Bill Cunliffe* jazz piano; arranging; Fullerton Jazz Orchestra, Fullerton Big Band and combo director
Rodolfo Zuñiga jazz studies, jazz percussion, and music techology; Fullerton Chamber Jazz Ensemble director
PIANO, ORGAN, PIANO PEDAGOGY
Bill Cunliffe jazz piano
Alison Edwards* piano, piano pedagogy, class piano
Myong-Joo Lee piano
Dr. Robert Watson piano
MUSIC EDUCATION, TEACHER TRAINING, AND TEACHING CREDENTIAL
Dr. Christopher Peterson choral
Dr. Gregory X. Whitmore* instrumental
MUSIC IN GENERAL EDUCATION
Dr. John Koegel*
Dr. Katherine Reed
MUSIC HISTORY AND LITERATURE
Dr. Vivianne Asturizaga musicology
Dr. John Koegel* musicology
Dr. Katherine Powers musicology
Dr. Katherine Reed musicology
STRINGS
Kimo Furumoto Director of Orchestra Studies and University Symphony Orchestra conductor
Bongshin Ko cello
Dr. Ernest Salem* violin
THEORY AND COMPOSITION
Dr. Pamela Madsen, composition, theory
Dr. Ken Walicki* composition, theory
VOCAL, CHORAL, AND OPERA
Dr. Robert Istad Director of Choral Studies and University Singers conductor
Dr. Kerry Jennings* Director of Opera
Dr. Christopher Peterson CSUF Concert Choir and Singing Titans conductor
Dr. Joni Y. Prado voice, academic voice courses
Dr. Bri’Ann Wright general education
WOODWINDS, BRASS, AND PERCUSSION
Dr. Dustin Barr Director of Wind Band Studies, University Wind Symphony, University Band
Jean Ferrandis flute
Sycil Mathai* trumpet
Dr. Gregory X. Whitmore University Symphonic Winds conductor
STAFF
Michael August Production Manager
Eric Dries Music Librarian
Gretchen Estes-Parker Office Coordinator
Will Lemley Audio Technician
Jeff Lewis Audio Engineer
Chris Searight Musical Instrument Services
Paul Shirts Administrative Assistant
Elizabeth Williams Business Manager
* denotes Area Coordinator
Welcome to the College of the Arts 2024–2025 season – our first in three years where performing and visual arts programming will take place on one cohesive arts campus following the completion of the Visual Arts Modernization Project. We are thrilled you have joined us! As our visitors, you are part of our extended family of patrons, parents, friends, and fellow Titans, and we strive to reflect your stories and experiences in the programming we present.
To us, community engagement is more than just opening the doors of our performance and exhibition spaces and inviting you in; it’s about creating a space for dialogue through the work we share. This season, we are proud to bring you a slate of exhibitions, concerts, and performances that not only reflect our humanity but also have the power to transform how we see ourselves and others. In Theatre, “The Prom” opens the season with a joyful celebration of love and acceptance that follows teen Emma Nolan and her quest to attend the prom after she is disinvited for being gay. Will Emma get the prom she deserves? Next, Begovich Gallery presents four exhibitions to celebrate the public opening of Building G on November 2, including “Vitae: A New Generation” featuring CSUF visual arts alumni whose work explores self-discovery and issues of social justice. The following week, the Fullerton Jazz Orchestra and University Symphony Orchestra, along with guest artists Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea, perform in “Fullerton Pops!” Our award-winning choreographers and dancers take the stage in December for “Fall Dance Theatre,” a powerfully moving collection of performances in a variety of dance styles. And don’t forget everyone’s holiday concert favorite, “Deck the Hall at Cal State Fullerton!” on December 14 and 15.
With the completion of the Visual Arts complex this past summer, we are one of the largest comprehensive colleges of the arts in the CSU system. The complex boasts digitally enhanced classrooms, a green screen lab for film and animation, an expanded photography studio, four art galleries, and several indoor and outdoor spaces to encourage cross-disciplinary exploration. But with the distinction of being a large college of the arts comes great need, and many of our students face personal and financial challenges that prevent them from continuing their education. The Dean’s Fund for Excellence provides our students with funding for immersive, off- and on-campus experiences that contribute to their academic success, including CSU Summer Arts, conferences, and study abroad programs. Your support is not just appreciated; it is vital. If the arts and their continued importance in higher education are essential to you, please consider a gift of any amount to the Dean’s Fund today.
I thank you for joining us and for championing the arts in our community. Your support means the world to me and to our students. When you return, I invite you to visit the Visual Arts complex to see what’s new and to check out the galleries in Building G, across from Clayes Performing Arts Center and open late on select performance nights beginning in November. I hope to see you there!
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) ed. Frederick Fennell orch. John Boyd
English Dances, Set One (1950) ..........................................
Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006)
I. Andantino trans. Maurice Johnston
II. Vivace.
III. Mesto.
IV. Allegro Risoluto ***** Intermission *****
Goodnight Moon (2011/2017)
Joni Y. Prado, soprano
Eric Whitacre (b. 1977) arr. Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant
An American Songkran (2023) .................................................
Kevin Charoensri (b. 2003)
Kevin Charoensri, graduate composer
The Pathfinder of Panama (1915) .....................................
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)
PROGRAM NOTES
Flash Fury
KEVIN DAY
Kevin Day is a composer, conductor, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Arlington, Texas. His father was a prominent hip-hop producer in the late 1980s, and his mother was a sought-after gospel singer, singing alongside the likes of Mel Tormé and Kirk Franklin. He plays euphonium and tuba,and is a self-taught pianist and composer. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in euphonium/tuba performance from Texas Christian University (TCU), studying under Richard Murrow for tuba and euphonium and Dr. Neil AndersonHimmelspach and and Till MacIvor Meyn for composition. He holds a Master of Music in Composition from the University of Georgia, studying with composers Peter Van Zandt Lane and Emily Koh, and conductor Cynthia Johnston Turner.
While at TCU, Day played in the marching band, the tuba/euphonium ensemble, and was the principal player on euphonium and jazz piano. Kevin was the first composer at TCU to receive a band composition premiered in concert his freshman year by the TCU Symphonic Band, and the Wind Symphony his sophomore year. He has also received accolades such as his Fireworks fanfare being selected as a winner of the Dallas Winds Fanfare Contest for 2015-2016. He was a finalist for the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award for his work String Quartet No. 1, and the Novus New Music Call for Scores Contest for his concert band piece, Dancing Fire, for 2016. He had his first ever conference premiere of Dancing Fire by the West Salem High School Wind Ensemble under the direction of Todd Zimbelman at the 2016 Western International Band Clinic in Seattle, Washington. He was also selected as the 3rd Prize winner of the 2020 New Classics International Young Composer Contest of the Moscow Conservatory. Kevin was also one of two tubas in the United States to play in the 2016 Disneyland All-American College Band for the summer.
Day, whose music often intersects between the worlds of jazz, minimalism, Latin music, fusion, and contemporary
classical idioms, has more than 150 compositions. A winner of the BMI Student Composer Award and other honors, his works have had numerous performances throughout the United States, Russia, Austria, Australia, Taiwan, South Africa, and Japan. His works have been programmed by the Boston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, and more. Day has collaborated with the likes of Steven Cohen, Jens Lindemann, Demondrae Thurman, and Jeremy Lewis on concertos for their respective instruments, as well as chamber ensembles like Ensemble Dal Niente, The Puerto Rican Trombone Ensemble, The Zenith Saxophone Quartet, The Tesla Quartet, and many more. He has worked with and has been mentored by distinguished composers Gabriela Lena Frank, Frank Ticheli, John Mackey, William Owens, Julie Giroux, Marcos Balter, Anthony Cheung, Matthew Evan Taylor, and Valerie Coleman.
Day currently serves as the vice president for the Millennium Composers Initiative and is an alumnus of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America. He is the composer-in-residence for the Mesquite Symphony Orchestra in Mesquite, Texas, for their 2019-2021 seasons, and is currently [2022] assistant professor of composition at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Day is one of eight founding members of the Nu Black Vanguard, a composers collective dedicated to the promotion and advancement of Black composers in the medium of music; the other seven founding members are Katahj Copley, Marie A. Douglas, Benjamin Horne, Kelijah Dunton, JaRod Hall, Dayla D. Spencer, and Adrian B. Sims Day began studies for his DMA at the University of Miami (Fla.) in the Fall of 2021. In 2024 he joined the faculty at the University of California San Diego as a lecturer in theory and musicianship - Program Note from Windrep.org
On Flash Fury:
Flash Fury is a visceral and energetic work for concert band that depicts the
PROGRAM NOTES
blazing speed of fast-moving lightning, in all its beauty and simultaneous chaos. This piece features the brass section primarily, highlighting different virtuosic passages and timbres between the instrument sections, allowing them to have their moment to shine.
Behold, A Rose is Blooming, op. 122 JOHANNES BRAHMS
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist. Born in Hamburg, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene. In his lifetime, Brahms’s popularity and influence were considerable; following a comment by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow, he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the “Three Bs.”
Brahms composed for piano, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestra, and for voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works; he worked with some of the leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim. Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. Brahms, an uncompromising perfectionist, destroyed some of his works and left others unpublished.
Brahms is often considered both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Baroque and Classical masters. He was a master of counterpoint, the complex and highly disciplined art for which Johann Sebastian Bach is famous, and of development, a compositional ethos pioneered by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Brahms aimed to honor the “purity” of these venerable “German” structures and advance them into a Romantic idiom, in the process creating bold new approaches to harmony and melody. While many contemporaries found his music too academic, his contribution and craftsmanship have been admired by subsequent figures as diverse as Arnold Schoenberg and Edward Elgar. The diligent, highly constructed nature of
Brahms’ works was a starting point and an inspiration for a generation of composers.
On Behold, A Rose Is Blooming:
Death and loss had been at the forefront of Johannes Brahms’ mind during the beginning of the year 1896. In March of that year Brahms’ lifelong friend and champion, Clara Schumann, suffered a massive stroke. On May 7th -- Brahms’ birthday -- he had completed the set, his final music set to words.
On May 21st, Clara passed away in Frankfurt am Main. Brahms, who considered Clara to be the “greatest wealth” in his life, was so devastated that he bungled his travel arrangements and missed the funeral in Bonn. The grueling 40-hour travel to attend the funeral served only to hasten the progress of his, now far advanced, liver cancer.
It was in this atmosphere that Brahms composed the Eleven Chorale Preludes, his first music for the organ since 1857. This is intensely private music, and the first seven movements were written in response to the death and loss of Clara. A marked change happens with the eighth movement, Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen This movement deals with a new beginning. The text of this movement centers on the birth of the savior, but also serves as a metaphor for the beginning of life beyond hardship.
This eighth movement was lovingly arranged for band by John Boyd and edited by Frederick Fennell, and was lovingly dedicated to the memory of their friend and colleague, John Paynter.
- Program Note from University of Oklahoma Symphony Band concert program, 19 November 2018
English Dances, Set One MALCOLM ARNOLD
Sir Malcolm Arnold was a British composer and trumpeter. He was born in Northampton to a family of shoemakers. As a rebellious teenager, he was attracted to the creative freedom of jazz. After seeing Louis Armstrong play in Bournemouth, he took up the trumpet at the age of 12 and 5 years later won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music (RCM). At the RCM he studied composition with Gordon Jacob and the trumpet with Ernest Hall. In 1941, he
PROGRAM NOTES
joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as second trumpet and became principal trumpet in 1943.
In 1944, Arnold volunteered for military service, but after he found out the army wanted to put him in a military band, he shot himself in the foot to get back to civilian life. After a season as principal trumpet with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, he returned to the London Philharmonic in 1946 where he remained until 1948 to become a full-time composer.
Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was bracketed with Britten and Walton as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain. His natural melodic gift earned him a reputation as a composer of light music in works such as his sets of Welsh, English, Scottish, Irish and Cornish Dances, and his scores to the St Trinian’s films and Hobson’s Choice. Arnold was a relatively conservative composer of tonal works, but a prolific and popular one. He acknowledged Hector Belioz as an influence, and several commentators have drawn a comparison with Jean Sibelius Arnold was knighted in 1993 for his service to music. He received honorary doctorates from the University of Exeter (1969), University of Durham (1982), University of Leicester (1984), Miami University of Ohio (1989), University of Winchester (1983), and the University of Northampton (2006).
On English Dances, Set One:
Malcolm Arnold’s publisher, Bernard de Nevers, suggested that a suite of dances be composed to provide an English counterpart to Antonin Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances or Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances. Arnold developed eight original melodies that seemed firmly rooted in traditional English dance and song.
Written in 1950, English Dances was dedicated to de Nevers. The melodies were divided into two sets of four. The first movement, Andantino, opens quietly to four-part chords played by the French horns and a melody introduced by the oboe. The melody is reminiscent of the gentle movement of a country breeze or the slowly flowing streams, sometimes becoming
agitated when encountering obstacles. The second movement, Vivace, begins with bell tones that seem to signal the start of festivities in a village town. Mesto, the third movement, translates as sad or melancholy. The final movement, Allegro risoluto, is characterized by a driving and determined rhythm in the brass with ornamentation from the woodwinds.
- Program Note by Kennesaw State University Wind Ensemble concert program, 12 October 2015
Goodnight Moon
ERIC WHITACRE
Eric Whitacre is an American composer, conductor and lecturer. His first musical experience singing was in his college choir. Though he was unable to read music at the time, he 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. He 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.
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, he has appeared with hundreds of professional and educational ensembles
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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 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
Kevin Charoensri is a Thai-American San Diego native who now resides in Austin, studying music composition (BM) at the University of Texas at Austin. He 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
In June 2018, he 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.
The Pathfinder of Panama (1915) JOHN PHILIP SOUSA
John Philip Sousa was America’s best known composer and conductor during his lifetime. Highly regarded for his military band marches, he is often called the “The March King” or “American March King.”
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). His father 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 Jr. 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 enlisted him as as an apprentice of the United States Marine Corps. 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 America and abroad. 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 died at the age of 77 on March 6th, 1932 after conducting a rehearsal of the Ringgold Band in Reading, Pennsylvania. The last piece he conducted was “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” his most famous work and the US’s national march.
Sousa wrote 136 independent marches, while a host of other marches and dances have been adapted from his stage works. Despite the genre’s relatively limited structure, Sousa’s marches are highly varied in character. The vast majority are in the quickstep dance style and a third of their titles bear military designations. His earlier marches are best suited for actual marching, while later works are increasingly complex. He also wrote school songs for several American Universities, including Kansas State University, Marquette University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Minnesota.
UNIVERSITY SYMPHONIC WINDS
(listed alphabetically)
Flute
Kimberly Areas
Harold Boche Castro
Nadia Fowler
Shawnee Herrera
Evan Posadas Miller
Alma Salazar
Aydan Soo-Hoo
Clarinet
Susan Aguilar
Jonathan Bass
Cara Connelly
Christopher Cordero
John Gerling
Eric Gong
Adan Hernandez
Carlos A. Herrera
Olivia Hirsch
Ryan Nguyen
Monserrat Rodriguez
Josiah Sanchez
Joshua Schaefer
Nicholas Wilson
Saxophone
Drake Bolt
Citlali Gamez
Beatriz
Margareth Gongora
Miles Luong-Gonzales
Jon Salarda
Oboe
America Dionati
Megan Kimmel
Johnston Nguyen
English Horn
Johnston Nguyen
Bassoon
Rekha Michael
Adrian Wu
Trumpet
Edward Castaneda
Alonna Freeborne
Andrew Gonzalez
Isaiah Long
Adonai Mejia
Yasmin Olmos
Isaiah Soto
Jacob Wallenbrock
Brian Watson
Horn
Alexis Chisolm
Andrew French
Anthony Olague
Boris Mu
Daniel Ward
Patrick Williams
Trombone
Jesus Amaro
Rami El-Ghosssaini
Arnold Garcia
Bass Trombone
Nikolas Hernandez
Nicholas Perez
Euphonium
Stephen Lopez
Jackson Nguyen
Tuba
Gregory Barnes
Fabiola Padilla
Double Bass
Andrew de Stackelberg
Percussion
Maritza Alejos
Jonathan Brown
Dan Angelo Esguerra
Gabriela Guzman
Diego Mendoza
Ziyania Monroe
Markie Rosas
Piano
Julia Chubb
Centering artistry, collaboration, and musical excellence, The CSU Fullerton University Symphonic Winds are under the direction of Associate Director of Bands Dr. Gregory Xavier Whitmore. The University Symphonic Winds continually explore new music initiatives each concert season, undertaking commissions and world premieres of new works for winds by renowned and emerging composers. With a primacy towards artistic collaboration, the University Symphonic Winds regularly welcomes composers to Orange County for residencies with the ensemble. Previous composer residencies have featured composers Jack Bertrand, Kevin Charoensri, Viet Cuong, Frank Duarte, Dr. Giovanni Santos, Adam Schoenberg, Alex Shapiro, Larry Tuttle, and others. Additionally, the University Symphonic Winds regularly collaborate with guest artists and esteemed conductors from across the United States.
Programmatically, the University Symphonic Winds balances the breadth and depth of the established wind band repertory with works that are, “of our time”. Members of the University Symphonic Winds are selected by audition and are students in the applied studios of the California State University Fullerton School of Music. The University Symphonic Winds undertakes performance tours and has been a featured performer at local and regional conferences. Each concert season, The University Symphonic Winds present a concert series consisting of six to eight performances. The University Symphonic Winds performance home is the beautiful Vaughncille Joseph Meng Concert Hall on the Cal State Fullerton campus (Fullerton, CA).
ABOUT THE FACULTY ARTIST
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.
Prado has performed throughout the Southern California region in concert and recital settings working with worldrenowned 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. She 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, 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.” She 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.
In 1972 an employment counselor asked Rich Capparela, “If you could be anything in the world, what would you be?” Without hesitation, he replied, “A classical music radio announcer!” Rich first became a KUSC host in 1980, and has returned to KUSC many times between working at the Southern California classical radio stations KMZT-FM and KFAC-FM. Since 1995 Capparela has hosted live radio broadcast concerts by the Pacific Symphony. In December of 2001 as part of Los Angeles Music Week, he was honored in the chamber by the Los Angeles City Council for his contributions to the city’s music community. In 2002 he provided program notes for the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet’s Grammy-nominated album LAGQ: Latin. He is active as a lead singer and guitarist with a threepiece cover rock band, Otherwise Normal. Rich and his wife Marcia, a retired independent school administrator, live in Santa Monica, California.
ABOUT THE GUEST ARTIST
ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR
Gregory Xavier Whitmore is Conductor of the University Symphonic Winds at California State University Fullerton (CSUF). In addition to this artistic responsibility, he is an Associate Professor of Instrumental Music Education and serves as Area Coordinator of the CSUF Music Education Department. He 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.
A proud Midwesterner and native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, 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, he 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. He received his master’s degree in music with an emphasis in wind conducting from California State University Fullerton. He 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, 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 his 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. He 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, 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. His research has been published in Visions of Research in Music Education. He 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 He 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.”
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
$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
The Garrabrant Family
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
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
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*
The 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
COLLEGE OF THE ARTS • SELECT EVENTS | FALL 2024
Kirsten Yon and Ernest Salem, violins
September 26 • Meng Concert Hall
Hoang Nguyen & Friends: Alumni Piano Recital: September 27 • Meng Concert Hall
Fullerton Jazz Orchestra
October 4 • Meng Concert Hall
University Symphony Orchestra October 5 • Meng Concert Hall
University Wind Symphony October 6 • Meng Concert Hall
The Prom
October 10–19 • Little Theatre Talkbacks: 10/11; 10/19 matinée
University Symphonic Winds
October 12 • Meng Concert Hall
University Singers & Concert Choir October 20 • Meng Concert Hall
Blood Wedding
October 24–November 19 • Young Theatre
Denis Bouriakov, flute
October 26 • Meng Concert Hall
Vitae: A New Generation; Chris O’Leary: Gravity Well; Michelle Emami: Arcana; and Past Forward (Redux)
November 2, 2024 – May 17, 2025 Begovich Gallery
High School Honor Orchestra & CSUF Chamber Ensembles Orchestra November 2 • Meng Concert Hall
Michael Yoshimi, clarinet
November 8 • Meng Concert Hall
Bent Frequency with CSUF New Music Ensemble November16 • Meng Concert Hall
Lost Girl
November 7–16 • Hallberg Theatre
CSUF SCHOOL OF MUSIC PRESENTS Fullerton Pops! feat. Fullerton Jazz Orchestra
University Symphony Orchestra and Mariachis de Cindy Shea
November 10 • Meng Concert Hall
Opera Scenes
November 15–17 • Recital Hall
Jazz Singers
November 20 • Meng Concert Hall
University Wind Symphony November 22 • Meng Concert Hall
Cello Choir
November 22 • Recital Hall
Fall Dance Theatre
December 5–14• Little Theatre
University Symphonic Winds
December 7 • Meng Concert Hall
Titan Voices & Singing Titans
December 9 • Meng Concert Hall
CSUF New Music Ensemble & CSUF Contemporary Chamber Music Ensemble
December 11 • CPAC 119
University Band
December 11 • Meng Concert Hall
CSUF SCHOOL OF MUSIC PRESENTS Deck the Hall at Cal State Fullerton! December 14,15 • Meng Concert Hall
