THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Music presents
University Wind Ensemble
David Plack, Director
Ashley Deane & Jason Freeman, Graduate Associate Conductors
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
7:30 p.m. | Ruby Diamond Concert Hall
PROGRAM
Danse Diabolique
Solitary Dancer
Yiddish Dances
Jason Freeman, graduate associate conductor
INTERMISSION
Joseph Hellmesberger Jr. (1855–1907)
tr. Tohru Takahashi
Warren Benson (1924–2005)
Adam Gorb
I. Khosidl (b. 1958)
II. Terkishe
III. Doina
IV. Hora
V. Freylachs
Timba Giovanni Santos (b. 1980)
Ashley Deane, graduate associate conductor
Metropolis Symphony for Symphonic Band
Michael Daugherty
V. Red Cape Tango (b. 1954) tr. Mark Spede
Dancing Fire
Kevin Day (b. 1996)
To Ensure An Enjoyable Concert Experience For All…
Please refrain from talking, entering, or exiting during performances. Food and drink are prohibited in all concert halls. Recording or broadcasting of the concert by any means, including the use of digital cameras, cell phones, or other devices is expressly forbidden. Please deactivate all portable electronic devices including watches, cell phones, pagers, hand-held gaming devices or other electronic equipment that may distract the audience or performers.
Recording Notice: This performance may be recorded. Please note that members of the audience may at times be included in this process. By attending this performance you consent to have your image or likeness appear in any live or recorded video or other transmission or reproduction made in conjunction to the performance.
Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at (850) 644-3424 at least five working days prior to a musical event to request accommodation for disability or alternative program format.
Hellmesberger: Danse Diabolique
Joseph Hellmesberger (1855 – 1907) Viennese composer, was born into a musical family. His grandfather was the first concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic, and his father composed literature and was a famous violinist. Following their footsteps Hellmesberger also specialized in violin and later became the music director of the Vienna Philharmonic. He is most known for his light compositions, particularly operettas.
Danse Diabolique – this energetic piece originally composed for orchestra, uses the Phrygian mode to create the dark color necessary to convey the meaning of diabolic; dark or evil. The melodic material is introduced by the upper reeds to begin the piece. This material remains consistent throughout with a brief interjection of a waltz.
Benson: The Solitary Dancer
Warren Benson (1924 – 2005) taught percussion and composition most notably at Eastman School of Music and Ithaca College. Other major contributed by Benson to wind band literature include: The Leaves Are Falling (1964), The Passing Bell (1974) and Symphony II-Lost Songs (1983). Alongside band compositions he had a love for poetry. As a result, Benson composed literature for vocal, frequently accompanied by a wind instrument or ensemble.
The Solitary Dancer deals with quiet, poised energy that one may observe in a dancer in repose, alone with her inner music. Although melodic material and dynamic contrast is minimal, the constant changing of colors throughout creates a building excitement that never reaches an expected volume.
Gorb: Yiddish Dances
Adam Gorb (b. 12 March 1958, Cardiff, Wales) is a British composer and educator. He began composing at the young age of 10 years old. In 1977 he began studying at Cambridge University. He began working as a theatre musician and composer in 1980 after graduating. In 1991 he began studying at the Royal Academy of Music, where he graduated with highest honors in his masters of music program. He received his Ph.D. in composition from the University of Birmingham before going on to teach at universities in the United States, Canada, Japan and many European countries.
Dr. Gorb has composed for many different ensembles including orchestra, small ensemble, chamber ensemble, and choir. His compositions have been performed across the world. Gorb currently serves as the Head of School of Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.
Yiddish Dances was commissioned by Timothy Reynish in honor of his 60th birthday. It incorporates the klezmer style of music, which is the folk music of those who speak Yiddish. This piece aims recreate the joy and celebration of a party in each movement. There are five movements in total and each is based on a klezmer dance. The first movement, Khosidl, is a dance where the music emulates both satire and sentimentality. The second movement’s dance , Terkishe, is a lively Jewish tango. The mood shifts in the third movement, Doina, becoming more free flowing while allowing various solo instruments to show off. The tempo slows down with the fourth movement, Hora, which
is characterized by a gentle rocking rhythm. Freylachs, the fifth movement, brings the piece to a lively finish. The composer describes this movement as “ending in a riotous ‘booze-up’ for all concerned. Le Chaim! - to Life!”
Santos: Timba by Giovanni
Giovanni Santos (b. September 27, 1980) is the Director of Wind and Percussion Studies at La Sierra University. He directs the University Wind Ensemble, Chamber Winds, Big Band, and teaches courses in graduate and undergraduate instrumental music education, popular music, conducting and composition. Dr. Santos has proudly implemented a yearly wind band conducting workshop at La Sierra University and has worked alongside H. Robert Reynolds, Thomas Lee, Travis Cross and Allan McMurray, helping some of the brightest young music educators in the United States. As a composer, Dr. Santos has premiered his works across the United States, Asia and Europe, Dr. Santos earned graduate degrees from the University of Southern California (MM in Music Education-trumpet studies) and Florida State University (Ph.D. Music Education/Instrumental Conducting). Dr. Santos is inspired by his family. His wife Tanya, is an elementary teacher in Perris, CA. Tanya and Giovanni are proud parents of Gianna and David.
Timba was commissioned by Dr. Phillip Obado and the Allen High School Wind Ensemble of Allen, Texas. It was premiered in December of 2022 at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Santos writes the following about his piece:
“The music of Cuba is diverse, electric, transformative, soulful, elegant, and energetic. Highly influenced by its African and European roots, Cuban music celebrates the soul and ingenuity of a nation. Timba sets to celebrate the rich musical traditions of Cuba, starting and ending in the Bembé Style. The work also celebrates the Cuban timba, a genre of music rooting from the son and salsa. Music unites us, it elevates us. Music liberates us!”
Daugherty: Red Cape Tango
Michael Daugherty (b. 1954) is the son of a dance-band drummer, and the eldest of five brothers, who are also professional musicians. His studies included degrees from the University of North Texas, the Manhattan School of Music, Boulez’s Institute of Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM), and Yale University. Daugherty taught composition at Oberlin Conservatory of Music before accepting the same position at the University of Michigan.
Red Cape Tango is the fifth movement of Metropolis Symphony. Metropolis Symphony was inspired by the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Superman’s first appearance in comics. The fifth movement was composed after Superman’s fight to the death with Doomsday. The main melody, borrowed from the medieval Latin death chant Dies irae, is introduced by the bassoon. Soon after the tango rhythm is then introduced by the castanets, later played by the finger cymbals. The use of contrasting legato and staccato sections in the wind section suggest a musical bullfight.
Day: Dancing Fire
Kevin Day (b. 1996, Charleston, West Virgina) is a composer, conductor, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Arlington, Texas. He received his bachelors degree in euphonium/tuba performance from Texas Christian University. While there he studied composition with Dr. Neil Anderson-Himmelspach and Till MacIvor Meyn. He went on to attend the University of Georgia, where he received his Master of Music in Composition studying with composers Peter Van Zandt Lane and Emily Koh as well as conductor Cynthia Johnston Turner. In the fall of 2021 Day began pursing his DMA in Composition at the University of Miami. He is an alumnus of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America. He also currently serves as the Assistant Professor of Composition and Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Dancing Fire was dedicated to Day’s alma mater band program at Arlington High School, and his former band directors, Michael Hejny, Nathan Burum, and Nathan Hervey. Dancing Fire was inspired by the fond memories the composer has of his time in high school band, specifically of the excitement felt and created during performances. The composer writes about his piece,
“The picture I had in my head before I began writing was a group of people surrounding a large bonfire during the night. These people began dancing around the fire, having fun, singing songs, and ultimately, celebrating life.
Once I had that picture in my head, along with the constant repeating motif that eventually became the melody for the entire piece, the rest of the work fit together nicely, and in two weeks it was done. The composition brings this mental picture I had to life in a fun and energetic way with dance-like percussion and a constant groove, as well as its contagious melody, a mysterious soprano sax solo, and a climactic ending.”
Piccolo
Paige Douglas
Flute
Cameron McGill
Moriah Emrich
Talley Powell
Kylie Boschen
Oboe
SarahWard
Anisa Herbert
Loanne Masson
Bassoon
Timothy Schwindt
Zach Martin
Contrabassoon
Zach Martin
University Wind Ensemble Personnel
David Plack, Director
Ashley Deane and Jason Freeman, Graduate Associate Conductors
E-flat Clarinet
Jalen Smalls
Clarinet
Sadie Murray
Jariel Santiago
Reymon Contrera
Joshua Collins
Ethan Burke
Anna Urbine
Bass Clarinet
Evan Jewsbury
Contrabass Clarinet
Ethan Burke
Saxophone
Ethan Horn, alto
Kaeden Parks, alto
Riley Nauman, alto
Tyler Welch, tenor
Jack Blumer, baritone
Trumpet
Bob Kerr
CarlosManuel Aceves
Easton Barham
Danielle Monahan
Brian Ratledge
Israel Martinez
Horn
Luis Oquendo
AC Caruthers
Rita Cesare-DeGroat
Allison Kirkpatrick
Isaac Roman
Trombone
Taylor Haworth
Connor McDonald
Kevin Li
Euphonium
Luke Heinrich
Connor Stross
Tuba
Levi Vickers
Daniel Sullivan
Sebastian Bravo
Percussion
Gus Barreda
Will Howald
Jordan Brown
Landon Holladay
Will Vasquez
Justin Ball
Chris Baird
Piano
Grace Smith
String Bass
Christian Maldonado