came to MSU in 1983, but you were respectful, extremely hard-working, and just so good at staying the course while we built something together. IT WAS SO FUN! We still come back to Bozeman every summer as I just love time on the rivers with the trout…so much peace, serenity, beauty, simplicity….and so many fond memories of time in Bozeman.

To the students from my twenty years of teaching and arranging for Drum Corps International finalist corps, particularly the Cavaliers, Santa Clara Vanguard and Guardsmen: Those many hours of extremely hard work and dedication on your part were incredible to witness and your singular goal-oriented focus embedded something in my thinking that has been a foundational part of my music education belief system ever since – that the whole can be incredibly better than the sum of its parts if everyone is focused on excellence, that the sky is literally the limit. Thank you.

And finally, to the nearly-four decades of University of Washington students…I don’t even know where to begin… The incredible music we’ve been so fortunate to share together, the interactions with all the guest artists, composers, the music we premiered and commissioned, hosting the College Band Directors National Association national conference, 36 years of our band festival, the places we were so fortunate to tour (three times to Japan, three to China, South Korea, Canada, California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho). And the stunning successes of the graduate conducting students out in the world of higher education as well as in professional orchestral situations. I am so very proud of each of you – it has been a joy and honor to watch you fly!  

To everyone; students, colleagues, administrators and most of all, my family: thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m a simple guy, a ‘first-gen’ college kid, a dairy farmer’s son from Illinois, and everything that has transpired through this nearly half-century of conducting and teaching is far above all that I could have ever asked or imagined. All of this, such a blessing from God! (Eph. 3:20)

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to....

God who, over thirty years ago, sort of called me back to a life of faith through a series of circumstances. I’ve never been the same and have tried to ‘live grateful’.

My wife Jodi. Today is our 27^th wedding anniversary and…well...there simply aren’t enough words to express my gratitude. She is an eternal optimist, wise, thoughtful, fun…loves God above all. Beautiful inside and out. Her steadiness and joyfulness in the midst of so many storms (16 surgeries between us since we’ve been married) is remarkable.

My family. Wow, what can I say. They keep it light when I think it’s heavy. Most of all they remind me, just by being who they are, that there is so much more to life than what I – or any of us – do for a living. We laugh…a lot…and love each other deeply. Jodi, Hannah, Leigh, Ben, Jon and Ren – each an incredible blessing from heaven.  

In undergraduate school I had opportunity to study with Arnold Jacobs, tubist in the Chicago Symphony for forty-four years, and one of the premiere wind instrument pedagogues of the 20^th century. His influence on my teaching cannot be overstated.

Dr. Daniel Neuman, the former chair of the School of Music, the person who hired me at the UW. Thanks Dan, for supporting the re-emergence of the band program at the UW…and for those early morning racquetball matches!

Dr. Robin McCabe, also a former chair of the School of Music, who has been a constant friend and supporter. We came to the UW in the same year and she is someone who I have called many times through the years when School of Music life became complex. A great listener…and wise.

My many faculty colleagues in the School of Music, particularly Donna Shin (who has played concerti with UWWE many times both here and broad), Michael Brockman, John DiCesare, Ben Lulich, David Gordon, and Marc Seales. Beyond being great ‘studio faculty’ and terrific artist/teachers – most of all – thanks for your humility as it is just so important for the students to work with great artists that are caring, humble people. Also thankful for the top-flight music education faculty that were resident at the SOM for many years – Steven Morrison, Steven Demorest, and Patricia Campbell, so fortunate to have worked with them. Our many collaborations and their collegiality is something I’ve missed every day since they’ve been gone. Steve D – continue to rest in peace.

Thirty-eight years of UW students, many of whom are playing in the alumni band this evening. They taught me so much, particularly the graduate wind conducting students. Some of the leading music schools in the country have hired them and their subsequent professional accomplishments are stunning to behold. But, more than that, they were unselfish team players during their time here, artistic collaborators of the highest order. And just wonderful people. I wish everyone present in the audience tonight knew each of them…you’d be better for it. I sure am.

Tomio Yamamoto for your tireless work in Japan on behalf of the University of Washington Wind Ensemble. The 2004, 2007 and 2010 tours of Japan, made possible by your unceasing support, were life-changing for the members of the UW Wind Ensemble.

Zhao-Rong Chen. We are so deeply grateful to you for your work that enabled UWWE to undertake three amazing tours of China (2013, 2016, 2019). The experiences in China, from playing on CCTV to a sold-out audience in the National Center for the Performing Arts in Tiananmen Square, the interactions with the various universities, military bands, high schools and Chinese wind conductors…wow…just wonderfully rich experiences which have so deeply benefited UWWE and the Chinese band scene. You are so loved by all who know you!

My Eastside Church family from throughout the years, many of whom are here this evening… Love you all so much. Thanks for coming tonight!

My medical ‘team’, several of whom are here this evening – Thomas Dawson, Marco Salazar, Adam Pourcho, Hao Wang, Lawrence Maurer, Jim Blair, Dan Hartman and Tracie Carlson. These people are much more than gifted medical professionals – they’re deeply empathetic people who’ve walked with me through some tough circumstances, particularly over the last eight years or so. You all mean so very much to me and my family.

My current graduate students David Stewart, Yuman Wu and Solomon Encina. This year, particularly, has been so challenging and they have been patient, caring and hardworking. Thanks for your excellent work with the UW Symphonic, Concert, Campus and University Bands. All the best to you in the years ahead. You’re gonna be great!

The School of Music staff: Joanne DePue, Michiko Sakai, Elena Johns, Maya Ben-Yosef, Garius Dimalibot, Jenifer Moreland, Colin Todd, Rylan Virnig and Leann Wheless Martin. Also, Claire Peterson and Gary Louie, both now retired. Thanks to John Fredenburg for all of the great recordings!

Brenda Banks, the SOM graduate student advisor who has been so professional and caring in assisting the graduate conducting students during their matriculation. She is, effectively, the ‘gate-keeper’ and you simply couldn’t ask for a better person in that role.

The Meany Hall staff: Sarah Wilkie, Tom Burke, Brian Engel, Matt Starritt, and Nancy Hautala. You folks have become friends over the years and I will miss you a lot. Thanks for making concerts easy, for being so communicative and kind. And especially…thank you for hosting ‘The President’s Own’ United States Marine Band three times!

Ray Li, Senior Director for International Advancement at University of Washington, who was so supportive of UWWE’s international touring efforts. Thank you, particularly, for your efforts to bring together alumni for pre-concert gatherings in China!

Jeffery Riedinger, University of Washington Vice Provost Emeritus for Global Affairs. Greatly appreciate your encouragement and support of our international tours!

The audiences who’ve come out to support UW bands through the years. Music performance without appreciative listeners is simply not the same. Thank you so much!

Special thanks to the College of Arts and Sciences for organizing the pre-concert reception. Shout-out to Benny Shell for all of the hard work!

Biographies

University of Washington 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 also 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 and in March of 2024 presented concerts in South Korea. 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 America Festival. 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 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, Donna Shin, Bonnie Whiting, Cindy McTee, Eric Ewazen, Satoshi Yagisawa, David Stanhope, John DiCesare, Ben Lulich, David Gordon, Mary Lynch-Vanderkolk, Seth Krimsky, Michael Brockman, Carrie Shaw and Huck Hodge. In 2009 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. The University of Washington was host for the 2011 National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association. Membership in the UW Wind Ensemble/Symphonic Band, based on audition, is open to the entire student body regardless of major field of study. Additional opportunities for student involvement in University of Washington instrumental organizations include the Symphonic Band, the Concert Band, the Campus Band, the University Band, the 240-member Husky Marching Band, jazz ensembles, several combos, the UW Symphony Orchestra and two Campus Philharmonic Orchestras. UW Bands information can be found on the worldwide web at: https://www.uwbands.com/

University of Washington Alumni Band

The University of Washington Alumni Band is comprised of former UW Wind Ensemble members from every year of Professor Salzman’s 38-year tenure at the UW. Alumni from 17 states, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing and Saskatoon, Canada have come together for two brief rehearsals in preparation for this performance. Each person is amazingly unique and many have achieved distinction in their respective fields – obviously, many of those accomplishments are in the field of music.