From Elmhurst University Bands
to you . . .
Elmhurst University Music Department Presents
Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band
HOLIDAY CONCERT
December 8, 2024 | 7:00pm
Hammerschmidt Chapel
Elmhurst University Wind Ensemble
Adam Kehl, conductor
Morning Alleluias for the Winter Solstice (1991) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ron Nelson (1929-2023)
La Procession du Rocio (1913) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joaquin Turina (1882-1949) arr. Alfred Reed
Winter Ricercar (2015) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin M. Walczyk (b. 1964)
Sparkle (2001) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . Shafer Mahoney (b. 1968)
Carols in the Dark (2023) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harrison Collins (b. 1999)
Elmhurst University Symphonic Band
James Hile, conductor
Symphonic Prelude on Adeste Fideles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Claude T. Smith
Christmas Through the Looking Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Lovrien
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane arr. Douglas E. Wagner
Nick Pulikowski, vocal soloist
Somewhere in My Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Williams trans. James Hile
The Night Before Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Randol Alan Bass
Nick Pulikowski, narrator
A Christmas Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leroy Anderson
Piccolo
ELMHURST UNIVERSITY SYMPHONIC BAND
Joseph Johnson
Flute
Mya Budzichowski
Sarah Collins
Fatima Dabbah
Jennifer Jeffrey
Jessica Jeffrey
Heather Johnson
Camryn Nowak-Brown *
Victoria Palomino
Aliah Robles
Olivia Simmons
Ben Steger
Dorothy Stelzik
Cristina Vermeulen
Coral Weikert
Oboe/English Horn
Claudia Sandine *
Bassoon
Nick J. Agliata III *
Clarinet
Gina Carter
Steve Goldman
Caroline Husa
Kim Hempel
Dan Kesselring
Melissa Lehmann
Laura Mensik
Mia Merrell *
Mya Robles
Bass Clarinet
Sean Gaertner
Alto Saxophone
David Andrusyk
Karabeth Footman *
Lauren Hauser
Cadence Leucht
Asher Newman
Tenor Saxophone
Frank Barrett
Dominic Bouffard
Georgios Panagiotidis
Haris Smajkic
Baritone Saxophone
Emma Leucht
Eric Sanders
Trumpet
Eric Barbier
Mackenzie Costa
Justin Czarnowski
Bob Dickinson *
Abigail Komperta
Joe Miceli *
Luke Miller
Glenn Morimoto
Emmie Pawlak
Anna Thompson
Horn
Melissa Mescher
Julie Perez
Sybil Siska *
Trombone
Corinne-Nicole Ahyee
Sebastian Cabezas
Michael Cumberland *
Ed Hempel
Brianna Maciel
Drew Pekkarinen
Lazaro Tovar
Euphonium
Paul Eakley *
Mike Taylor
Tuba
John Kasongo
Edward A. Susmilch
Logan Turney *
Percussion
Paola Aguilera
Brandon Cojulun
Shane Dickinson
Mike Paroline
* denotes principal
ELMHURST UNIVERSITY WIND ENSEMBLE
Piccolo
Tori Marchi#
Flute
Bianca Cima
Anthony Galang
Eliana Kiltz *#
Claudia Rejowski
Oboe
Disha Virdi*
Bassoon Tobie Schroeder#
Eb Clarinet
Joe Valenti
Clarinet
Nayely Casales
Audrey Dunwoody
Eliza A. Martinez
Faith Negele
Leonardo Rodriguez*#
Cristian Zavala
Bass Clarinet
Evan Auriemma (contra)
Zoe Offenbecher
Alto Saxophone
Sophia Frasca
Lissette Hernandez*# (soprano)
Christoper Tejeda
Tenor Saxophone
Nina Hoek#
Baritone Saxophone
Bryce Leitzinger
Trumpet
Ian Bardes
Tim Gorman
Sebastian Martinez*#
Charlie Rossi
Aldre Delos Santos
William Stezowski
Horn Hannah Hadraba*#
Trombone
Nathanial Gibson
Ian Martinez*#
Taylor Nygrne
Ashley Rokosz
Euphonium
Milton Nonato
Ethan Soltys*# (piano)
Tuba
TJ Countryman Jr.
David Johansson*#
Patrick Williams
Percussion
Anthony Cox #
Henrik Rivadeneira*#
Brian Tacastacas
Tyler Wolf
• denotes principal
# denotes Chamber Player
A Christmas Festival Sing-Along Lyrics
Joy to the World
Joy to the World The Lord has come
Let Earth receive Her King
Let every heart, prepare him room
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Deck the Halls
Deck the Halls with boughs of holly
Fa La La La La La La La La Tis the season to be jolly
Fa La La La La La La La La Don we now our gay apparel
Fa La La La La La La La La Troll the ancient yuletide carol
Fa La La La La La La La La
Good King Wenceslas
Good King Wenceslas looked down
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow came round about
Deep and crisp and even Brightly shown the moon that night though the frost was cruel When a poor man came in sight Gathering winter’s fuel
Hark the Herald
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing Glory to the newborn king Peace on Earth and mercy mild God and Sinner reconciled
Joyful all ye nations rise Join the triumphant of the skies
With angelic host proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem Hark, the Herald Angels Sing Glory to the newborn king
Silent Night
Silent Night, Holy Night
All is calm, All is bright Round you Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace
Jingle Bells
Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh
O’er the Yields we go Laughing all the way Bells on bop tails ring Making spirits bright What fun it is to laugh and sing a sleighing song tonight
Jingle Bells, Jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh
Jingle Bells, Jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh
O Come All Ye Faithful
O Come all ye faithful
Joyful and Triumphant
O Come ye, O Come ye to Bethlehem
Come and Behold Him
Born the King of Angels
O Come let us adore him
O Come let us adore him
O Come let us adore him
Christ, The Lord!
Auld Lang Syne
Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind
Should old acquaintance be forgot and old lang syne
For auld lang syne my dear for auld lang syne
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet for auld lang syne
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
WIND ENSEMBLE – PROGRAM NOTES
Ron Nelson was born in 1929 in Joliet, Illinois. He began his musical study on the piano at age 6, starting to compose via improvisation shortly after. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1952, a Master’s in 1953, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in 1956, all from the Eastman School of Music. He also studied in France at the Ecole Normale de Musique and at the Paris Conservatory in 1955. Dr. Nelson served on the faculty of Brown University faculty until his retirement in 1993.
He composed two operas, a mass, music for films and television, 90 choral works, and over 40 instrumental works, including multiple contributions to the standard repertoire for wind band. In 1993, his Passacaglia (Homage on B-A-C-H) made history by winning all three major wind band compositions – the National Association Prize, the American Bandmasters Association Ostwald Prize, and the Sudler International Prize.
Morning Alleluias for the Winter Solstice was commissioned by Frederick Fennell. It was premiered by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra on May 14, 1989 with Fennell conducting. The work begins in an ethereal mood consisting of singing, trombone glissandi, and meditative inflections (aleatoric rhythms). Above this rises a hymn-like progression in the flutes and later the clarinets. Halfway through the tempo becomes twice as fast with incessant eighth notes in the piano and percussion. The faster section contains two Japanese inspired tunes, a powerful one heard in the brass and then a more subdued one in the woodwinds. Fennell wrote of the piece:
“Morning Alleluias probably became the spirit as well as the title which Ron Nelson chose for this music when I told him of my personal experience in awakening one morning in a Hiroshima hotel room that was ablaze with brilliant morning sunlight. As I lay in bed with so many dark thoughts also crowding-in on that morning’s bright expectancies for the living day ahead, I knew that these moments could only be celebrated as the triumph of the people of Hiroshima through the creation of a musical expression. The Hiroshima morning was in late November. Ron accepted my commission a few days later in Chicago. Other work was put aside so Ron could produce the score, which he signed on 1 March 1989.”
Joaquin Turina was a native of Spain but was influenced early in his career by romantic and impressionistic composers such as Debussy, Ravel, and Rimsky-Korsakov while studying in Paris. La Procession du Rocio was premiered in Madrid in 1913. The piece was so well received that it quickly catapulted him to the top of the Spanish musical world, where he would remain as a leading composer of Spanish classical music until his death.
La Procession du Rocio is divided into two distinct sections. It opens with a depiction of the celebration honoring the Virgin Maria in Triana (a colorful neighborhood in Seville, although the true festival and procession are held in Rocio, a town approx. 80 miles southeast of Sevilla), which features stylized gypsy dances and a general mood of festivity. This leads, without break, into the procession itself. As the procession moves slowly through the streets, the sound of bells, the tap of drums, and strains of church music reflect the solemnity of its
religious origin. Finally, the music grows to a brilliant climax, with themes derived from the opening fanfare, along with a brief quotation from the Spanish national anthem. Since Reed’s transcription for wind band was created in 1962, the piece has been a foundational piece of the wind band repertoire, filling the need for music from authentic Spanish compositional giants.
Dr. Kevin Walczyk received his B.A. in Education from Pacific Lutheran University, and a M.M. and DMA from the University of North Texas, studying composition with Martin Mailman, Jacob Avshalomov, and Cindy McTee. He currently serves on the faculty of Western Oregon University. He has received commissions from a wide range of ensembles, and has won numerous awards, including nominations for the Pulitzer Prize and the Grawemeyer Award.
Winter Ricercar is an instrumental chamber work based on the traditional English Christmas carol, Upon the Snow-clad Earth. The carol was originally set to Reverend Richard Robert Chope’s lyrics by composer Henry John Gauntlett (1805-1876). The melody was slightly altered by composer Arthur Sullivan in 1876 and it is Sullivan’s melody that is used in Winter Ricercar. Named after its Renaissance and Baroque counterparts, the ricercar is an instrumental composition that explores the permutations of the melody of Upon the Snowclad Earth The carol is developed in similar fashion to both the homophonic treatment of the early ricercar and the highly imitative form of the later ricercar that favors variation form and is a predecessor of the fugue.
Dr. Shafer Mahoney has a B.A. from Princeton University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Eastman School of Music. He studied composition with giants such as Samuel Adler, Warren Benson, Christopher Rouse, and Joseph Schwantner. Mahoney’s music has been described as “tonal and imaginative” and “dazzling,” and has been performed around the world in top venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, and Miller Theatre. He has won numerous awards, including two from BMI, a Morton Gould Award from ASCAP, and the Bearns Prize from Columbia University.
Sparkle is a rhythmic, celebratory work, in a quasi-minimalistic style. The work is, in a way, episodic, with lightly scored sections focusing on a single group of instruments, over an ostinato bass line with percussion. The first half of the work alternates between solis for flute and clarinets, with the flutes employing light, cheerful scales, while the clarinet line is somewhat darker, but still rhythmically playful. Later, a second minimalistic idea featuring legato up-beats is introduced in trumpets (muted), horns and saxophones. Gradually, the work builds on itself, culminating in a final full ensemble section that resonates with joy.
Harrison Collins was born in Texas in 1999 and began composing at the age of just fourteen. Combining his musical studies in academic settings with years of self-teaching and a strong intuition to write music that challenges and connects to performers and listeners alike, he has made a name for himself across the United States as a skilled composer. Harrison studied at Illinois State University, before moving to Texas Christian University in 2021 to continue his studies in composition and bassoon Collins' works for wind ensemble have been performed across the United States and internationally. He is a winner of numerous composition competitions, including the Sinta Quartet Composition Competition, the Dallas Winds Fanfare Competition, the National Young Composers Challenge, the Austin Symphony
Orchestra's Texas Young Composers Competition, and multiple Fifteen Minutes of Fame competitions held by Vox Novus, including one in which his work was selected for performance by the West Point Band.
The composer writes of the work:
“Carols in the Dark was composed as a gift for Brian Youngblood, one of my band directors at Texas Christian University and one of the fiercest advocates of my work. Mr. Youngblood and I had spoken about Christmas music on more than one occasion, and during one such conversation, he presented an idea to me: the melodies of Greensleeves and Carol of the Bells pair together so well, he told me, and yet there was no higher-difficulty arrangement of these two tunes out in the wild world of wind ensemble repertoire. I got the hint; inspired by his suggestion, I sought to fill that gap by composing a colorful and engaging work that takes full advantage of the myriad of musical possibilities posed by the two tunes. The result is a dramatic thrill ride that pushes and pulls the two melodies to their limits in a whirlwind of sound and energy. ”
About the Conductors
Dr. Adam Kehl serves as Director of Bands, Associate Professor of Music at Elmhurst University where he conducts the Elmhurst Wind Ensemble, teaches conducting, and provides leadership for all facets the universities band program. Previously, Dr. Kehl served as Associate Director of Bands at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, and as Director of Bands at Elon University in Elon, NC. Originally from the Pacijic Northwest, Dr. Kehl holds Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Education and Percussion Performance from the University of Oregon, a Master of Music in conducting from the University of New Mexico, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from the University of South Carolina. He previously served as a high school band director in the public schools of California and is highly active as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor for concert and marching bands around the United States.
Dr. Kehl maintains an active research agenda, primarily focusing on the creation of historically accurate critical editions, for the purpose of modern performance, of wind music from the French Revolution. Four of his editions from composers Gossec, Catel and Hyacinthe Jadin are published and available from Maxime’s Music Publishing, with additional editions scheduled in the coming years. He also frequently presents sessions at conferences on conducting gesture development, score study, and student leadership development. Dr. Kehl has completed three musical tours abroad, including tours in China and Italy, and served as an Associate Producer on the USC Wind Ensemble’s critically acclaimed “Bernstein: The Transcriptions for Wind Band” for Naxos Records.
He is an advocate for new music, media integration, creative programming and inter-arts collaboration, and is actively involved in bringing new works to life through commissioning
and conducting premieres, including works by Donald Grantham, Kevin Walczyk, David Clay Mettens, Carter Pann, Juan Pablo Contreras, Adrienne Albert, Todd Coleman, Ted KingSmith, David Kirkland Garner, Nick Omiccioli, Aaron Perrine, and Tyler Ono, and has worked with such guests artists as Dr. David Constantine, Dr. Nave Graham, famed Hawaiian singers Willie K and Henry Kapono, Lynn and John Beck, the Elon Dance Department, and Elon University President Dr. Leo Lambert.
Dr. James Hile currently serves as Chair of the Music Department at Elmhurst University. He most recently served as Director of Bands at Elmhurst University and taught in the public schools at Highland Park High School (IL). He served as Director of Bands at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and began his collegiate teaching career as the Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Illinois.
Hile has gained a national reputation as a band arranger and his arrangements and transcriptions have been performed by numerous high school, college and university bands, the United States Army Band, the United States Army Brass Band, the United States Air Force Band, the Interlochen Music Academy Bands, the Dallas Wind Symphony, and the Israel Philharmonic Winds. He has received numerous awards for teaching excellence at both public school and collegiate levels and is also a recipient of the “Citation of Excellence” by the National Band Association. He has been recognized as a Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator, Illinois Bandmaster of the Year and was recently recognized in Who’s Who in America. He currently maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor, arranger, clinician and adjudicator.
Elmhurst University Music Department
Chair: Dr. James Hile
Administrative Assistant: Trish Thoren
Elmhurst University Applied Wind and Percussion Faculty
Flute: Professor Marie Bennett
Oboe: Professor Julie Popplewell
Bassoon: Professor Dianne Ryan
Clarinet: Professor Andrea DiOrio
Saxophone: Professor Matthew Beck
Trumpet: Professor Christopher O’Hara French Horn: Professor Emma Sepmeier
Trombone: Professor Thomas Stark Euphonium/Tuba: Professor Josh Wirt
Percussion: Professor Bob Rummage
Elmhurst University Concert Band Staff
Director of Bands/Wind Ensemble
Dr. Adam Kehl
Director of Symphonic Band
Dr. James Hile
Director of Varsity Band
Mr. Eric Morong
Band Managers: Claudia Rejowski, Ethan Soltys
Band Staff: Leo Rodriguez, Evan Auriemma, Disha Virdi, Lissette Hernandez, Hannah Hadraba, Charlie Rossi, Karabeth Footman
Program and Poster Design: Sabina Fijor
Recording: Mr. John Towner and Student Recording Service
Upcoming Elmhurst University Bands Events
Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band Winter Concert
March 16, 2025 – 2:00pm in Hammerschmidt Chapel
featuring the premiere of: “桃太郎 (Momotaro)” for band and digital animation from composer Tyler Ono, with digital animation by Jewel Racasa
Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band Spring Concert
May 4, 2025 – 2:00pm in Hammerschmidt Chapel
featuring Gunnery Sargeant Dr. David Constantine, Timpanist from the US “President’s Own” Marine Band
We hope to see you again at an upcoming Elmhurst University Bands Event!
Stay Connected!
Elmhurst University Bands: facebook.com/ElmhurstBands @elmhurst.bands
Elmhurst University Music Department: facebook.com/MusicElmhurst @elmhurstuniversitymusic
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