THE WIND BAND CONTRIBUTIONS OF GUY M. DUKER

BY MATT SMITH

Abstract

Guy Duker was an American conductor, transcriber, and music educator who taught in the public schools of Illinois and served on the faculty of the University of Illinois. He is best remembered for his work as a transcriber, including works by Respighi, Schmitt, and Stravinksy.

Guy Duker was an American conductor, transcriber, and music educator. He began his career as a band director and music supervisor in the public schools of Illinois, where he worked for fourteen years. In 1953 Duker joined the faculty of the University of Illinois and worked alongside legendary figures Mark Hindsley and Harry Begian. He retired as the associate director of bands at Illinois in 1978.

Duker is known for his transcriptions of orchestral repertoire for the wind band, many of which are still performed. He provided an important adaptation of Florent Schmitt’s Dionysiaques for the modern wind band, and his transcription of Ottorino Respighi’s The Pines of Rome has been performed and recorded by numerous ensembles. Additional transcriptions of works by Hindemith, Stravinsky, and Bernstein are among his other contributions to the repertoire.

Biography

Guy Maxwell Duker was born in 1916 in Goshen, Indiana. His father, Chancey Duker, was a teacher and eventually served as superintendent of schools in McHenry, Illinois. Upon graduation from high school in McHenry, Guy attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana as a music education major. He was first a member of one of the regimental bands under the direction of Mark Hindsley, and in his senior year he was principal trombone in the Concert Band under A. A. Harding. At that time, there was not a lot of formal training in music education. Rather, most of his musical coursework focused on applied lessons, ensembles, theory, history, and education classes were taught outside of the music school.

After graduating with high honors from Illinois in the spring of 1938, Duker accepted his first teaching position in Highland, Illinois. He taught in Highland for three years, during which time his band participated in the National Music Contest.

Duker left Highland to accept a position as music instructor for University High School in Urbana, Illinois, a school that was funded by the University of Illinois. At the same time, he worked on his master’s degree and taught applied trombone at the University of Illinois. That spring, Duker received his master’s degree in music education. His master’s thesis was titled “A Method for the Trombone, Based Upon the Unit Approach to the Reading of Rhythms, Scales, and Chords.”

By his own account, Duker’s tenure at University High School did not go well (Duker, 1997). He left after one year, and moved to Alton, Illinois and took a job with the Owens-Illinois Glass Company during the 1942-

43 school year. His first job was to inspect the boxes that the company manufactured to store and ship glass products, and he was soon promoted to position as box builder. While Duker felt that he could eventually hold a leadership position in the company, he accepted an offer to take over the music program in the Alton schools beginning in the fall of 1943.

Duker spent ten years in the Alton schools, starting as director of bands, and later, supervisor of music. At one point during Duker’s tenure in Alton, his band traveled on a concert tour and performed at the University of Illinois. Duker asked his former director, Mark Hindsley, to guest conduct the band in a transcription of Borodin’s Overture to Prince Igor by Everett Kisinger. The regimental bands played for military ceremonies, athletic events, and concerts. Members from all three bands comprised the football band that was known as the Marching Illini.

Hindsley had succeeded A.A. Harding as interim director of bands at Illinois in the fall of 1948 and was officially named the director of bands in 1950. In 1953, Hindsley asked Duker if he would accept a position with the Illinois band program. Duker recollected that the initial financial offer was the same amount as his salary in Alton, $6000 dollars. The offer was eventually increased, but Duker said that the increase was offset by the cost of living in ChampaignUrbana (ibid).

Duker was hired as “assistant to the director of bands;” the position was largely administrative in nature and included oversight of the library and property for the Illinois band program. In addition, he taught advanced courses in instrumental music education and conducted the

Summer Band. Duker did not have an ensemble of his own during the academic year.

Concert bands were not active during the fall semester during this era due to the marching band. Duker often served as a guest conductor during the spring semester, however, and took over the leadership of the concert band in the semesters when Hindsley was on sabbatical. In 1965, Duker’s title was changed to Assistant Director of Bands.

At the time, the structure of the bands at Illinois included the Concert Band, conducted by Hindsley, and two regimental bands, conducted

The Wind Band Contributions of Guy M Duker, cont.

In 1970, Harry Begian succeeded Mark Hindsley as director of bands at Illinois. During Begian’s tenure the concert bands were re-structured. The “regimental band” name was removed, and the program eventually expanded to five concert bands, some of which were active in the fall semester. In 1971, Duker was promoted to full professor of music, and in 1976, Duker’s title was changed to associate director of bands.

Duker retired from the University of Illinois in the spring of 1978 after 25 years of service. He continued his work with transcriptions throughout his retirement. Guy Duker passed away in 1998 at the age of 81.

Contributions To The Profession

Duker was a member of the College Band Directors National Association and served in multiple capacities, including chair of the research committee, division president, secretary-treasurer, national vice president, and from 1969-1971 served as national president of the association. During his tenure, he oversaw the annual CBDNA conference held at the University of Texas in Austin in January 1971.

Duker also wrote a few short articles that were published in the Music Educators Journal. In the first article, “So It’s Too High, Is It!” (Duker,

1967) Duker shares the inspiration that he experienced while observing a class of physically disabled students sing The Star-Spangled Banner that took place while a music supervisor in Alton. He also wrote “MENC’s Associated Organizations,” an article for that introduced CBDNA to the Music Educators National Conference (Duker, 1971). Duker listed CBDNA’s Declaration of Principles and summarized the contributions of its various committees on research, instrumentation, repertoire, and other endeavors.

In 1975, Duker authored “Ear Training for Winds,” a manual produced by the Peterson ElectroMusical Products company. This was a

Continued on next page method for band directors that taught how to incorporate the Petersen Tuner in educational instruction for bands.

Transcriptions

The University of Illinois has a rich history of band transcriptions. A.A. Harding, the first director of bands, was a prolific transcriber, known to have scored over 150 orchestral works for concert band. Mark Hindsley continued the tradition of scoring orchestral works for concert band with over 75 transcriptions to his credit. The Hindsley transcriptions continued to be performed with great frequency under later directors Harry Begian and James Keene. Guy Duker followed in the footsteps of A.A. Harding and Mark Hindsley, and one of his earliest transcriptions would prove to be his most successful.

Mark Hindsley was scheduled to be on sabbatical from his responsibilities as director of bands in the spring semester of 1959. Duker knew that taking over the full-time conducting responsibilities of the band was going to be a tall task, and that he needed to do something that would be impressive during that semester. He decided to prepare a transcription of Ottorino Respighi’s The Pines of Rome.

Composed in 1924, The Pines of Rome was transcribed for Italian band by Antonio D’Ella two years later.

A.A. Harding scored it for the Illinois Concert Band in 1929 and performed it frequently. However, Harding was known to have used a wide variety of instruments at that time, so Duker knew that a new version that would suit the current instrumentation of the Illinois Concert Band would be required.

The premiere was a success. However, efforts to publish the piece were ridden with issues of permissions, royalties, preparation of a clean manuscript and parts, and other factors. It took approximately 15 years for the transcription to become available on a rental basis. Its positive reception among collegiate and high school bands enabled the transcription to eventually become available for purchase.

In 1970 Duker was approached by the publisher Belwin Mills regarding Carl Orff’s Entrata, which is a setting of William Byrd’s music that Orff scored for orchestra and organ situated in multiple choirs. Duker was asked to create a transcription for a German band, with the ability to perform the work outdoors. The transcription was intended to be played during a ceremony for the opening of the Rhein-Main-Danube Canal, a major engineering project in Germany. The transcription would require Orff’s approval.

The transcription proved to be a challenge, as the orchestral version was scored for five orchestral choirs and organ, and some attempts required a score page with up to 60 staves. There were challenges in agreement about instrumentation and the ability to perform the work outside, and eventually the publisher wanted a second version that would utilize a traditional concert band arrangement. In the end, it does not appear that this second version was completed, nor had the original transcription been performed. Though a recording of the orchestral version exists, the scope of the work proves to provide challenges in performance. The band transcription that Duker created was deemed unpublishable.

In 1978, Duker was approached by European American Music Distributors Corporation about the creation of a transcription for Orff’s Catulli Carmina, a cantata by Orff written during the Second World War. The desired transcription would be for wind band only, without the use of vocalists.

Duker received a score to the original work in November, and by March had completed the transcription. He received word that Orff’s publisher showed the score of Duker’s transcription to Orff, and shared the following:

“Orff at once recognized the handiwork of the professional and was very greatly impressed. He gives his consent herewith and is already looking forward to its speedy conclusion.” (Sturm, 1979).

The work was premiered by the Illinois Symphonic Band in November

1979. Though Harry Begian was supposed to conduct the work, Thomas Harris, assistant director of bands, conducted the premiere due to Begian’s illness.

Duker was proud of his work and thought that it could be the biggest band piece of the year. He encouraged the publisher to heavily promote it. However, a recording was not available to be placed on a record, which limited the promotion of the work. It is likely that there have been few, if any, performances since the premiere.

During the correspondence on the Catulli Carmina, the representative from European American Music hinted at another major project they would like to discuss with Duker. It was eventually revealed that this would be a transcription of The Firebird Suite. The work was premiered in November of 1991 by Harry Begian.

Duker sent a copy of a recording to Igor’s son, Soulima, who responded: “I enjoyed listening to your band arrangement of the Firebird

Suite. It sounds quite natural in this arrangement, a sure indicator that is very well scored.” (Stravinksy, 1986). Soulima was on the piano faculty at Illinois 1950-1978, and Soulima and Guy were colleagues for 25 years.

One of Duker’s last transcriptions was made at the request by James Keene, director of bands at Illinois. The University of Illinois

Symphonic Band I premiered Dmitri Shostakovich’s Overture on Russian and Kirghiz Folk Songs at the American Bandmasters Association Conference in 1990 held at the University of Illinois.

Dionysiaques

Over the last 40 years Dionysiaques has earned its status as one of the masterpieces of the standard wind band repertoire. Composed by Florent Schmitt in 1914, it is a work that separates itself from other band music of its time due to its creative construction and scoring, particularly for its time. While much of the information on Dionysiaques is available elsewhere, the question as to why it had not entered the standard repertoire sooner remained unanswered. It was Guy Duker who created the adaptation that was performed by contemporary concert bands for many years.

Duker was introduced to Dionysiaques through an early recording made by the French Guard Republican Band in 1920s. Duker was immediately intrigued by the work. As it turns out, the Illinois band library had a score and parts to the original version of Dionysiaques, and there were markings in the score made by A.A. Harding. Duker speculated that Harding had at least read through the work with his band, if not performed it. A recent search of concert programs revealed that Harding had indeed performed the work. It is unknown if Harding was able to utilize the exact instrumentation as scored by Schmitt. The original version was scored for a variety of instruments available to the Guard Republican Band at the time, including sarrusophone, bass saxophone, bugles, and alto horns. This, along with the difficulty of the work and its limited availability to American bands, may explain why the piece took so long to enter the standard repertoire.

Duker re-scored the work for symphonic band and premiered the new version in 1975 with the Illinois Concert Band. Duker considered the work an adaptation as opposed to a transcription. He again encountered difficulties with a publisher, in this case Durand, which limited performances of the piece. Eventually it became available for rental, and by February 1979, the work had been performed by 5 other university programs.

Eventually, Dionysiaques grew in its appeal to wind band conductors, and continues to be performed and recording with regular frequency. In 2011 a new edition by Felix Hauswirth was published and revisited the scoring issues of the original version. While the Hauswirth edition is currently the only permissible performance version of Dionysiaques, the wind band community owes a debt of gratitude to Duker for making the work available to the modern concert band in its format from 1975 to 2011.

Legacy

Guy Duker’s legacy extended beyond his teaching and transcriptions. Guy Duker had two sons, John and Paul Duker, who both served as band directors in the Illinois schools. Paul later went on to serve as a public-school administrator in Quincy, Illinois, and contributed an article to The Instrumentalist Magazine, titled “Advice from an Administrator” (Duker, 1991). Paul also founded the Quincy Concert Band in 1982. Duker also had two grandsons, Doug, and Mark. Mark is a high school band director in Naperville, Illinois and has many of Guy’s manuscripts in his possession.

Of special importance to the traditions of the University of Illinois, Guy Duker wrote the lyrics to the Illinois March, composed by Edwin Franko Goldman. Upon completion of the march, a contest was held to select lyrics for the trio section. Over 20 submissions were received, and Duker’s set of lyrics was selected as the winner. The march is still performed and sung by the Marching Illini as they march to the stadium for each home football game.

The University of Illinois has two awards in Guy Duker’s name. The Guy Duker Instrumental Music Education award is presented each spring to a graduating senior in music education, and the Illinois Bands have a Symphonic Band award in Duker’s name as well.

In looking at Guy Duker’s output, it cannot be understated how ambitious his endeavors were. He took on some imposing works. In looking at his larger output, there is a wide range of compositions and composers. In examining the letters that are stored in the University of Illinois archives, one is reminded of the correspondence and negotiation that is required to secure permissions and royalties for published works. Guy Duker could produce a major transcription in a matter of a few months, but the formal agreements of permissions, royalties, and printing often took years to resolve.

In a letter to European American Music, Duker noted that he would not have chosen to do the Orffs, Firebird, or Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler on his own (Duker, 1979). His inspiration was often spurred when listening to the classical radio station in ChampaignUrbana. Among his output, the transcription of the Trumpet Concerto

The

Wind Band Contributions of Guy M Duker, cont.

by

Alexander

Arutiunian

and The Pines of Rome remain his most frequently performed and recorded. However, it was the transcription of Samuel Barber’s Symphony No. 1 for which he was most proud. He continued to be inspired and have ideas for projects for the rest of his years.

References

Duker, G. (August 31, 1979).

[Letter from Guy Duker to George Sturm, 1979]. Retrieved from The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, Guy M Duker Papers, Series 3, Box 3. University of Illiniois.

Duker, G. (1971, December).

MENC’s Associated Organizations. Music Educators Journal, 58 (4), 61.

Duker, G. (October 31, 1997).

Personal Reflections. [Audio recording].

Duker, G. (1967, October). So It’s Too High, Is It! Music Educators Journal, 54 (2), 64.

Duker, P. (1991, August).

Advice from an Administrator. The Instrumentalist, 46 (1), 43-44.

Stravinsky, S. (December 19, 1986).

[Letter from Soulima Stravinsky to Guy Duker, 1986]. Retrieved from The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, Guy M Duker Papers, Series 3, Box 3. University of Illinois.

Sturm, G. (March 28, 1979).

[Letter from George Sturm to Guy Duker, 1979]. Retrieved from The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, Guy M Duker Papers, Series 3, Box 3. University of Illinois.