An American Songkran (2023)..............................Kevin Charoensri (b.2003)
Run to the Light (2022).................................................Ivan Trevino (b. 1983)
Ray Llewellyn, Guest Soloist
Ken McGrath, Guest Soloist
The Pathfinder of Panama (1915).................John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
PROGRAM NOTES
“Bright Shadow Fanfare” | Nicole Piunno (b. 1985)
Nicole Piunno is an American composer and trumpeter. Dr. Piunno holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition and a Master of Music degree in theory pedagogy at Michigan State University, 2014. Her composition teachers were Ricardo Lorenz and Charles Ruggiero. She earned a Master of Music degree in composition at Central Michigan University, studying with David Gillingham. She has also worked with Jason Bahr, David Ludwig, and Tony Zilincik. Nicole earned a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from Ohio Wesleyan University, where her emphasis was on trumpet. She has performed with the Central Ohio Symphony Orchestra and appeared as a soloist with the Ohio Wesleyan University Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Piunno views music as a vehicle for seeing and experiencing the realities of life. Her music often reflects the paradoxes in life and how these seemingly opposites are connected as they weave together. Her harmonic language and use of counterpoint mirrors the complexity of our world by acknowledging lightness and darkness, past and present, beauty and brokenness, confinement and freedom, spiritual and physical, life and death. Her music has recently been performed by the Principal Brass Quintet of the New York Philharmonic, Athena Brass Band, University of Akron Faculty Brass Quintet, and the Michigan State University Symphony Band. Dr. Piunno was the winner of the 2018 Female Composer Competition, Beta Omicron Chapter, Kappa Kappa Psi. She teaches in the city schools of Dublin, Ohio.
- Program Note from Windrep.org
On Bright Shadow Fanfare:
The intense contrast in Bright Shadow Fanfare refers to two possible meanings. It could mean bringing our darkness into the light in order to integrate it with our true self. It could also mean revealing our positive traits and gifts that we may not allow ourselves to show or give to others.
- Program note from publisher
“Goodnight Moon” | Eric Whitacre (b. 2 January 1970, Reno, Nev.)
Eric Whitacre is an American composer, conductor and lecturer.Mr. Whitacre’s first musical experience was singing were in his college choir. Though he was unable to read music at the time, Whitacre began his full musical education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, eventually taking a bachelor’s degree in music composition. He wrote his first concert work, Go, Lovely, Rose, at the age of 21. Eric went on to the Juilliard School, earning his Master of Music degree and studying with John Corigliano and David Diamond. At the age of 23 he completed his first piece for wind orchestra, Ghost Train, and his popular wind piece Godzilla Eats Las Vegas stems from this period. He graduated in 1997 and moved to Los Angeles to become a full-time professional composer.
Whitacre’s first album as both composer and conductor, Light & Gold, won a Grammy Award in 2012, and became the No. 1 classical album in the U.S. and UK charts. His second album, Water Night, featured performances from his professional choir, the Eric Whitacre Singers, the London Symphony Orchestra, Julian Lloyd Webber, and Hila Plitmann.
PROGRAM NOTES
Many of Whitacre’s works have entered the standard choral and symphonic repertories. His works Water Night, Cloudburst, Sleep, Lux Aurumque and A Boy and a Girl are among the most popular choral works of the last decade, and his Ghost Train, Godzilla Eats Las Vegas, and October have achieved success in the symphonic wind community. As a conductor, Whitacre has appeared with hundreds of professional and educational ensembles throughout the world. He has conducted concerts of his choral and symphonic music in Japan, Australia, China, Singapore, South America and much of Europe, as well as dozens of American universities and colleges. Online, Whitacre’s massed choral music has reached a worldwide audience. Whitacre’s 2007 musical Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, combining trance, ambient and techno electronica with choral, cinematic, and operatic traditions, won the ASCAP Harold Arlen award and the Richard Rodgers Award for most promising musical theater composer.
Whitacre’s virtual choir projects began in 2009 with Sleep and Lux Aurumque. In virtual choirs, singers record and upload their individual videos from all over the world. The videos are then synchronized and combined into one single performance to create the virtual choir. Though 2020, six virtual choirs have been formed, the last featuring more than 17,000 singers.
Deep Field: The Impossible Magnitude of the Universe is a 2018 audiovisual collaboration between Whitacre, NASA, the Space Telescope Science Institute, Music Productions and 59 Productions. The soundtrack for the film, inspired by the Hubble Space Telescope and its pioneering deep field image, features the Virtual Choir 5, representing 120 countries: more than 8,000 voices aged four to 87, alongside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Eric Whitacre Singers.
Whitacre has won awards from the Barlow international composition competition, American Choral Directors Association, American Composers Forum and in 2001 became the recipient of The Raymond W. Brock Commission given by the American Choral Directors Association. The album Cloudburst and Other Choral Works received a Grammy nomination in 2007 for Best Choral Performance. Later, his album Light & Gold won a Grammy for Best Choral Performance in 2012.
Whitacre is a founding member of BCM International, a quartet of composers consisting of himself, Steven Bryant, Jonathan Newman and James Bonney, which aspires to “enrich the wind ensemble repertoire with music unbound by traditional thought or idiomatic cliché.
On Goodnight Moon:
Over the past few years, I must have read Goodnight Moon to my son a thousand times – maybe more. Somewhere around reading number 500, I began hearing little musical fragments as I read, and over time those fragments began to blossom into a simple, sweet lullaby. I knew it was a long shot, but I asked my manager, Claire Long, to contact HarperCollins and see if they would allow the text to be set to music. To my surprise and delight they agreed – the first time they had ever allowed Goodnight Moon to be used in such a way.
I composed the piece relatively quickly, originally setting the text for harp, string orchestra, and my son’s mother, soprano Hila Plitmann. I later arranged Goodnight Moon
PROGRAM NOTES
for SATB choir and piano. More recently, my dear friend Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant arranged the piece for wind ensemble and soloist.
The melody of Goodnight Moon will forever make me think of those quiet nights, reading my son to sleep.
- Program note by composer
“An American Songkran” | Kevin Charoensri (b. 2003)
Kevin Charoensri (b. 2003) is a Thai-American San Diego native who now resides in Austin, studying music composition (BM) at the University of Texas at Austin. Charoensri began writing music at age 12, and he has written works for band, orchestra, choir, chamber music, EDM, big band, jazz combo, and film scores.
Charoensri currently studies with Omar Thomas at UT Austin, and has studied with Donald Grantham, along with being heavily involved with other faculty on staff, Yevgeniy Sharlat, Russel Podgorsek, and Januibe Tejera. He is currently a BM Composition major, as well as a piano principal, taking lessons in both classical and jazz styles, studying with piano professors Gregory Allen, Patti Wolf, and Sean Giddings. He is also the pianist for the University of Texas’s Jazz Ensemble.
In June 2018, Charoensri conducted a performance of his Return for Band with 80 musicians at the Sydney Opera House in front of an audience of 2500. The performance received recognition from the San Diego Union Tribune.
In Summer 2019, Charoensri attended the Young Composer Program at Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Dr. Keith Fitch. He was also one of seven composers selected to attend the four-week Summer 2019 workshop at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Mr. Daniel Wood. In addition to guidance by high school band director David Hall, Charoensri has studied composition privately with Dr. Daniel Temkin and Dr. Jules Pegram.
In September of 2022, Charoensri’s work “Rising Light” was premiered by the University of Texas Wind Symphony under Dr. Ryan Kelly. The piece was well-received and Charoensri’s work has had several performances at major universities. He has also been on several guest composer visits/residencies at schools such as the University of Delaware (CBDNA performance at Cornell University), Texas Tech University, Texas A&M Commerce, Orange County School of The Arts, UCLA, Texas A&M Tarleton, Cal State Fullerton, and the Pacific Youth Wind Ensemble.
On An American Songkran:
Songkran refers to the jubilant celebration of the Thai New Year. The title translates to “An American Celebration”. Whenever I returned home to Thailand, I, along with many other Thai citizens and tourists, could not wait for this holiday.
Happiness filled the streets, from friendly water fights during the day, and stunning floating flower lanterns at night. It was one of my fondest memories of my childhood.
PROGRAM NOTES
Growing up in both Thailand and America, I was deeply in love with Asian/Thai music, but equally in love with American-influenced jazz and wind band music. This is my celebration of the two cultures joining.
- Program note by composer
“Run To the Light” | Ivan Trevino (b. 1983)
Ivan Trevino is an American composer, percussionist, and rock drummer. Ivan received a BM and MM from Eastman School of Music, where he went on to design and teach a course in music business before moving to Austin in 2014. Ivan is a songwriter and percussionist with Break of Reality, an international touring cello and percussion quartet. As a member of Break of Reality, Ivan has headlined concerts across North America, South America, and Asia and was named a music ambassador for the U.S. State Department in 2015. His drumming and songwriting with Break of Reality have been heard on NPR, PBS, Huffington Post and Yahoo Music.
As a composer, Ivan’s music is regularly performed around the world and has become standard repertoire in the field of percussion. He is a multi-award winning recipient of the Percussive Arts Society’s International Composition Contest and has composed over 40 works for the percussion idiom, many of which were commissioned by leading performers and universities in the field.
In addition to composing and performing, Ivan is an active educator who has presented educational clinics at hundreds of institutions around the world. He is currently an artist/ clinician for Malletech Instruments and Mallets, Zildjian Cymbals, Evans Drumheads, and Meinl Percussion. In 2014, Malletech collaborated with Ivan to design his signature marimba mallets, which are now distributed to percussionists around the world.
On Run to the Light:
A newly hired band director at my high school had a diploma hanging up in his office.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“It’s from Eastman,” he said.
What’s Eastman?” I asked again.
“It’s a music conservatory,” he said.
I left his office thinking to myself, “What’s a music conservatory?”
That was my junior year of high school, and that’s how foreign this whole classical music thing was to me. Fast forward one year later. I auditioned at Eastman and got in. This was due in large part to this teacher, his guidance, and my own luck that he took a job teaching music in small town Victoria, Texas, where I lived. Thank you again, Mr. Mikula.
When I told my mom I got accepted, she didn’t congratulate me. Well, of course she did, but not right away. The first thing she said was, “How are we going to pay for it?” My parents didn’t go to college, but are hard- working, smart people who still make their living cutting hair. They did everything they could to make music part of my life. Paying for
PROGRAM NOTES
college, though, especially at a school like Eastman, was far beyond anything they had saved or planned for. My parents put together whatever funds they could and did what everyone does in Texas during a time of need: they organized a BBQ benefit. It’s a GoFund Me of sorts, but an in-person one with BBQ, beans, rice and all the fixings.
One of my dad’s regulars was a writer for the local paper and wrote a charming story about my parents, my opportunity to attend Eastman, and about the upcoming BBQ benefit. Local restaurants donated food, and my parents and an assembly line of volunteers served plates to friends, family and members of our community who showed up to give their support and enjoy a hot meal. There was even an auction with one of those fast-talking auctioneers helping the crowd bid on donated items.
My parents hosted this benefit for four summers, and each time, they raised $10,000 for my college tuition, with over 1,000 people attending each year. This is still incomprehensible to me. Meanwhile, Eastman provided me with a generous yearly scholarship to ease the cost of tuition, which helped greatly. My journey to Eastman was looking more and more possible, thanks in part to this scholarship, and of all things, BBQ. But we still weren’t quite there.
One day, Mary Lou Urban, an unassuming family friend of ours, walked into the barber shop to see my mom for her regularly scheduled perm. This time, Mrs. Urban came in holding a small envelope with my mom’s name on it. Inside was a gift: a personal check for $10,000. My mom cried, Mrs. Urban cried. But that’s not all. Each summer for four years, she gave my mom a check for this same amount. Mrs. Urban is no longer with us, but what she did for me and my family is unforgettable. My mom refers to her as my angel. I do too. Between the community’s support, Eastman’s scholarship, Mrs. Urban’s gifts, and my parent’s own hard work and sacrifice, I got to Eastman.
Twenty years later, I find myself at Eastman again, this time as a visiting teacher to step in for the one and only Michael Burritt, my former Eastman professor who is on a sabbatical leave. What an honor. I return with my beautiful wife, Amanda, who I met on Gibbs St. when we were both students. This music is dedicated to all of the supporters in my hometown community, Mr. Mikula, Mrs. Urban, my parents, and all of the people who helped me run to my light. I carry them with me, in my teaching, composing and performing, and I hope this spirit of joy and gratitude shines through in this music.
Run to the Light was written for Eastman School of Music’s Centennial Celebration. It was premiered by Eastman Wind Ensemble on Oct. 19, 2022. The piece is dedicated to a thousand or so very special people in Victoria, Texas.
- Program note by composer
PROGRAM NOTES
The Pathfinder of Panama (1915) | John Philip Sousa (6 November 1854, Washington, D.C. – 6 March 1932, Reading, Pennsylvania)
John Philip Sousa was America’s best known composer and conductor during his lifetime.
Sousa was born the third of 10 children of John Antonio Sousa (born in Spain of Portuguese parents) and Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus (born in Bavaria). John Philip’s father, Antonio, played trombone in the U.S. Marine band, so young John grew up around military band music. Sousa started his music education, playing the violin, as a pupil of John Esputa and G. F. Benkert for harmony and musical composition at the age of six. He was found to have absolute pitch. When Sousa reached the age of 13, his father, a trombonist in the Marine Band, enlisted his son in the United States Marine Corps as an apprentice. Sousa served his apprenticeship for seven years, until 1875, and apparently learned to play all the wind instruments while also continuing with the violin.
Several years later, Sousa left his apprenticeship to join a theatrical (pit) orchestra where he learned to conduct. He returned to the U.S. Marine Band as its head in 1880, and remained as its conductor until 1892. He organized his own band the year he left the Marine Band. The Sousa Band toured 1892-1931, performing 15,623 concerts. In 1900, his band represented the United States at the Paris Exposition before touring Europe. In Paris, the Sousa Band marched through the streets including the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe – one of only eight parades the band marched in over its forty years.
Sousa wrote 136 marches. He also wrote school songs for several American Universities, including Kansas State University, Marquette University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Minnesota. Sousa died at the age of 77 on March 6, 1932 after conducting a rehearsal of the Ringgold Band in Reading, Pennsylvania. The last piece he conducted was The Stars and Stripes Forever.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BAND & ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE SESSION
“Lenses and Mirrors” – An Inclusive Literature Programming Concert Presentation Featuring the Cal State Fullerton University Symphonic Winds
CSUF UNIVERSITY SYMPHONIC WINDS
Dr. Gregory Xavier Whitmore, Conductor–Presenter
Dr. Dustin Barr, Guest Conductor • Kevin Charoensri, Guest Conductor
Peter Hanna, Guest Oud Soloist
Little Mexican Suite (2019)............................Nubia Jaime-Donjuan (b.1984)
Dr. Dustin Barr, Guest Conductor
Movement One: “Ahuehuete”
Movement Three: “Sahuaro”
A Jasmine Tree (2024)...........................................Kevin Charoensri (b.2003)
Nubia Jaime-Donjuan (19 January 1984, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mex.) is a Mexican cellist and composer.
Ms. Jaime-Donjuan began her cello studies at the age of six, and was a member of the Sonora Youth Symphony Orchestra. She continued his professional studies at the University of Sonora, studying composition with Arturo Márquez and Alexis Aranda, orchestration with David H. Bretón, and master class in composition with Brian Banks at UDLAP.
With a father a musician and a mother a historian, proud of her roots, she has adopted the artistic and cultural expressions of her cultural expressions of her environment to create her music, with an undeniable tendency to be inspired by elements of nature. Her music has been performed by the Orquesta Filarmónica de Sonora, Orquesta Sinfónica del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble of the National Polytechnic Institute, Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble, The Valley Winds, and University of Houston Wind Ensemble, among many others.
She has participated as a composer in the Midwest Clinic 2022, Meg Quigley Symposium 2023, “WMEA” Washington, DC. 2023, “WMEA” Washington All State 2023, Music Mexico Symposium 2022 at Dartmouth College and 2023 at the University of Houston. She is part of the Mexican Repertoire Initiative at Dartmouth with which she participated in the Music Mexico Symposium 2022 and 2023, as well as the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. As a composer and performer, she is part of the project “Las Montoneras”, which brings together the work of the work of women composers, performers and researchers, seeking to make visible the work of women in the musical women in the musical scene of the country.
In 2021, she was the first woman to win the Concurso de Composición Arturo Márquez with the work Maso Ye ́eme, which fuses the popular genre of danzón and the Danza del Venado Yaqui.
She is composer-in-residence with the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble and the Tzintz Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ms. Jaime-Donjuan navigates between two worlds, composition and performance, being cellist of the Quinteto Pitic, beneficiary of the FONCA 2021-2022, and founder of the Orquesta Philharmonic Orchestra of Sonora, where she currently serves as coprincipal cellist
About Little Mexican Suite: Program Notes
Ever since I was a child, I have been very interested in traditional Mexican music. It has always captured my attention. I used to really get excited to hear a danzón or a son jarocho, and, fortunately, that interest has become a fundamental part of my artistic work. Most of my works contain a national, and often regional root. As is well-known, Mexican music has many branches, ranging from danzón to mariachi.
PROGRAM NOTES & LITERATURE LINKS
When Dr. Messier approached me, I was immediately overcome by the urge to compose a Suite for Symphonic Band inspired by popular Mexican genres. Almost naturally, the themes for each movement began to appear, and in short time I had developed them all. It was clear to me that each should be different. I did not want to repeat any genre. Music chooses the composer and takes its own course and as expected, these movements were connecting with each other, one appearing in another as reminiscences of the past, as light brushstrokes, on occasions hidden and at time very exposed.
Little Mexican Suite for Winds is based on traditional Mexican musical genres that are very popular in my country, and is inspired by species of Mexican trees that have each touched my life in some way and are embedded in my memory.
Ahuehuete: The giant. Inspired by the most emblematic tree in Santa María del Tule, in Oaxaca. Full of colors, textures and vitality, it denotes fascination with the famous Árbol del Tule.
Ayacahuite: The Mexican pine. Large and powerfully green, full of brown cones. It came to dance a soft waltz and to sing a “son jaliscience”.
Sahuaro: The cactus. Very tall and full of water, with thorns and of unparalleled green. A forest of sahuaros lies midway between my city and the nearby bay and, since I was little, they have captured my attention. Without a doubt, this movement had to be a “danzón”, my favorite genre of all time.
Ceiba: From a tropical climate, with a wide and rough trunk and peculiar, well-defined leaves. It totally inspired me to create a delicious Cha-Cha-Chá, which, with time, inevitably led me to the traditional Mambo.
– Program notes by composer
Publisher: Randall Standridge Music
Cost: $85.00
Grade: IV
Duration: 6:00 (for both Movement One and Movement Three)
“A Jasmine Tree” | Kevin Charoensri
Kevin Charoensri (b. 2003) is a Thai-American San Diego native who now resides in Austin, studying music composition (BM) at the University of Texas at Austin. Charoensri began writing music at age 12, and he has written works for band, orchestra, choir, chamber music, EDM, big band, jazz combo, and film scores.
Charoensri currently studies with Omar Thomas at UT Austin, and has studied with Donald Grantham, along with being heavily involved with other faculty on staff, Yevgeniy Sharlat, Russel Podgorsek, and Januibe Tejera. He is currently a BM Composition major, as well as a piano principal, taking lessons in both classical and jazz styles, studying with piano professors Gregory Allen, Patti Wolf, and Sean Giddings. He is also the pianist for the University of Texas’s Jazz Ensemble.
PROGRAM NOTES & LITERATURE LINKS
In June 2018, Charoensri conducted a performance of his Return for Band with 80 musicians at the Sydney Opera House in front of an audience of 2500. The performance received recognition from the San Diego Union Tribune.
In Summer 2019, Charoensri attended the Young Composer Program at Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Dr. Keith Fitch. He was also one of seven composers selected to attend the four-week Summer 2019 workshop at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Mr. Daniel Wood. In addition to guidance by high school band director David Hall, Charoensri has studied composition privately with Dr. Daniel Temkin and Dr. Jules Pegram.
In September of 2022, Charoensri’s work Rising Light was premiered by the University of Texas Wind Symphony under Dr. Ryan Kelly. The piece was well-received and Charoensri’s work has had several performances at major universities. He has also been on several guest composer visits/residencies at schools such as the University of Delaware (CBDNA performance at Cornell University), Texas Tech University, Texas A&M Commerce, Orange County School of The Arts, UCLA, Texas A&M Tarleton, Cal State Fullerton, and the Pacific Youth Wind Ensemble.
On A Jasmine Tree:
My first experiences falling in love with music were Thai temples and Thai street music. And when I came to the United States, I equally fell in love with American-influenced film scores, band pieces, and jazz charts.
When I joined band in the 6th grade, I struggled to find music that authentically supported my Thai/Asian background. I desperately wanted to play a piece that authentically represented my early childhood growing up in Thailand.
Similar to my wind ensemble piece Rising Light, A Jasmine Tree is inspired by the bicultural identity I grew up with, seeking to combine both Thai and American cultures as one.
The piece pulls melodic material from Thai/Asian styled phrasing blossoming over American-influenced jazz harmony. The beginning of the piece utilizes these melodies in a traditional contrapuntal style, where instruments slowly enter, similar to a meditation. As the piece progresses, the harmony supports the pentatonic melodies. I wanted to show my interpretation of the Asian-American musical style, as one. I hope A Jasmine Tree gives a voice of representation, while also inspiring and educating up and coming musicians in the beautiful meshing of culture, through music.
- Program note by composer.
Publisher: Murphy Music Press.
Cost: $142.
Grade: 2.5/3.
Duration: 5:58.
PROGRAM NOTES & LITERATURE LINKS
“Tuttarana” | Reena Esmail
Reena Esmail (b. 11 February 1983, Chicago, Ill.) is an Indian-American composer.
Dr. Esmail holds degrees in composition from The Juilliard School (BM’05) and the Yale School of Music (MM’11, MMA’14, DMA’18). Her primary teachers have included Susan Botti, Aaron Jay Kernis, Christopher Theofanidis, Christopher Rouse and Samuel Adler. She received a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study Hindustani music in India. Her Hindustani music teachers include Srimati Lakshmi Shankar and Gaurav Mazumdar, and she currently studies and collaborates with Saili Oak. Her doctoral thesis, entitled Finding Common Ground: Uniting Practices in Hindustani and Western Art Musicians, explores the methods and challenges of the collaborative process between Hindustani musicians and Western composers.
Dr. Esmail works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music, and brings communities together through the creation of equitable musical spaces. She divides her attention evenly between orchestral, chamber and choral work. She has written commissions for ensembles including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Kronos Quartet, and her music has featured on multiple Grammy-nominated albums, including The Singing Guitar by Conspirare, BRUITS by Imani Winds, and Healing Modes by Brooklyn Rider.
Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s 2020-2025 Swan Family Artist in Residence, and was Seattle Symphony’s 2020-21 Composer-in-Residence. She also holds awards/fellowships from United States Artists, the S&R Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Kennedy Center.
Esmail was Composer-in-Residence for Street Symphony (2016-18) and is currently an artistic director of Shastra, a non-profit organization that promotes cross-cultural music connecting music traditions of India and the West.
On Tuttarana:
The title of this piece is a conglomeration of two words: the Italian word “tutti”, means “all” or “everyone”, and the term “tarana” designates a specific Hindustani (North Indian) musical form, whose closest western counterpart is the ‘scat’ in jazz. The tarana is a place where musicians can put their greatest virtuosity on display, leaving an audience in awe. While a tarana is a solo form, I wanted to bring that same energy to an ensemble form. This work was originally written for treble chorus, then arranged for brass quintet, and is now in its third iteration for concert band.
- Program Note by composer.
Publisher: Murphy Music Press.
Cost: $150.00.
Grade: III.
Duration: 2:49.
PROGRAM NOTES & LITERATURE LINKS
“Simurgh”
| Steven Mahpar
Mahpar received his Bachelor of Music degree in horn performance and a Master of Music degree in composition at California State University, Fullerton. Based in Los Angeles, Steven Mahpar has written music in a variety of genres for the concert hall, film and television. Many of his compositions have been inspired by his Persian heritage. Mahpar has scored numerous animation and independent films including Red directed by Hyunjoo Song and Last Stop Los Angeles directed by Saied Pousti. His scores for film follow his influences from film music legends such as Alfred Newman, Jerry Goldsmith, and Miklos Rozsa. He has received commissions from Mt. San Antonio College, Riverside Community College, and a plethora of artists among which include Tony Ellis, Todd Miller, and Cynthia Ellis.
On Simurgh:
Simurgh was written as a celebration of Nowruz, the Iranian new year. The title of the work refers to the simurgh, a fabled bird in Persian mythology. An enormous creature, the animal combines the body of a peacock, the head of a dog and the claws of a lion. According to legend, it is large enough to carry away elephants. An ancient being, it has witnessed the destruction of the world three times and possesses almost limitless knowledge. Possessing magical qualities, the bird can heal any wound or disease.
- Program note from score
Publisher: Murphy Music Press.
Cost: $150.00.
Grade: VI.
Duration: 10:00.
Contact Composer for Perusal Score
ABOUT THE CONDUCTORS AND ARTISTS
Dr. Gregory Xavier Whitmore is Conductor of the University Symphonic Winds at California State University Fullerton (CSUF). In addition to this artistic responsibility, Dr. Whitmore is an Associate Professor of Instrumental Music Education and serves as Area Coordinator of the CSUF Music Education Department. Dr. Whitmore is also in his 11th season as Music Director of the Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble, one of only a handful of youth wind ensembles connected to a group one professional symphony orchestra (Pacific Symphony) in the United States.
Dr. Whitmore’s previous appointments in higher education include tenure as Director of Bands at Irvine Valley College (Irvine, CA), Mt. San Antonio College (Walnut, CA), and College of the Desert (Palm Desert, CA). Prior to his work in higher education, Dr. Whitmore spent 13 years as Director of Bands at Cathedral City High School (Cathedral City, CA).
A proud Midwesterner and native of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Dr. Whitmore earned his bachelor’s degree in instrumental music education from The University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance. While a student at Michigan, Dr. Whitmore performed in the University of Michigan Symphony and Concert Bands; and led the University of Michigan Marching Band as “Michigan’s Man Up Front” - Drum Major - from 1999 to 2001 – becoming the second Black Drum Major in the history of the University of Michigan. Dr. Whitmore received his master’s degree in music with an emphasis in wind conducting from California State University Fullerton. Dr. Whitmore holds a master’s degree, and a doctorate in music and music education from Columbia University (Teachers College) in the city of New York.
A Second Place Winner of the 2017 American Prize in Conducting, Dr. Whitmore has conducted ensembles around the world in such notable concert venues as The Golden Hall of The Musikverein (Vienna), The Wiener Konzerthaus (Vienna), The MuTh (Vienna), Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall (Costa Mesa, CA), Symphony Hall (Chicago), The Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Carnegie Hall (New York City), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Meng Concert Hall (Fullerton, CA), Weill Hall (Sonoma, CA), The Ambassador Auditorium (Pasadena, CA), Holy Trinity Church (Stratford, England), St. John’s Smith Square (London), Chateau Vaux le Vicomte (Paris), and Heidelberg Castle (Germany). Under Dr. Whitmore’s direction, the Cathedral City High School Symphony Band was selected to perform as the showcase ensemble during the 2008 California Band Directors Association Annual Convention. Dr. Whitmore is a conductor for the World Strides Honors Performance Series.
With a research interest in music educator values as operationalized into pedagogy, in addition to investigating the concert band as an artistic medium; Dr. Whitmore has presented research at music education symposia throughout the United States and abroad, including The Midwest Clinic, and the International Society of Music Education World Congress. Dr. Whitmore’s research has been published in Visions of
ABOUT THE CONDUCTORS AND ARTISTS
Research in Music Education. Dr. Whitmore has been recognized in four editions of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and he has been included in the 2005/2006 Edition of the National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teachers. Dr. Whitmore was selected to represent the State of California by School Band and Orchestra Magazine in the 2008 edition of “50 Band Directors Who Make a Difference”.
Dr. Whitmore belongs to professional organizations that include College Band Directors National Association, Kappa Kappa Psi Honorary Band Fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, Pi Kappa Lambda Honor Society, The National Association for Music Education, Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association, and the California Music Educators Association.
Learn more about Dr. Whitmore at gwhitmore.com
Dr. Dustin Barr is the Director of Wind Studies and Associate Professor of Music at California State University, Fullerton, where he leads the university’s comprehensive band program. He conducts the acclaimed University Wind Symphony and University Band, oversees the graduate wind conducting program, and teaches courses in conducting and music education. Prior experiences include appointments as Assistant Director of Bands at Michigan State University, Director of Bands at Mt. San Antonio College, and Assistant Director of Bands at Esperanza High School in Anaheim, California.
A leading pedagogue in the field of conducting, Barr collaborated with theatre director Jerald Schwiebert to integrate performance theory with various movement disciplines, pioneering innovative approaches to conducting instruction. Their coauthored book, Expressive Conducting: Movement and Performance Theory for Conductors (Routledge, 2018), has become an essential resource for conductors worldwide. His work in movement theory has resulted in invitations to present masterclasses and lectures throughout the USA and in Spain. Moreover, his research on Scandinavian chamber wind ensemble music resulted in published editions of Asger Lund Christiansen’s Octet, Op. 43 and Svend Schultz’s Divertimento for Wind Octet.
Barr’s accomplishments have garnered wide recognition, including winning Second Prize of the 2024 American Prize in Conducting and Second Prize of the 2024 American Prize in Collegiate Wind Band Performance. His leadership of the CSUF University Wind Symphony has resulted in prestigious performances at the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) conferences at both national (2019) and regional (2024) levels, as well as a headlining performance at the 2023 California All State Music Education Conference. The University Wind Symphony’s 2022 album, Effigy, is another noteworthy achievement. This album features the music of composer Brian Baumbusch and was the result of innovative musical practices and remote recording projects undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABOUT THE CONDUCTORS AND ARTISTS
Under Barr’s direction, the ensemble also received Third Prize in the 2021 American Prize Ernst Bacon Award for the Performance of American Music.
Barr has guest conducted prominent ensembles, including the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” and the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West, in addition to numerous collegiate bands across the country. Additionally, he has appeared as guest conductor of leading municipal bands in Valencia and Almería, Spain. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from the University of Michigan, and both Master and Bachelor of Music degrees from California State University, Fullerton. His principal mentors include Michael Haithcock and Mitchell Fennell.
Kevin Charoensri is an American composer, conductor, producer, keyboardist, and synthesizer player. He is currently [2022] an undergraduate student in music composition at the University of Texas Austin.
With a base in classical orchestral chamber music, love for jazz piano, and skill with synths and electronics, Kevin has created a peculiar style and voice. His background includes chamber music, jazz piano, film scoring, writing and performing EDM, producing, and electronic keyboard programming.
In addition to conducting the premieres of all his original compositions, Charoensri enjoys regularly conducting the professional pit orchestras hired for his high school’s musicals, along with hired pit orchestras for his local community theatre productions. In June 2018 as part of the 32nd-annual Sydney Youth Musicale, Charoensri conducted the world premiere of his work Return, in a performance at the Sydney Opera House.
Oud player and composer, Peter A. Hanna was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He started his music career when he first learned to play the Oud at the age of fourteen. He was taught at “Arabic Oud House” in Cairo, founded by worldrenowned Oud player Naseer Shamma. He has participated in many festivals and performed with different bands in Egypt and the United States. Mr. Hanna composes, produces and teaches Arabic music and plays the piano. He is currently living in Los Angeles, California as a freelance musician, publishing albums and working on his music career.
ABOUT THE CONDUCTORS AND ARTISTS
Ray Llewellyn is a highly experienced music educator with over 32 years of teaching experience in Southern California public schools. His career spans all educational levels, from elementary to university, having taught concert band, marching band, jazz band, string orchestra and percussion ensemble at the elementary, middle school and high school levels. He is currently teaching at both the elementary and university levels.
Mr. Llewellyn has a strong connection with the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA), having served as a presenter, percussion manager, and adjudicator for many years. He has been a member of the SCSBOA since 1992. He has also been recognized with several honors, including the 2022 Orange County Music and Arts Administrators Elementary Music Teacher of the Year and the SCSBOA’s 2024 Veteran Teacher Award.
In addition to his work in the public schools, Mr. Llewellyn has been an adjunct professor of music at Cal State Fullerton since 2010, teaching lessons to percussion majors, teaching the percussion methods and marching band techniques classes and directing one of the University’s percussion ensembles. His leadership in music education includes serving as a mentor, webmaster, and induction mentor within the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD). Over his career, his ensembles at the middle school and high school levels have earned numerous accolades, including Superior ratings at SCSBOA festivals.
Mr. Llewellyn’s professional percussion performing career has spanned his entire teaching career as he has performed with many professional orchestras and bands across Southern California over the years as a percussionist. He is a proud education artist for both Vic Firths sticks and mallets and Zildjian cymbals.
Kenneth McGrath is a highly regarded percussionist and educator in Los Angeles. He has performed, recorded, and toured with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, and San Diego Symphony, in addition to regular appearances with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and Pasadena Symphony. His work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group has included concerts at Lincoln Center, the Ojai Music Festival, and the Green Umbrella Series. In 2008, Ken commissioned, performed, and recorded the world premiere of William Kraft’s Encounters XIII:
ABOUT THE CONDUCTORS AND ARTISTS
Concertino for Percussion & Woodwind Quintet with Southwest Chamber Music.
Ken has also performed frequently with dance companies such as American Ballet Theater, San Francisco Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet in addition to national touring productions of Motown: The Musical, Wicked, Curtains, The Lion King, and Phantom of the Opera. As an active studio musician, he has performed on numerous motion pictures for composers such as John Williams, Alan Silvestri, James Newton Howard, Randy Newman, Alexandre Desplat, Hans Zimmer, Michael Giacchino, Danny Elfman, and Christophe Beck.
Kenneth currently serves on the percussion faculties of the California State University Fullerton School of Music, the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts and Pasadena City College. Ken is an alumnus of the University of California, Los Angeles (summa cum laude) and the Eastman School of Music. To learn more about Ken, visit www.mcgrathpercussion.com.
Dr. Joni Y. Prado, soprano and associate professor of vocal studies at California State University, Fullerton earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal arts at the University of Southern California where her areas of specialty included vocal performance, choral music, music education and jazz studies. She holds a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from California State University, Fullerton and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and psychology from California Baptist University. Current teaching areas include private vocal studies, foreign language diction, and leading vocal workshop.
Dr. Prado has performed throughout the Southern California region in concert and recital settings working with world-renowned ensembles and conductors such as the Pacific Symphony with Maestro Carl St. Clair, the Los Angeles Philharmonic with conductor, Esa Pekka Salonen and the Hollywood Bowl orchestra under the direction of John Mauceri. Dr. Prado has also been privileged to share the stage with operatic singers, Alessandra Marc, Richard Margison, Rodney Gilfrey and Andrea Bocelli. Her last operatic role was the lead role of the Duchess in Powder Her Face by Thomas Adés, a role appointed by the composer himself.
In addition to teaching and performing, Dr. Prado is also in demand as an adjudicator, choral clinician and vocal coach for local school programs and festivals. In Spring 2023, she presented a session at CASMEC entitled, “Showing, Not Telling: The Effectiveness of Non-Verbal Communication in Choral Conducting.” Dr. Prado has also assisted on several recording projects as a vocal coach and vocal producer at Skywalker Ranch and Sony Pictures Studios and continues to connect with singers and educators across the country through various singing and speaking engagements. She is thrilled to be a part of the School of Music Titan family and looks forward to pouring back into the program that played such an integral part of her development as a musician, educator and artist.
PERSONNEL
CSUF UNIVERSITY SYMPHONIC WINDS
Dr. Gregory Xavier Whitmore, conductor
Flute
Kimberly Areas
Harold Boche Castro
Nadia Fowler
Shawnee Herrera
Evan Posadas Miller
Alma Salazar
Aydan Soo-Hoo
Oboe
America Dionati
Johnston Nguyen
Bassoon
Rekha Michael
Adrian Wu
Clarinet
Susan Aguilar
Jonathan Bass
Shawn Bryant
Cara Connelly
Christopher Cordero
John Gerling
Eric Gong
Olivia Hirsch
Ryan Nguyen
Mitchell Rhine
Monserrat Rodriguez
Joshua Schaefer
Nicholas Wilson
Saxophone
Drake Bolt
Citlali Gamez
Beatriz Margareth Gongora
Miles Luong-Gonzales
Jon Salarda
Trumpet
Alonna Freeborne
Andrew Gonzalez
Isaiah Long
Adonai Mejia
Yasmin Olmos
Isaiah Soto
Horn
Alexis Chisolm
Andrew French
Anthony Olague
Adam Sevilla
Daniel Ward
Patrick Williams
Trombone
Jesus Amaro
Jordi Campbell
Rami El-Ghosssaini
Arnold Garcia
Bass Trombone
Nikolas Hernandez
Nicholas Perez
Euphonium
Stephen Lopez
Jackson Nguyen
Tuba
Gregory Barnes
Christopher Gallo
Fabiola Padilla
Harp
Maritza Alejos
Jonathan Brown
Dan Angelo Esguerra
Gabriela Guzman
Diego Mendoza
Ziyania Monroe
Markie Rosas
Piano
Julia Chubb
$1,000,000 +
Mr. Bob & Mrs. Terri Niccum
Mr. Stan Mark Ryan ‘75
$500,000 + Mrs. Junko Klaus
$50,000-$100,00
Mr. Ernest R. Sweet*
Mr. Matthew Scarpino & Ms. Karyn Hayter
Sallie Mitchell*
Mrs. Louise P. Shamblen
Johnny Carson Foundation
Mr. Steve & Mrs. Robin Kalota
$25,000 - $49,999
Mr. Darryl Curran
Leo Freedman Foundation
Mrs. Lee C. Begovich
Dr. Ed & Mrs. Sue Sullivan
$10,000-$24,999
Mr. John Aimé & Ms. Robin de la Llata Aimé
Drs. Joseph & Voiza Arnold
Mr. John J. Brennan & Ms. Lucina L. Moses
Ms. Kathleen Hougesen
Mr. Ernest & Mrs. Donna Schroeder
Mr. James & Mrs. Eleanore Monroe
Mrs. Marilyn D. Carlson
$5,000-$9,999
Mr. Richard & Mrs. Susan Dolnick
Mr. Framroze & Mrs. Julie Virjee
Continuing Life LLC
Southern California Arts Council
Ebell Club of Fullerton
DONOR APPLAUSE
Mrs. Harriet Cornyn
Mr. William Cornyn
Ms. Teri Kennady
Dwight Richard Odle Foundation
Swinerton Builders
Morningside of Fullerton
Dr. Margaret Gordon
Dr. Marc Dickey
Mrs. Jill Kurti Norman
Orange County Community Foundation
Mr. Edward & Ms.
MaryLouise Hlavac
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Mrs. Norma Morris
Mrs. Evelyn Francuz
Friends of Jazz, Inc.
$1,000-$4,999
Mrs. Marilyn Little
Mr. Allan & Mrs. Janet Bridgford
Dr. George & Mrs. Karen Mast
Mrs. Thelma Mellott
Ms. Karen Bell
Mrs. Judy Atwell
Mr. Stephen Collier & Ms.Joann Driggers
Mr. Paul Coluzzi & Mr. John M. Martelli
Mr. Douglas Stewart
Mr. Nick & Mrs. Dorothy Batinich
Mr. Tom & Mrs. Carolyn Toby
Mrs. Marsha Gallavan
California Community Foundation
Mrs. Martha Shaver
Ms. Susan Hallman
Mr. John A. Alexander
& Mr. Jason Francisco
Mr. James Henriques
Mr. Billy Owens & Mrs.
Michelle H. Jordan
Mr. Robert & Mrs. Nancy Rennie
Mr. Robert & Mrs. Roberta Sperry
Mr. John Boos & Ms. Shanon Fitzpatrick
The Jane Deming Fund
Dr. Leon & Mrs. Annette Gilbert
Ms. Verne Wagner
Dr. Robert & Mrs. Teri Watson
Mr. E. B. & Mrs. Linda Powell
The Presser Foundation
Mr. Norman & Mrs. Sandra Johnson
Dr. Arie & Mrs. Deanna Passchier
Mrs. Marion Brockett
Mr. Juan Lopez
Mr. David Navarro
Mrs. Bettina Murphy
Ms. Jeannie Denholm
Mr. Gregory & Mrs. Shawna Ellis
Mr. William H. Cunliffe, Jr.
Dr. Stephen Rochford, DMA
The Garrabrant Family
Very special care has been given to the preparation of this donor listing. Please contact Ann Steichen at (657) 278-7124 with questions or concerns.
Gifts received from July 2, 2023 to September 1, 2024 *deceased
ONTIVEROS SOCIETY
The Ontiveros Society includes individuals who have provided a gift for Cal State Fullerton through their estate plan. We extend our deep appreciation to the following Ontiveros Society members, whose gifts will benefit the students and mission of the College of the Arts:
ANONYMOUS
JOHN ALEXANDER
LEE & DR. NICHOLAS A.* BEGOVICH
GAIL & MICHAEL COCHRAN
MARC R. DICKEY
JOANN DRIGGERS
BETTY EVERETT
CAROL J. GEISBAUER & JOHN* GEISBAUER
SOPHIA & CHARLES GRAY
MARYLOUISE & ED HLAVAC
GRETCHEN KANNE
The
DR. BURTON L. KARSON
ANNE L. KRUZIC*
LOREEN & JOHN LOFTUS
ALAN A. MANNASON*
WILLIAM J. MCGARVEY*
DR. SALLIE MITCHELL*
ELEANORE P. & JAMES L. MONROE
LYNN & ROBERT MYERS
MR. BOB & MRS. TERRI NICCUM
DWIGHT RICHARD ODLE*
SHERRY & DR. GORDON PAINE
*deceased
DR. JUNE POLLAK
& MR. GEORGE POLLAK*
DR. STEPHEN M. ROCHFORD
MR. STAN MARK RYAN ‘75
MARY K. & WILLIAM SAMPSON
LORENA SIKORSKI
DOUGLAS G. STEWART
ANDREA J. & JEFFREY E. SWARD
RICHARD J. TAYLOR
VERNE WAGNER
RICHARD WULFF
DR. JAMES D. & DOTTIE YOUNG*
College of the Arts Proudly Recognizes the 300+ Members of Our VOLUNTEER SUPPORT GROUPS
ALLIANCE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: The Alliance for the Performing Arts (formerly MAMM) benefits performing arts students through underwriting visiting artists; special theatre, dance, and music performances; and other unique experiences for members.
SPECIAL SUPPORT AND EVENT UNDERWRITING
Judy Atwell
Drs. Voiza & Joe Arnold
Dr. Margaret Faulwell Gordon
Susan Hallman
Norma Morris Richard Odle Estate
Kerry & John Phelps
Jeanie Stockwell
Verne Wagner
ART ALLIANCE: Art Alliance promotes excellence and enjoyment in the visual arts, and their fundraising efforts contribute to student scholarship, gallery exhibitions, opening receptions and sculpture acquisition on campus.
SPECIAL SUPPORT AND EVENT UNDERWRITING
Fay Colmar
John DeLoof
Joann Driggers & Steve Collier
Loraine Walkington
MUSIC ASSOCIATES: Music Associates maintains a tradition of active involvement and community support, and raises scholarship funds for School of Music students through annual fundraising events and membership dues.
SPECIAL SUPPORT AND EVENT UNDERWRITING
Marilyn Carlson
Evelyn K. Francuz
Sandy & Norm Johnson
Marti & Bill Kurschat
Karen & George Mast
Thelma & Earl Mellott
Bettina Murphy
Grace & Ujinobu Niwa
Kerry & John Phelps
Mary & Jerry Reinhart
Ann & Thad Sandford
Dodo V. Standring
Carolyn & Tom Toby
John Van Wey
MORE INFORMATION: Haley Sanford • 657-278-2663
There are many ways to support the College of the Arts, the School of Music, Department of Theatre and Dance, and Department of Visual Arts
