THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Music presents
University Concert Band
Chandler L. Wilson, Conductor
Andy Dubbert and Michael Tignor, Graduate Associate Conductors with Steven Kelly, Guest Conductor and
University Symphonic Band
David Plack, Conductor
Brad Sparks and Ashley Deane, Graduate Associate Conductors
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
7:30 p.m. | Ruby Diamond Concert Hall
Moorside Suite (1960)
University Concert Band
Gustav Holst
III. March (1874–1934)
Music for a Festival (1951)
Gordon Jacob
II. Overture (1895–1984)
Courtly Airs and Dances (1995)
Andy Dubbert, Graduate Associate Conductor
Ron Nelson
IV. Saltarello (Italy) (1929–2023)
V. Sarabande (Spain)
VI. Allemande (Germany)
Symphony No. 1 (2007)
Steven Kelly, Guest Conductor
Steven Reineke
IV. New Day Rising (b. 1970)
Armenian Dances, Part II (1978)
Michael Tignor, Graduate Associate Conductor
Alfred Reed
III. Lorva Horovel (Songs from Lori) (1921–2005)
INTERMISSION
University Symphonic Band
Jubilee Overture (1983)
A Mother of a Revolution! (2019)
Ashley Deane, Graduate Associate Conductor
Joyride (2003)
Desert Sage (2022)
Brad Sparks, Graduate Associate Conductor
Philip Sparke (b. 1951)
Omar Thomas (b. 1982)
Andrew Boysen, Jr. (b. 1968)
Michael Markowski
I. A Cowboy’s Life (b. 1986)
II. Goodbye, Old Paint
III. Bury Me Not
IV. Rye Whiskey
Aspen Jubilee (1988)
Soprano Soloists
Ron Nelson (In Memoriam) (1929–2023)
Erica J. Dowling, Jennifer Perez-Aguilar, Anne Elise Teeling, Caitlin Ecuyer, and Michaela Stiles
ABOUT THE GUEST CONDUCTOR
Steve Kelly is a Professor of Music Education in the College of Music at Florida State University. He received bachelor and master degrees in music from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the Ph.D. in music education from the University of Kansas. At FSU, Kelly teaches undergraduate and graduate music education classes, and coordinates in the music education internship program. Kelly is also the Director of the FSU Summer Music Camps. Prior to his appointment at FSU, Kelly taught in the Virginia public schools and on the faculties at Brevard College (NC) and the University of Nebraska – Omaha. He is an active clinician, adjudicator, consultant, and guest conductor across the United States. His teaching and research interests include sociological issues in music education, teacher education, and effective teacher characteristics.
Kelly has published and presented papers in international and national journals, and at state, regional, national, and international conferences. He is the author of the book Teaching Music in American Society: A Social and Cultural Understanding of Music Education, and has served on the review boards for the Journal of Research in Music Education, Research Perspectives in Music Education, the Journal of Band Research, and the Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Education. Kelly is currently a member of the executive board for the Society for Research in Music Education and is co-chair of the national NAfME Collegiate Advisory Council. Kelly is also a Past-President of the Florida Music Education Association.
Kelly has been recognized as the College Music Educator of the year by the Florida Music Education Association and has also been a recipient of the FSU University Undergraduate Teaching Award, the FSU College of Music Service Award, and the Community Music Service Award by Florida A & M University.
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
Holst: Moorside Suite
Gustav Holst (1874-1934) is a well-known English composer whose works played a considerable role the evolution of the traditional concert band. While attending school at The Royal College of Music in London, he became close friends with fellow composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, a friendship that lasted a lifetime. An important milestone along his musical career was his employment at the St. Pauls Girls’ School in Hammersmith London. During this time he composed several loved works for band including the First Suite in E-flat and Second Suite in F. Although Holst composed a multitude of works for many settings, many of his orchestral works have been transcribed for band, which highlights his contributions to wind band literature.
The March is the third movement of A Moorside Suite (1928). Another work having been arranged from its original setting (brass band) to fit the wind band; Holst intended such a arrangement to take place as he had started one himself. Later, Gordon Jacob continued this effort as the created a transcription for orchestra, and an arrangement for wind band. The work opens with a fanfare of staggering entrances, then settles into a subtle melody introduces by the saxophone. A trio with a key change and continue in traditional march fashion, the main theme returns and the work concludes with a chorale-like variation of previously stated themes.
Jacob: Music for a Festival
Gordon Jacob (1895-1984) is a native to England who studied conducting, theory, and composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He started his education following his release from being a prison of war in WWI where he studied with Charles Villiers Stanford, Adrian Boult and Ralph Vaughan-Williams. Following his graduation, he
served several appointments in higher education including teaching at his alma mater, the Royal Conservatory of Music where he stayed until his retirement. By his passing, Jacob had written over 700 works, many of which were composed for the wind band setting.
Music for a Festival is composed in five movements and highlights alternating movements with a brass choir. The fifth movement of the work features the combination of the full ensemble with the brass choir. The overture provides an energetic tempo, a memorable melody, and plenty of call and response between the woodwind and brass families. Composed in three sections, the main theme is immediately established by the full ensemble with three unison quarter notes. The second theme contrasts in stylistic articulation where a sostenuto style followed by a syncopated melody in the woodwinds all while maintaining the original tempo. The overture concludes with the return of the main theme in a new key, and ends just as it begun, in unison.
Nelson: Courtly Airs and Dances
Ron Nelson (1929-2023) has been categorized as the quintessential American composer. His career intertwines with a period in history where there was a strong desire for quality compositions for wind band. Nelson is the first composer to win the National Band Association Prize, the American Bandmasters Association Ostwald Award, and the Sudler International Prize (the three major composition awards) in the same year for his piece, Passacaglia (Homage to B-A-C-H). Conductor Leonard Slatkin says that Nelson has “the ability to move between conservative and new styles with ease. The fact that he’s hard to categorize is what makes him interesting.”
Courtly Airs and Dances (1995) is a suite of Renassaince dances which were characteristic to five European countries during the 1500s. The three movements being performed today come from the countries Italy, Spain, and Germany. The work was commissioned by the Hill Coutry Middle School Band in Austin, Texas.
Reineke: Symphony No. 1
Steven Reineke (b. 1970) is an American composer and conductor. He served as the Principal Arranger/Composer of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra for 15 years. Reineke has composed over 20 works for concert band. His works have been called, “Melodious and joyous,” by the Cincinnati Enquirer. He now serves as the music director for the New York Pops and Principal Pops Conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra and Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
New Day Rising (2007) is the fourth and final movement of Reineke’s Symphony No. 1. The full work was written to commemorate the centennial of the great 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. The final movement depicts the rebuilding of shattered lives and restoring civilization. On the Sunday following the earthquake, a minister gathered his flock for an impromptu church service in Golden Gate Park. They repeated, “Other refuge I have none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee; leave, oh leave me not along, still support and comfort me.” The work ends quietly with an unresolved chord signifying the danger that still lurks within the earth.
Reed: Armenian Dances
Alfred Reed (1921-2005) was an American composer, educator, arranger, and conductor. He served as a musician and arranger during World War II with the 529th Army Air Force Band, during which time he created over 100 works. Later, he spent time as the staff composer and arranger for NBC and ABC. Reed was interested in the problems of educational music, especially the development of repertoire for school bands, choirs, and orchestras. This led to accepting the position of editor at Hansen Publishing in 1955. In total, Reed published over 250 works for bands, choirs, orchestras and chamber ensembles that have been performed worldwide.
Armenian Dances, Part II (1978) comprises the final three movements of the entire Armenian Dances suite. The pieces were developed from the Armenian folk song collections of Gomidas Vertabed. Lorva Horovel (Songs of Lori) is a plowing song from the district of Lori. The varied rhythmic and melodic structure reflect the physical and spiritual feelings of the farmer as he proceeds with his work. The work was commissioned by the A.G.B.U. Alex Manoogian Cultural Fund and dedicated to Dr. Harry Begian.
Sparke: Jubilee Overture
Phillip Sparke was born in 1951 in London, England. He studied composition, trumpet, and piano at the Royal College of Music before beginning his career as a composer and conductor. His works have been performed in many places by a variety of ensembles including the world renowned Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and U.S. Airforce Band. He has been commissioned for works by the Centennial Brass Band Championships in New Zealand, and his works have won many prestigious awards such as the Sudler Prize and the NBA Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest.
Sparke’s Jubilee Overture is a joyous and uplifting work that embodies the spirit of celebration and festivity. Written in celebration of the GUS Brass Band’s 50th anniversary, this overture radiates with exuberance and joy from its opening notes to its triumphant conclusion. As the music unfolds, it evokes images of grand celebrations and joyous gatherings, inspiring a sense of camaraderie and shared festivity among performers and audience alike. With its infectious rhythms and memorable melodies, Jubilee Overture serves as a fitting soundtrack for moments of collective joy and revelry, encouraging all to join in the festivities and embrace the spirit of jubilation.
Thomas: A Mother of a Revolution
Omar Thomas was born in 1984 to Guyanese parents in Brooklyn, New York. Thomas moved to Boston in 2006 to pursue a Master of Music in Jazz Composition at the New England Conservatory of Music after studying Music Education at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He is now a Yamaha Master Educator, and his music has been performed in concerts all around the world. He has been commissioned by a variety of diverse ensembles such as the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble, both the San Francisco and Boston Gay Mens’ Choruses, The United States Marine Band, the Showa Wind Symphony, and many other in addition to a number of the country’s top collegiate music ensembles.
Thomas writes in the score about his piece:
This piece is a celebration of the bravery of trans women, and in particular, Marsha “Pay It No Mind” Johnson. Marsha is credited with being one of the instigators of the famous Stonewall uprising of June 28,1969 – one of the pivotal events of the LGBTQ liberation movement of the 20th century – which is commemorated annually during the worldwide Gay Pride celebrations. Existing as a trans woman, especially a trans woman of color, and daring to live authentically, creating space for oneself in a transphobic world is one of the bravest acts I can imagine. Over 20 trans women were murdered in the United States in 2018 alone. There is no demographic more deserving, and frankly, long overdue for highlighted heroism and bravery. The disco vibe in the latter half of the piece is meant to honor club culture, a sacred space held amongst LGBTQ persons in which to love, live, mourn, heal, strategize, connect, disconnect, and dance in defiance of those outside forces who would seek to do LGBTQ persons harm simply for daring to exist and take up space.
We pump our fists to honor the life, heroism, activism, and bravery of Marsha P. Johnson, to honor the legacy of the Stonewall revolution, to honor the memory of the trans lives violently ended due to fear and hatred, and in honor of trans women worldwide who continue to exist unapologetically and who demand to be seen.
Boysen: Joyride
Born and raised in Iowa City, Iowa, Andrew Boysen, Jr. is a prolific music educator and composer. Boysen currently teaches conducting and conducts the wind symphony at the University of New Hampshire. Boysen began writing and arranging for wind band at a young age while attending the University of Iowa for his bachelor’s degree and has published over 60 works for wind band currently available through various publishers. Boysen’s compositions have earned him many awards and honors including first prize in the International Horn Society’s composition contest in 2000 as well as winning the Claude T. Smith Memorial Composition Contest twice before turning 25.
An original work inspired by the compositional style of John Adams, Andrew Boysen Jr.’s Joyride is a post-minimalistic trip through time and harmony. Using process-driven compositional techniques, this piece is built around the pitches C, F, and G. Just as each section of the piece feels like it’s settling into a mode, harmonic scheme, and meter, Boysen builds the texture, and through metric modulation shifts into the next idea. Joyride was commissioned in 2003 by the North Jersey Music Association for the North Jersey Region I Concert Band Festival.
Markowski: Desert Sage
One of the most popular living composers for wind band, Michael Markowski is a hit with his energetic and often excitingly programmatic compositions. Born in Mesa, Arizona, Markowski initially studied film at Arizona State University. Although his study of orchestration and composition was largely extracurricular, Markowski has found his place in the wind band canon with works like Instinctive Travels, Shadow Rituals, and his own Adams-inspired work entitled JoyRiDE.
For Desert Sage, Markowski was inspired by the use of folk melodies in the works of other composers. Being from the Southwest United States, cowboy songs presented an opportunity to incorporate the folksongs of his own homeland into a composition for band. Made up of four movements–each using a particular song–Desert Sage transports the listener to the Wild West. Additionally, as with many of his compositions, Markowski offers a wealth of resources on his website including the original source material for these songs, historical context, as well as technical and interpretive aids.
Nelson: Aspen Jubilee
Ron Nelson has been a household name in the wind band repertoire for nearly half a century. After receiving three degrees from the Eastman School of Music between 1952 and 1956, Nelson went on to study in Paris before returning to the United States to join the composition faculty at Brown University where he taught until he retired in 1993. Nelson continued writing for the next three decades, giving us works like Courtly Airs and Dances and Sonoran Desert Holiday in 1995 as well as adding to and updating many of his existing works well into the 2000s. At every point in his career, the wind band repertoire received classic works from this unforgettable composer. Ron Nelson passed away in December 2023 at the age of 94.
Aspen Jubilee is one of Nelson’s many programmatic works which evokes the spirit of a particular place, in this case Aspen, Colorado. Nelson spent many summers at the Aspen Music Festival, noting that each time he went it became “more expensive and sophisticated,” but enjoying the music making that happened there anyway. The rising lines in this piece’s thematic material embodies the rising slopes of the Rocky Mountains in which Aspen is nestled. One unique aspect of Aspen Jubilee in the wind band repertoire is its use of a soprano vocalist which can be heard soaring above the band in the middle section of the piece entitled Nightsong.
University Concert Band Personnel
Chandler L. Wilson, Conductor
Andy Dubbert and Michael Tignor, Graduate Associate Conductors
Piccolo
Kayla Crider
Flute
Javier Rivera*
Taylor LaPage
Marina Whitsell
Sofia Velez-Santiago
Addison Peltier
Celeste Galvez
Oboe
Alejandro Lopez
Megan Halter
Bassoon
Dakota Jeter
B-flat Clarinet
Abigail Varnadoe
Madeline Mondok
Ryan Brabham
Claire Huggins
Victoria Hamilton
Shane Smith
Bass Clarinet
Katelyn Smith
Alto Saxophone
Brody Stump
Riley Nauman
Arwyn Hill
Brianne Yates
Josie Liederman
Tenor Saxophone
Olivia Turke
Jamari Spears-Screen
Baritone Saxophone
Erin Kane
Trumpet
Kai Okamoto*
Kye Turner
Katherine Hatfield
Edwin Cintron
Josh Briley
Horn
Sophia Fernandez*
Christina Park*
Maya Robertson
Ariana Seguinot
Eliana Gold
Madz Kyncl
Trombone
Micah Hreczkosij
Sam Cote
Calvin Fein
Greg Lambert
Jane Cohen
Austin Boudi
Bass Trombone
Sam Mercier
Grace Smith
Euphonium
Maggie Shaffer*
Lee Anderson
Marissa Hutchins
Yasha Foster
Karina Benton
Charlie Brust
Katherine Nepute
Tuba
Braden Meyer*
Alden Cruz
Sam Williams
Allie Nutting
Collier McBride
Andrew Mechling
Parker Iliff
String Bass
Kent Rivera
Percussion
Darci Wright
Austin Pelella
Ryan Boehme
Will Vasquez
Jake Fenhoff
Miranda Hughes
*Principal
University Symphonic Band Personnel
David Plack, Conductor
Brad Sparks and Ashley Deane, Graduate Associate Conductors
Piccolo
Carissa Kettering
Flute
Willa Gutowski
Allie Mattice
Mary Moshos*
Alexia Smith
Kendall Smith
Anna Todd
Oboe
Julia Heard
Maddy Jenkins
Jordan Miller*
English Horn
Julia Heard
Bassoon
Lyx Abshire
Lalo Ambris
Hunter Fisher*
Clarinet
Daniel Burrow*
Jolene Hempfing
Elizabeth Kennedy
Evan Jewsbury
Luke Montgomery
Halle Mynard
Eric Olmstead
Ava Raposo
Ryan Tone
Marie Yonts
Bass Clarinet
Alexei Kovalev*
Contrabass Clarinet
Ryan Tone
Alto Saxophone
Luis Angel
Gabriel Ortiz
Danny Sgattoni
Ash Stewart*
Tenor Saxophone
Parker Button
Baritone Saxophone
Casey Caulkins
Trumpet
Easton Barham*
John Bradley
Katherine Brinkman
Sharavan Duvvuri*
Henry Hobbs
Brian Ratledge
Horn
Brandon Bourdeau*
Ashlie Green*
Bea Kelly
Anna Leach
Braden Tan
Andrew Whitlach
Trombone
Mateo Buitrago*
Connor Casey
Sarah Castillo
Ethan Colón
Landon Ellenberg
Connor Stross
Bass Trombone
Kevin Li*
Connor McDonald
Euphonium
Michael Chou
Elizabeth Reese*
Kris Stottlemire
Tuba
Thomas Ambrose
Noah Bryant*
Xavier Gauthier
Connor Kelley
Double Bass
Emma Waidner
Piano
Bryden Reeves
Percussion
John Baker Jr.**
Jordan Brown**
Jacob Dell**
Chance Douglas
Ian Guarraia**
Drew Jungslager*
Caitlin Magennis
Will McCoy
Bryden Reeves
Mackenzie Selimi**
Jessica Weinberg**
*Principal **Substitute
