Belmont University School of Music presents
Concert Band & Wind Ensemble
Barry Kraus, conductor
George Shannon II, conductor
Concert Band
Belmont University School of Music
Kirkpatrick Fanfare
Andrew Boysen Jr. (b. 1968)
Between the Lines Kit Turnbull (b. 1969)
The Hymn of Ys
George Shannon II, conductor
Harrison Collins (b. 1999)
Halcyon Hearts Katahj Copley (b. 1998)
Wind Ensemble
Toccata Marziale
George Shannon II, conductor
...the leaves scatter like foam...
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Three Sketches for Wind Ensemble
Karalyn Schubring (b. 1999)
Luis Serrano Alarcón
I. Spiritoso (b. 1972)
II. Lento e rubato
III. Con fuoco
Dope Katahj Copley (b. 1998)
Program Notes
Kirkpatrick Fanfare: Andrew Boysen, Jr. is the Director of Bands at the University of New Hampshire. As a composer, he has written extensively for middle, secondary, and collegiate bands. Boysen wrote Kirkpatrick Fanfare in 1999 as a dedication piece for the James C. Kirkpatrick Library at Central Missouri State University. James Kirkpatrick, the Missouri Secretary of State for two decades, was known for his unabashed pride in Irish heritage. In keeping, the work makes use of Irish musical character. The opening measures feature a solo flute accompanied by a frame drum in a jig, and short horn calls lead to a fanfare punctuated by timpani. The first three notes of the opening jig develop into a furious counterpoint. As the final section ensues, the tune “Danny Boy” is presented in augmented form, and an extended fanfare brings the work to a close.
Program notes by Dr. Barry Kraus, School of Music Faculty
Between the Lines: Kit Turnbull is a British composer and arranger who serves as a composition tutor for the Royal Air Force Music Services. After a period as a keyboardist in a rock band, he joined the Royal Marines in 1991 and performed as a bassoonist. He studied with well-known British composer, Martin Ellerby, at the London College of Music and has worked as an arranger and orchestrator for British film and television over the past twenty years.
Between the Lines is inspired by a 1935 painting titled Succession by Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky. The painting represents Kandinsky’s sudden creative output near the end of his life and depicts four rows of colorful symbols painted on what appears to be a musical staff. The composition, brief in length, reflects the symbolism of the painting. Following a dramatic opening section, a four-note motive is traded amongst solo instruments. A second section quickens the tempo, and the motive appears in augmented as well as shortened form. The opening melodic phrase returns in a new key amidst falling harmonic patterns, and the work closes with a punctuated rhythmic crescendo.
Program notes by Dr. Barry Kraus, School of Music Faculty
The Hymn of Ys (pronounced “ease”), upon listening without contextual knowledge, presents itself in a heroic manner, emulating what one would hear in an adventure movie. Although the piece begins and ends in a foggy or hazy-like manner, the melody is broad and stately. Scoring of the work is thickly textured in many instances, and the overall feeling is triumphant; yet, the legend of Ys is rather tragic. The composers summarizes the story as such:
A great king, Gradlon, and his queen lived at sea, where the queen gave birth to a daughter, Dahut. They lived happily for some time, but the queen eventually fell ill and passed away. King Gradlon fell into a depression, and soon after moved back to land with his daughter. Dahut, now grown, yearned for life at sea again, and one day asked her father to build her a city at sea so that she may live there once more. The king built his daughter a magnificent city, called the city of Ys, surrounded by a large dike to protect it from the waters. The city quickly grew and prospered but, under the influence of Dahut, became dark and sinful. One night, a mysterious knight visited Dahut, convincing her to steal Gradlon’s key to the city’s dike. While Gradlon was asleep, the knight unlocked the dike and revealed himself to be the devil. The city became under siege by the sea, awakening Gradlon. Unaware of the matter, the king grabs his daughter and attempts to escape via horseback; however, the sea stopped Gradlon and informed him what Dahut had done. Realizing her betrayal, Gradlon escapes, casting Dahut into the sea. The City of Ys was destroyed, becoming engulfed by the water, taking Dahut as well.
Drawing from references of Debussy’s La Mer and The Girl with the Flaxen Hair, Collins captures the image of the once great City of Ys in his work. Though there are moments where the haziness
clouds the beautiful presentation and simplicity of the hymn (which is taken from Debussy’s The Engulfed Cathedral), Collins reasserts the prominence and majesty of the city with the grand statement of the melody in the brasses and, near the conclusion, incorporates strong articulations which adds to its grandiose feeling.
Program notes by Dr. George Shannon II, School of Music Faculty
Halycon Hearts and Dope: At the age of 24, Katahj Copley has become a unique compositional voice in instrumental music. He studied composition at the University of West Georgia and the University of Texas with Omar Thomas. He is currently a doctoral candidate in composition at Michigan State University. Katahj has written over one hundred compositions for chamber ensembles, bands, and orchestras. His music is vibrant and often emanates from personal experiences.
Halcyon Hearts is inspired by the concept of remembering idyllic and peaceful times in one’s life–halcyon days–when love and acceptance brought people together. For Katahj Copley, a halcyon was finding his renewed passion for music following the pandemic. Halcyon Hearts combines a spritely rhythmic texture with a warm and tender melody representing our ability to rise above racial, gender, and religious differences.
The title DOPE was taken from a conversation with Copley’s teacher, Omar Thomas. At a time when he was struggling to find a composer identity, Thomas encouraged Copley to think freely and embrace his authentic musical influences outside of classical music. Thomas stated, “If you create something this is a celebration of who you are–the music you grew up with and the music that inspires you now–then that would be dope” DOPE contains three broad sections that relate to Copley’s identity as a composer of color. The first section, titled Undeniably, draws from singer/ songwriter Thundercat, rapper Kendrick Lamar, and jazz icon Miles Davis. Section two, titled Unapologetically, captures musical style of Carlos Santana, John Coltrane, and jazz/funk band Hiatus Kaiyote. The final section, Undisputedly, takes inspiration from Tyler the Creator, alternative rhythm and blues band The Internet, and jazz saxophonists Kamasai Washington. Copley refers to the music as ‘unapologetically black.’
Program notes by Dr. Barry Kraus, School of Music Faculty
Toccata Marziale: British composer Ralph (pronounced “Rayf”) Vaughan Williams became fascinated with English folk tunes at a young age which later inspired many of his works, most notably his English Folk Song Suite. Ironically, the Toccata Marziale, written for the commemoration of the British Empire Exhibition of 1924, does not employ any folk material. Vaughn Williams uses the “toccata,” a Baroque Era composition written for a keyboard instrument which featured light, virtuosic passages, as the vehicle for the composition and notes in the title “to play in a military style,” or marziale (the Italian word for martial).
Interestingly, Vaughn Williams originally composed this piece in an attempt to depart from the typical function of the military band, which were used primarily for ceremonial purposes. Instead, this piece was designed to be included in a larger work, a concerto grosso. Despite his attempt, the work captures the essence of the military band; opening with a brass fanfare that presents the main melody, quickly articulated passages, and the usage of percussion in impactful moments. Unlike compositions of the Baroque Era with clear endings of phrases at a cadence point, melodic material presented in this work overlap by one beat in many instances, creating music that seems to continue without end until the final chord at the conclusion of the piece. Toccata Marziale, along with other military band works of Grainger and Holst, are considered standard literature in the wind band repertoire.
Program notes by Dr. George Shannon II, School of Music Faculty
...the leaves scatter like foam...: Pianist and composer Karalyn Schubring is an ardent improviser and advocate for musical creativity. She teaches composition at the East Valley Yamaha Music School in Chandler, Arizona where she studied music as a youth. Her compositions utilize inspiration from natural imagery, jazz, and improvisation. She studied composition at the University of Michigan.
…the leaves scatter like foam… is a vivid composition in which moments are fleeting. Stark textural contrast and rhythmic diversity create a varied landscape of musical ideas. As the composer describes:
“the leaves scatter like foam” is a phrase penned by the poet Mark Strand in his significant work, Dark Harbor. I ran across it while flipping through an anthology of modern poetry, hungry to find a string of words that would bring meaning to the music I had written, as a flashlight’s beam brings brilliance to the shadows. I came to associate the piece and the line of poetry together, arriving at a sense of meaning in the following collection of ideas:
Delicate, aimless flitting; butterfly-like Gleams of brilliance, some bashful, others pronounced Profound beauty packaged in fleeting moments Contending with impermanence
Program notes by Dr. Barry Kraus, School of Music Faculty
Three Sketches for Wind Ensemble: Spanish composer and conductor Luis Serrano Alarcón teaches at the Conservatorio Superior de Musica in Valencia and serves as principal conductor of the Unión Musical Santa Cecilia Symphonic Band of Villar del Arzobispo.
Commissioned by the Hong Kong Band Directors Association, Three Sketches for Wind Ensemble is a piece in which the composer, with modal lines and a short but meticulously combined timbral palette, wanted to build a musical speech with concise expositions and simple forms.
The first sketch, Spiritoso, starts with a game of echoes led by two snare drums and the timpani which joins them afterwards. After this introduction, we find the first thematic section introduced by the brass instruments and a secondary theme, in imitative style, played by the tenor and alto saxophones. A new appearance of the first theme brings the music to a brilliant tutti, and finally, a brief coda, which uses the starting rhythm of the snare drums, closes subtly the sketch.
In the Lento e rubato, written in a simple ternary form, the importance of the solo players is especially outstanding: the bassoon which introduces the continuum above which the oboe builds the expressive first theme, and the soprano saxophone, leader of the central section. The sketch finishes with a coda in which the oboe and the bassoon drive a Dorian melody to a last A Major chord played by the saxophones.
The third sketch, Con fuoco, is a dance written in ternary form. After a forceful introduction, characterized by the dissonant energy induced by half-tone intervals, the piccolo introduces the first theme with the only accompaniment of the percussion. The central section is clearly contrasting with the first: slightly slower and characterized by small fluctuations of the tempo, strengthening its humorous character. After an accelerando, we find the recapitulation of the first section and a brilliant coda.
Program notes by Luis Serrano Alarcón
Concert Band Personnel
Ava Baker Illustration
Hendersonville, TN
Zoe Blythe Music Therapy Reading, MI
Maya Burney Journalism Point Lookout, MO
ReAnna Davenport* Music Business | Accounting Lebanon, TN
Yasmina Dean Undeclared Nashville, TN
Michelle Jacks Music Business
Knoxville, TN
Lola Virelli Music Education Batavia, IL
Mattie Zehrt Nursing Nashville, TN
Briana Crowder Audio Engineering Technology Glasgow, KY
Flute Oboe Bassoon
Cayman Hogue Classical Music Performance Fernandina Beach, FL
Clarinet
Maddie Crowder History Lenexa, KS
Daria Ghazi Neuroscience Nashville, TN
Alayna Lepore* Music Therapy Aviston, IL
Bass Clarinet
Dillon Wright** Multiple Woodwinds Lynchburg, VA
Alto Saxophone
Ian Camner* Music Technology Los Angeles, CA
Megan Gretz Music Education Matthews, NC
David Hofmiller Audio Engineering Technology Clarksville, TN
Ryland Watson Audio Engineering Technology Mount Pleasant, SC
Tenor Saxophone
Ryan Thurgaland Commercial Music Performance The Villages, FL
Allison Zimmermann Elementary Education
Baritone Saxophone
Dylan Ahrens Composition
Micah Parkinson Composition
Mountainside, NJ
Annandale, VA
Jackson, MS
Trumpet
Gabriella Barrientos Commercial Music Performance
Omaha,NE
Derys Coreas-Escobar Audio Engineering Technology La Vergne, TN
Marek Ledvina Commerical Music Performance Birmingham, AL
Kristen Lester* Music Education
Karcsi Pentek Music Technology
Cadence Thomas Music Therapy
Dallas, GA
Fairfax, VA
Alma,GA
Zach O’Leary Social Work Columbia, IL
Caroline Holmes Music Education
Julie Porter Creative and Entertainment Industries
Rylie Treat Music Business
Davis Woodruff* Music Education
Horn Trombone
Cameron Ellis* Applied Mathematics
Plymouth, MA
Seattle, WA
Laconia, NH
Denver, CO
Nashville, TN
Shelby McDonald Music, Musical Theatre Emphasis Ball Ground, GA
Euphonium
Kathleen Funk* Elementary Education
Irvine, CA
Dillon Massey Music Business Mt. Juliet, TN
Tuba
Preston Kuppler Audio Engineering Technology
Madison, IN
Patrick Lewis Music Education Simi Valley, CA
Jackson Mershon* Undeclared Sherwood, OR
Percussion
Praxina Guerra Music Therapy
San Antonio, TX
Braxton Hill Classical Performance Richmond, VA
Presley Kane Music Business
New Lenox, Illinois
Abi Koch Music Business, Legal Studies Emphasis La Crosse, WI
Lorelai Lysaght Commercial Performance
Matthew Oliver* Composition
Caleb Walz Motion Pictures | Computer Science
Megan Wheeler Music Technology
Piano
Dylan Ahrens Composition
Trinity, NC
Auburn, AL
Kendallville, IN
St. Petersburg, FL
Annandale, VA
Wind Ensemble Personnel
Mimi Anderson
Music Performance
Nashville, TN
Christine Subratie* Music Education Angel Fire, NM
Jake King
Classical Performance Chicago, IL
Brendan Wilson Music Performance Glasgow, KY
Dillon Wright** Multiple Woodwinds Lynchburg, VA
Flute Oboe
William Fedack Music Performance Sandy Springs, GA
Lily Chantler Music Education Clarksville, TN
Patrick Lewis* Music Education Simi Valley, CA
Bassoon
Avery Bell Music Therapy Franklin, TN
Emily Okamura* (Contrabassoon) Music Therapy Dallas, TX
Harrison Sampson Music Performance Newport, TN
Clarinet
Cross Brandon** Multiple Woodwinds Little Rock, AR
Emily Castaneda Psychology Tullahoma, TN
Karenna Cox Music Business Brentwood, TN
Alayna Lepore Music Therapy Aviston, IL
Elizabeth Wallace* Music Performance Crystal Lake, IL
Kylie Watson Psychology Ankeny, IA
Dillon Wright** Multiple Woodwinds Lynchburg, VA
Bass Clarinet
Hannah Schwartz Music Business | German Olathe, KS
Alto Saxophone
Ryan Contreras*/** (Soprano Saxophone)
Bojer Gibson
Jacob Yim
Tenor Saxophone
Classical Performance | Pedagogy Early, TX
Music Education Spring Hill, TN
Commercial Performance
Marietta, GA
Garrett Brooks** Music Education Cumming, GA
Baritone Saxophone
Nicholas Domschke Music Education
Trumpet
Duncan Blackstock Music Education
Bartlett, IL
The Villages, FL
Judson Gay Music with an Outside Minor; Nashville, TN
James Ownby*/** Classical Performance
Chris Smith Music Education
Luke Woody Classical Performance
Horn
Jacob Andrews Classical Performance
Joseph Assiryani Music Business
Holden Cessna Music with an Outside Minor
Hannah Edwards Music Performance
Emma Wells* Creative & Entertainment Industries | Music with an Outside Minor
Trombone
Brian Kling (Bass Trombone) Music Business
Michael Luttrull*/** Music Performance
Luke Myers Music Education
Joshua Walz Audio Engineering
Euphonium
Jesse Hartland Entrepreneurship
Tuba
Bryce Bobo Audio Engineering
Abigail English Music with an Outside Minor
Brasher Miller* Music Education
Percussion
Matthew Love*/** Classical Performance
Miriam Marks Composition
Madelynn Miller Music Therapy
Jay Moreland Composition
Gramm Raedeke Music Performance
Jacob Sallee Music Education
Nashville, TN
Danbury, CT
Sharpsburg, MD
Winston-Salem, NC
Bethesda, MD
Beans Cove, PA
Wallburg, NC**
Cypress, IL
Houston, TX
Hendersonville, TN
Omaha, NE
Kendallville, IN
Franklin, TN
Lucas, TX
Tullahoma, TN
Montgomery, AL
Nashville, TN
Rosemount, MN
Oswego, IL
Nashville, TN
St. Louis, MO
Pensacola, FL
Cameron Terry Music Performance Columbia, TN
Hadley Thomas Music Therapy Canyon Lake, TX
Samuel Weaver Music Performance Nashville, TN
Joshua Wingard Classical Performance Flintstone, GA
Piano
Amelia Ochoa Music with Outside Minor Little Rock, AR
String and Electric Bass
Alex Haldane** Commercial Performance Falls Church, VA
*Principal
**Graduate Student
Upcoming Concerts and Events
Musical Theatre: Working Saturday, October 7, 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 8, 2:00 p.m.
Massey Concert Hall
Tickets for this event are required and can be reserved through the Belmont Box Office.
Bass Ensemble
Wednesday, October 11, 6:00 p.m.
Massey Concert Hall
Commercial Guitar Ensemble
Wednesday, October 11, 8:00 p.m.
Massey Concert Hall
Commercial Guitar Ensemble II
Thursday, October 12, 6:00 p.m.
Massey Concert Hall
For more information on upcoming concerts and events, please visit www.belmont.edu/cmpa or “like” Belmont University School of Music on Facebook.
