Fall Band Concert “Re(new)al” Friday I November 5, 2021 Faye Spanos Concert Hall
I 7:30 pm
University Concert Band and Symphonic Wind Ensemble Featuring Viet Cuong, Composer-in-Residence Orphic Percussion Vu Nguyen, conductor Robert D. Brown, graduate assistant
12th Performance I 2021–22 Academic Year I Conservatory of Music I University of the Pacific
CONCERT PROGRAM I OCTOBER 6, 2021 I 7:30 PM University Concert Band Flourish for Wind Band (1939)
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958)
Robert D. Brown, conductor
Danza la Habana (2020)
Ruth Brittin (b. 1961)
Diamond Tide (2005)
Viet Cuong
Moderato
(b. 1990)
Allegro
Melodious Thunk (2012)
David Biedenbender (b. 1984)
Intermission
CONCERT PROGRAM I NOVEMBER 5, 2021 I 7:30 PM Symphonic Wind Ensemble Lion’s Gate (2021)
Noah Granard (b. 1999)
World Premiere
Musica Ignota (2020)
Ingrid Stölzel (b. 1971) Consortium Premiere
A Mother of a Revolution! (2019)
Omar Thomas (b. 1984)
Re(new)al (2017/2021)
Viet Cuong
Hydro Wind Solar Orphic Percussion Sean Clark, Michael Downing, Stuart Langsam, Jonathan Latta
University Concert Band (Performers are Listed Alphabetically) Flute Ashley Bonfoey Grace Coon Logan Feece Autumn Hill Lauren Kashiwabara Victoria Wang Clarinet Glenna Boggs Kyle Chang Rachel Dolan Rosie Fox Gerardo Lopez Emily McGann Sungeun Park Julia Spowart Bassoon Krys Checo Justin Silva Simon Vasquez Saxophone Marc Anderson Tristan McMichael Ryan Porter Mason Weillie Kiko Yago Trumpet Ryan Abdelmalek Ainsley Berryhill Kevin Hee Julia Alejandra Murillo Emily Padilla
Horn Mary Denney Emily Fjelstrom Trombone Victor Alcaraz, Jr. Aparna Balaji Marco Galvan Paxton O’Bryan Euphonium Noah Antonio Keon MacKay Tuba Stephen Lambert Percussion Robert D. Brown, Jr. Huey Chan Ethan Chow Robert Huntington Mallory Norman Samantha Sanchez Jonathan Velez
Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Performers are Listed Alphabetically) Flute Kalea Bringas Phoenix Farris Jessica Jenkins Natalie Kowalski Marcus Loya
Trumpet Jack Chivers Noah Granard Andrew Marcopulos Cristina O’Brien Kylie Ward
Oboe Glenn Michael Adcock Jenna Bosnick Alelih Galvadores
Trombone Rebecca Growcott Matthew Miramontes Seth Neves
Clarinet Byron Ayala Edgard Gonzales Maggie Juarez Abigail Miller Marcus Romero Molly Westlake
Euphonium Brooke Farrar
Bassoon Ella Hebrard Dorian Jones Ealaph Tabbaa Jordan Wier Saxophone Arturo Garcia Theresa Huynh Michael De Lashmutt James Scott Horn Olivia Gideon Jada Ramos Reese Romero Skylar Warren
Tuba Domenic Jimenez Percussion Robin Bisho Leonard Cox Daniel Harrison Jon Herbers Rayvn Stanford Emily Winsatt Double Bass Noah Gonzales Piano Leo Chang
PERFORMER AND CONDUCTOR BIOS Called “alluring” and “wildly inventive” by The New York Times, the “irresistible” (San Francisco Chronicle) music of American composer Viet Cuong (b. 1990) has been commissioned and performed on six continents by musicians and ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Eighth Blackbird, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Sō Percussion, Alarm Will Sound, Atlanta Symphony, Sandbox Percussion, Albany Symphony, PRISM Quartet, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and Dallas Winds, among many others. Viet’s music has been featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, National Gallery of Art, and Library of Congress, and his works for wind ensemble have amassed hundreds of performances worldwide, including at Midwest, WASBE, and CBDNA conferences. He was recently featured in The Washington Post‘s “21 for ’21: Composers and performers who sound like tomorrow.” In his music Viet enjoys exploring the unexpected and whimsical, and he is often drawn to projects where he can make peculiar combinations and sounds feel enchanting or oddly satisfying. His recent works thus include a percussion quartet concerto, tuba concerto, snare drum solo, and, most recently, a concerto for two oboes. This eclecticism extends to the range of musical groups he writes for, and he has worked with ensembles ranging from middle school bands to Grammy-winning orchestras and chamber groups. Viet is also passionate about bringing different facets of the contemporary music community together, and he will have opportunities to do so with an upcoming concerto for Eighth Blackbird with the United States Navy Band. He recently began his tenure as the California Symphony’s 2020-2023 Young American Composer-in-Residence, where he and the symphony will develop three new orchestral works together over three years. Viet is currently on the music theory and composition faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He holds degrees in music composition from the Curtis Institute of Music (Artist Diploma), Princeton University (MFA), and the Peabody Conservatory (BM/MM). His mentors include Jennifer Higdon, David Serkin Ludwig, Donnacha Dennehy, Steve Mackey, Dan Trueman, Dmitri Tymoczko, Kevin Puts, and Oscar Bettison. During his studies, he held the Daniel W. Dietrich II Composition Fellowship at Curtis, Naumburg and Roger Sessions Fellowships at Princeton, and Evergreen House Foundation scholarship at Peabody, where he was also awarded the Peabody Alumni Award (the Valedictorian honor) and Gustav Klemm Award. A scholarship student at the Aspen, Bowdoin, and Lake Champlain music festivals, Viet has been a fellow at the Orchestra of St. Luke’s DeGaetano Institute, Minnesota Orchestra Composers Institute, Mizzou International Composers Festival, Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab, Cabrillo Festival’s Young Composer Workshop, Cortona Sessions, and Copland House’s CULTIVATE workshop. Viet has held artist residencies at Copland House, Yaddo, Ucross, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and at Dumbarton Oaks, where he served as the 2020 Early-Career Musician-in-Residence. His music has been awarded the Barlow Endowment Commission, ASCAP Morton Gould Composers Award, Theodore Presser Foundation Award, Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composers Award, Cortona Prize, New York Youth Symphony First Music Commission, Boston GuitarFest Composition Prize, and Walter Beeler Memorial Prize.
PERFORMER AND CONDUCTOR BIOS American percussionist and educator, Sean Clark is known for his versatile skills in concert and marching percussion. A high-energy soloist and chamber musician, he has given clinics and performed across the United States and internationally. Whether it be teaching or playing, Sean aims to bridge the gap between classical and commercial music; making classical music more accessible to today’s contemporary audiences. A Marimba One Ensemble artist, Sean co-founded Orphic Percussion, and won multiple performance categories (duos, timpani, snare) of the 2017 and 2018 Percussive Arts Society (PAS) Northern California competition. He has performed professionally with numerous groups including the Fresno Community Chorus, Sequoia Symphony, and Orpheus New Music Ensemble. Outside of his concertizing, Sean is an up-and-coming marching percussion educator, arranger, designer, adjudicator, and clinician. In his six years with the Blue Devil Performing Arts organization, he won three DCI world championships (2014, 2015, 2017), one open class drum title (2012), and the Fred Sanford High Percussion Award (2015). More recently, he received the Blue Devil of the Year award and was hired as the percussion caption head for the Blue Devils “B” Drum & Bugle Corps (2018). Additionally, Sean has given multiple clinics throughout California and adjudicated at local marching art events. Sean graduated summa cum laude from CSU Fresno in 2018, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts with a focus in Instrumental Music Education. Sean was born and raised in Clovis, California and recently moved to Northern California to accept a Director of Percussion job at Saratoga High School. Michael Downing is a founding member and the Executive Director of Orphic Percussion. He is section percussionist with the Sacramento Philharmonic and the Stockton Symphony, and Visiting Lecturer of Percussion at University of the Pacific. Michael holds Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees from Fresno State and, as an active freelance musician, has performed with virtually every orchestra in Central California. Michael has been featured as a soloist with both the Phoenix Symphony and the Stockton Symphony performing Uzu and Muzu from Kakaruzu. The double percussion concerto written by Avner Dorman, was premiered by Michael and fellow percussionist Graham Thompson in 2012. Additionally, he has been featured as the vibraphone soloist for John Williams’ Escapades, and as a concerto soloist during a ten-day tour of Europe performing the exciting finale of Eric Ewazen’s Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra. Michael studied primarily with Jim Babor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Dr. Matthew Darling of Fresno State. While preparing for orchestral auditions, he has taken lessons with such notable percussionists as Tom Freer, Richard Weiner, Trey Wyatt, Michael Rosen, and Rick Kvistad.
PERFORMER AND CONDUCTOR BIOS Stuart Langsam is a multi-faceted percussionist and music educator from Southern California. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from San Jose State University, a Master of Music Degree from Oklahoma State University, and is currently studying towards the Doctorate of Musical Arts Degree at the University of Oklahoma. Mr. Langsam was a member of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic for eight seasons performing Classics, Pops, Ballet, and Youth concerts. While in living in the Midwest he also performed with the Kansas City Symphony, Tulsa Symphony, and Ft. Smith Symphony. Upon returning back to the Bay Area he has had the opportunity to play with a number of ensembles including the Santa Cruz Symphony, Stockton Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, and Symphony Silicon Valley. Mr. Langsam has also enjoyed playing and subbing for a variety of musical theaters including the world premiere of Ain’t too Proud-The Life and Times of The Temptations. His summers have included performances at the Mendocino Music Festival and the Carmel Bach Festival. An avid instructor in the marching percussion activity, he has composed and arranged music for both high schools and universities in California and Oklahoma. In 2011, he presented a marching percussion exhibition at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention with the Oklahoma State University Drumline. He has also presented clinics at the Oklahoma Music Educators Association and the PAS Oklahoma Day of Percussion. Mr. Langsam has been an Adjunct Professor of Percussion at Oklahoma State University and the University of Tulsa. He currently works with the SJSU Spartan Marching Band, Wilcox High School, and teaches privately at the Mid-Peninsula Music Academy and the Rhythm Academy of San Jose. Jonathan Latta has been at University of the Pacific since 2014 and has served in leadership roles in the Conservatory of Music, Office of the President, and Enrollment Management. During this time, he has maintained an active performing career as a percussionist having performed with the Stockton Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic, Stockton Concert Band, and the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra in Durango, CO. Prior to moving to California in 2014, Dr. Latta was Director of Percussion Studies for six years at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO teaching applied percussion, percussion ensemble, non-western music, orchestration, and jazz. He taught percussion at University of the Pacific from 20162017 while serving in his role as Assistant Dean. Prior to returning to school for his doctorate, Dr. Latta was a member of the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West. During his time with the band he performed in over 300 performances serving as percussion/timpani for the Concert Band, drumset for the Commanders Jazz Ensemble, marching percussion for the Ceremonial Band and drumset for the Golden West Dixie Ramblers. Performances included the 2003 Tournament of Roses Parade, the 2004 Sacramento Jazz Jubilee and the interment of former President Ronald W. Reagan. He has performed as a chamber musician in the Durango Chamber Music Festival, the Animas Music Festival, and at the Percussive Arts Society International Conference. In 2019, Dr. Latta performed at the prestigious Carnegie Hall as a soloist with the University of the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble.
PERFORMER AND CONDUCTOR BIOS Vu Nguyen is an Associate Professor of Music and the Director of Bands at University of the Pacific. He conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, and teaches courses in conducting and music education. Dr. Nguyen maintains an active schedule as a clinician and has served as guest conductor with the United States Air Force Bands of the Golden West and Mid-America, as well as regional and all-state honor bands throughout the country. Ensembles under his direction have been invited to perform at state and national conferences, most recently at the 2020 College Band Directors National Association Eastern Division Conference. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Dr. Nguyen holds degrees in conducting from the University of Washington and the University of Oregon, and a BM in music education from the University of the Pacific. Prior to his appointment at Pacific, he served as Director of Wind Ensembles and Conducting at the University of Connecticut. He began his career teaching in the public schools of San Ramon, CA. In addition to his academic career, Dr. Nguyen continues to serve as an officer in the Air National Guard (ANG) where he is the commander/conductor of the ANG Band of the West Coast, one of five such bands in the United States covering an eight-state area of responsibility. Robert D. Brown, Jr. is a music educator, performer, conductor, and composer who primarily works in the San Joaquin Valley of Northern California. He currently teaches in the Stockton Unified School District while concurrently pursuing his Master of Music in Music Education at the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music. Robert is an ardent supporter of equal and uninterrupted access to music and arts education for all students, and he brings that strong belief to his current position as well as his previous teaching positions in the Jefferson, Liberty Union, and Lodi Unified school districts. He is also dedicated to working with community organizations to enrich musical experiences for Stockton’s underserved music lovers. An alumnus of the Conservatory, Robert graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and a California State Teaching Credential, and he won the 2016 University of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra’s Concerto Soloist Competition.
Program Notes Flourish for Wind Band
Ralph Vaughan Williams was widely acknowledged as one of Britain’s leading composers after the death of Sir Edward Elgar in 1934, and he was a leader of the twentieth-century English national school. From 1938 until his death, his time was devoted to composition, church music, music for amateur use, and folk song research and publication. Vaughan Williams composed Flourish for Wind Band was premiered at London’s Royal Albert Hall on April 1, 1939 as an overture to the pageant Music and the People. Amid the political turmoil leading to World War II, the pageant’s three concerts were designed to demonstrate how music could unite the people of Britain, regardless of class, in their common humanity. The score to Flourish was lost after the pageant; tonight’s performance marks the 50th anniversary of its rediscovery in 1971. The piece’s central section features rich woodwind-dominated harmonies, which are framed by the echoing brass fanfares that opened both the 1939 pageant and tonight’s concert.
Danza la Habana
Ruth Brittin is Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at University of the Pacific, where she has led the graduate and undergraduate program since 1997. Dr. Brittin has served as editor of the International Journal of Music Education and Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, as well as serving on the editorial board of Journal of Research in Music Education and reviewing research for numerous national and international journals such as Psychology of Music, Research Studies in Music Education, Journal of Band Research, and College Music Symposium. She is an active researcher, with interests in instrumental and general music. She serves California as representative for CMEA’s higher education and research division. She has served as keynote or featured speaker at conferences such as Texas Music Educators Association and Ohio Music Educators Association, and has been Distinguished Professor at universities such as University of Alabama, Pennsylvania State University, Louisiana State University, and University of North Texas. Dr. Brittin is also an active performer on French horn, conducts and clinics instrumental ensembles, and publishes her band and orchestra pieces through Excelcia Music. The composer writes: Danza la Habana came from traveling to Cuba in 2017 to learn about its people and rich musical traditions. Somewhere between Havana and Varadero, I heard a Latin combo playing. A melodic fragment, an outline of the tonic and dominant chords, caught my imagination. I was so intrigued by Cuba’s history, I delved into learning more! This piece evokes a Habanera, which evolved during the 1700s and 1800s when the European contredanse blended with African rhythms, as people from different continents came to Cuba. The Habanera, a slow, duple dance, was typically performed with a small ensemble that included violins, a clarinet, cornet, and a trombone, among other instruments. It incorporates the African syncopated crossrhythm (the tresillo). The Habanera (dance of Havana) became a popular symbol of Cuba in operas and other musical works composed across the world, and its rhythm made its way into early ragtime, blues, and jazz in the USA. It led to styles such as danzon, mambo, and cha-cha-cha, and was very popular in Cuba until the early 20th century, as new styles such as son and then salsa evolved. Now the Habanera (or Habanero if presented by a man) is considered folkloric music that captures part of Cuba’s history.
Program Notes Diamond Tide A 2010 article published in Nature Physics details an experiment in which scientists were able to successfully melt a diamond and, for the first time, measure the temperature and pressure necessary to do so. When diamonds are heated to very high temperatures, they don’t melt; they simply turn into graphite, which then melts (and the thought of liquid graphite isn’t nearly as appealing or beautiful as liquid diamond.) Therefore, the addition of extremely high pressure—40 million times the pressure we feel on Earth at sea level—is crucial to melt a diamond. The extreme temperature and pressure used in this experiment are found on Neptune and Uranus, and scientists therefore believe that seas of liquid diamond are possible on these two planets. Oceans of diamond may also account for these planets’ peculiar magnetic and geographic poles, which do not line up like they do here on Earth. Lastly, as the scientists were melting the diamonds, they saw floating shards of solid diamond forming in the pools—just like icebergs in our oceans. Imagine: distant planets with oceans of liquid diamond filled with bergs of sparkling solid diamonds drifting in the tide… These theories are obviously all conjecture, but this alluring imagery provided heaps of inspiration for Diamond Tide, which utilizes the “melting” sounds of metallic water percussion and trombone glissandi throughout. - Viet Cuong Melodious Thunk David Biedenbender (b. 1984, Waukesha, Wisconsin) is a composer, conductor, performer, educator, and interdisciplinary collaborator. He has written music for the concert stage as well as for dance and multimedia collaborations, and his work is often influenced by his diverse musical experiences in rock and jazz bands as an electric bassist, in wind, jazz, and New Orleans-style brass bands as a euphonium, bass trombone, and tuba player, and by his study of Indian Carnatic music. His creative interests include working with everyone from classically trained musicians to improvisers, acoustic chamber music to large ensembles, and interactive electronic interfaces to live brain data. David has collaborated with many renowned performers and ensembles, and his music has been heard in many diverse venues, including Carnegie Hall, Gaudeamus Muziekweek/TivoliVredenberg (Netherlands), Symphony Space (New York City), the Smithsonian Museum, the German Embassy (Washington, DC), the Antonín Dvořák Museum (Prague), the Old First Church (San Francisco), Harris Hall (Aspen Music Festival), the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Hill Auditorium (Ann Arbor, MI), as well as at numerous universities and conservatories, and it has been broadcast on NPR stations around the country, including on WNYC’s Soundcheck with John Schaefer and on Center Stage from Wolf Trap. In addition to composing, David is a dedicated teacher. He is Associate Professor of Composition in the College of Music at Michigan State University. His composition students have achieved regional and national recognition for their creative work, including numerous awards and acceptance into renowned summer music festivals and undergraduate and graduate composition programs.
Program Notes The composer writes: I don’t normally like to begin program notes with dictionary definitions—it feels pretty stuffy to me—but it seemed appropriate for this piece, so here goes… thunk [thuhngk] noun & verb 1. [n.] an abrupt, flat, hollow sound (example: The book landed on the floor with a thunk.); synonym: thud 2. [v.] to produce an abrupt, flat, hollow sound 3. [v.] colloquial past tense and past participle of think. Melodious Thunk was inspired by the famous jazz pianist Thelonious Monk. Monk’s wife, Nellie Smith, nicknamed him “Melodious Thunk” because of his clunky, awkward, and brilliant(!) piano playing, and his, somewhat scatterbrained and disoriented nature. I really liked the idea of playing around with Monk’s name—first, because I personally really enjoy goofing around with “spoonerisms” (silly, ridiculous, mixand-match letter games, which often happen by accident: for example, slip of the tongue becomes tip of the slung), and, second, because this nickname actually provided great musical inspiration. Melodious—well, that’s fairly obvious—and thunk (which is a great onomatopoeia!) became the starting points for the piece. Big, fat thunks are interspersed with pointy, clunky, bluesy blips, which are then transformed into a long, smooth, laid-back melody accompanied by a funky bass line. I haven’t consciously borrowed any specific tunes or licks from Monk, although I do use a small fragment of Dizzy Gillespie’s tune Salt Peanuts, but I hope you’ll hear some similarities between this piece and Monk’s iconic musical style and quirky attitude. Lion’s Gate An American composer whose music has been described as compelling, cinematic, and deeply imaginative by his peers and mentors, Noah Granard is an emerging composer in the world of new music. Born in San Francisco, California, Noah grew up near Los Angeles and later San Jose. He is currently pursuing his B.M. in Composition with a minor in Music Management from the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music and plans to continue his education with an M.M. in Composition. The composer writes: Lion’s Gate encompasses a flurry of emotion and energy. Emerging from humble beginnings and undergoing continual transformation, the piece is a journey and ultimately, a triumph. Written on the anxious cusp of returning to in-person music-making, I wanted to create something which could capture (and release) many of the feelings from the past year and a half. The highs, the lows — everything is important and meaningful when reflecting on this journey and looking forward to what’s ahead. The title (suggested by my mother, Terri) refers to an astrological event in which a positive force of energy and clarity come into perfect alignment.
Program Notes
Musica Ignota Composer Ingrid Stölzel has been described as having “a gift for melody” (San Francisco Classical Voice) and “evoking a sense of longing” that creates “a reflective and serene soundscape that makes you want to curl up on your windowsill to re-listen on a rainy day.” (I Care If You Listen) Stölzel’s compositions have been commissioned by leading soloists and ensembles, and performed in concert halls and festivals worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Kennedy Center, Seoul Arts Center, Thailand International Composition Festival, Festival Osmose (Belgium), Vox Feminae Festival (Israel), Dot the Line Festival (South Korea), Ritornello Chamber Music Festival (Canada), Festival of New Music at Florida State (USA), Beijing Modern Music Festival (China), Festival of New American Music (USA), and SoundOn Festival of Modern Music (USA). Her music has been recognized in numerous competitions, among them recently the Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composer’s Award, Red Note Composition Competition, the Robert Avalon International Competition for Composers, and the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra Competition. Recordings can be found on various commercial releases including her portrait album “The Gorgeous Nothings” which features her chamber and vocal chamber music. Stölzel teaches composition at the University of Kansas School of Music. Musica Ignota was commissioned by a consortium of ensembles, including University of the Pacific, led by Edwin Powell and Kaitlin Bove. The composer provides the following program notes: The famous Rhineland mystic, nun, healer and composer, Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) hardly needs an introduction. Recent popular and scholarly discoveries of her music as well as correspondences and writings on natural healing have made her famous to the public at large. Her extraordinary achievements, all the more astonishing considering the burden of being a woman in a medieval monastic world, have made her something of an international cult figure. My composition Musica Ignota draws inspiration from Hildegard’s music as well as her lesser-known invented language system entitled Lingua Ignota (Latin for “unknown language”). To write in this imaginary language, she used an alphabet of 23 letters and created a glossary of over 1000 beautiful, unknown words, presumably intended as a universal language for mystical purposes. The opening to the glossary in the Wiesbaden Riesencodex disarmingly states that Lingua Ignota is “an unknown language brought forward by the simple human being Hildegard (Ignota lingua per simplicem hominem Hildegardem prolata).” Having grown up in the Rhineland myself, I have long been fascinated by Hildegard von Bingen and it is my hope that the “unknown music” brought forth in my composition Musica Ignota, serves to honor her life and work.
Program Notes
A Mother of a Revolution! Born to Guyanese parents in Brooklyn, New York in 1984, Omar 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 the protégé of lauded composers and educators Ken Schaphorst and Frank Carlberg, and has studied under multiple Grammy-winning composer and bandleader Maria Schneider. It was while completing his Master of Music Degree that he was appointed the position of Assistant Professor of Harmony at Berklee College of Music at the surprisingly young age of 23. Following his Berklee tenure, he served on the faculty of the Music Theory department at The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Now a Yamaha Master Educator, he is currently an Assistant Professor of Composition and Jazz Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. Omar’s music has been performed in concert halls the world over. He has been commissioned to create works in both jazz and classical styles. His work has been performed by such diverse groups as the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble, the San Francisco and Boston Gay Mens’ Choruses, and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, in addition to a number of the country’s top collegiate music ensembles. The composer provides the following notes about A Mother of a Revolution!: 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.
Program Notes Re(new)al I have tremendous respect for renewable energy initiatives and the commitment to creating a new, better reality for us all. Re(new)al is a percussion quartet concerto that is similarly devoted to finding unexpected ways to breathe new life into traditional ideas, and the solo quartet therefore performs on several “found” instruments, including crystal glasses and compressed air cans. And while the piece also features more traditional instruments, such as snare drum and vibraphone, I looked for ways to either alter their sounds or find new ways to play them. For instance, a single snare drum is played by all four members of the quartet, and certain notes of the vibraphone are prepared with aluminum foil to recreate sounds found in electronic music. The entire piece was conceived in this way, and even the accompaniment was written these ideas in mind. Cooperation and synergy are also core themes of the piece, as I believe we all have to work together to move forward. All of the music played by the solo quartet is comprised of single musical ideas that are evenly distributed between the four soloists (for those interested, the fancy musical term for this is a hocket). The music would therefore be dysfunctional without the presence and dedication of all four members. For example, the quartet divvies up lightning-fast drum set beats in the second movement and then shares one glockenspiel in the last movement. But perhaps my favorite example of synergy in the piece is in the very opening, where the four soloists toast crystal glasses. We always toast glasses in the presence of others, and oftentimes to celebrate new beginnings. This is my simple way of celebrating everyone who is working together to create a cleaner, more efficient world. Re(new)al is constructed of three continuous movements, each inspired by the power of hydro, wind, and solar energies. The hydro movement transforms tuned crystal glasses into ringing hand bells as the wind ensemble slowly submerges the soloists in their sound. The second movement turns each member of the quartet into a blade of a dizzying wind turbine, playing seemingly-impossible 90’s-inspired drum and bass patterns. The closing movement simulates a sunrise and evokes the brilliance of sunlight with metallic percussion instruments. This piece was originally written with a sinfonietta accompaniment, and in its original form was commissioned for the 2017 American Music Festival by David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony’s Dogs of Desire in partnership with GE Renewable Energy. A full orchestra version was commissioned in 2018 by the Albany Symphony, a wind ensemble version was commissioned by a consortium of universities and community ensembles in 2019, and this chamber winds version was commissioned in 2021 by Thomas Verrier and the Vanderbilt Wind Symphony. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has been involved in any of the four versions of this piece. - Viet Cuong
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UPCOMING CONSERVATORY EVENTS Nov. 10 | 7:30pm Violin and Viola Recital with Igor Veligan Recital Hall
Nov. 15 | 7:30pm Pacific Chamber Music Recital Recital Hall
Nov. 14 | 2:30pm FOCM: The Black Oak Ensemble Faye Spanos Concert Hall
Nov. 16 | 7:30pm Pacific Percussion Ensemble Faye Spanos Concert Hall
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