PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE
Ralph Sorrentino, Director WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021 WARE FAMILY RECITAL HALL SWOPE MUSIC BUILDING 8:15 PM
PROGRAM WHAT GOES ON INSIDE ........................................................................................... Molly Joyce (b. 1992) Nate Gittelman, Anthony Maldonado, Sean McWilliams, Sean Slattery, Fred Spaziani, and Luke Thurston NOT FAR FROM HERE ............................................................................................... Blake Tyson *First WCU Percussion Ensemble performance (b. 1969) Kathleen Carter, Kelly Lawrie, Kris Nelson, Anton Saliaris, Caitlyn Scanlan, Nick Stalford, Erik Texter, and Zack Volturo MUDRA......................................................................................................................... Bob Becker (b. 1947) Luke Thurston, prepared drum and crotales Nate Gittelman, Anthony Maldonado, Sean McWilliams, and Sean Slattery STRING QUARTET NO. 14 IN G MAJOR, K. 387 “SPRING” .............................. W. A. Mozart (1756-1791) IV. Molto Allegro Nate Gittelman, marimba 1; Anthony Maldonado, marimba 2; Anton Saliaris, marimba 3; Kathleen Carter, marimba 4 OVERKILL........................................................................................................ Andy Harnsberger (b. 1967) *First WCU Percussion Ensemble performance Brett Gillott, Sean Hayes, Jon Partridge, David Sabella
West Chester University Percussion Ensemble Kathleen Carter Brett Gillott Nate Gittelman Sean Hayes Kelly Lawrie Anthony Maldonado
Sean McWilliams Kris Nelson Jon Partridge David Sabella Anton Saliaris Caitlyn Scanlan
Please silencn all cell phones and electronic devices.
Sean Slattery Fred Spaziani Nick Stalford Erik Texter Luke Thurston Zack Volturo
Program Notes Written in the summer of 2013, What Goes On Inside was commissioned by and is dedicated to the West Chester University Percussion Ensemble. Composer Molly Joyce states “when provided the opportunity to write a piece for percussion ensemble, I was immediately intrigued by the coloristic and atmospheric possibilities of six percussionists. As I began to write the piece, I realized the potential of using the timbre of the different percussion instruments in order to achieve progression in the music. Therefore, this idea led me to thinking about obscure objects such as certain machines and instruments, and how one doesn’t always know what goes on inside them. I thought of the percussion ensemble as its own obscure and vague object, and thus attempted to create its own world and atmosphere inside it. In addition, I’ve lately been heavily influenced by post-dubstep electronic artists such as Mount Kimbie and Holy Other, and their sound also contributed to the atmosphere I wanted to create with the percussion ensemble.” Molly Joyce completed her studies at The Juilliard School, Royal Conservatory in The Hague, and the Yale School of Music. Her compositions have been performed by the Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Albany, and New World Symphonies, and by the New Juilliard, Decoda, and Contemporaneous ensembles. Molly’s career was recently profiled in a December 2020 edition of The Washington Post.
By almost every measure, the time we spend on this planet is very short. Still, those who change our lives for the better live on in us, and in the lives we touch. Parents, teachers, friends, and even people we never meet – their support, their kindness, and their love will always be with us. Not far from here is a very simple expression of this very amazing power. It is never easy to lose those who have made our lives possible, but it is comforting to know that they are never far away from us, or from those we care about. - Blake Tyson
Mudra consists of music which was originally composed to accompany the dance UrbhanaMudra by choreographer Joan Phillips. Commissioned
by INDE '90 and premiered in Toronto in March 1990 as part of the DuMaurier Quay Works series, UrbhanaMudra was awarded the National Arts Centre Award for best collaboration between composer and choreographer. The music was subsequently edited and reorchestrated as a concert piece for the percussion group NEXUS during May 1990. Mudra is scored for marimba, vibraphone, songbells, glockenspiel, crotales, prepared drum, and bass drum. UrbhanaMudra was created, for the most part, using the "dance first" approach, in which the music is composed to fit pre-existing choreography. Thus, the rhythmic structure and overall form reflect the episodic and gestural character of the original choreography, which dealt with the conflict of traditional and modern issues in a multi-cultural urban society. Rhythmically, Mudra is based on two important and common features of North Indian music: 1) motivic development (palta), and 2) rhythmic cadence formulas (ti hai). These structural devices are used most systematically in the final drum solo section of the piece in which rhythmic, rather than harmonic, cadencing is used to create tension and, ultimately, accord. - Bob Becker
Mozart composed his String Quartet No. 14 in G Major, K. 387 “Spring” in 1782. This quartet is the first of the six “Haydn” quartets, which Mozart composed after hearing Haydn’s Opus 33 string quartets in Vienna. The fourth movement of this quartet utilizes a four-note theme and masterful fugal writing that Mozart later implements in his “Jupiter” Symphony. The WCU Percussion Ensemble has performed this transcription several times over the years, including a performance at the McCormick Marimba Festival in Tampa, FL.
Overkill was premiered in 2015 by the Lee University Percussion Ensemble. Composer Andy Harnsberger states “the piece is based upon a
single ‘cell,’ heard as the opening statement, which is manipulated and varied throughout the piece. Classic rock fans will recognize the main rhythmic theme, which is played over and over, hence the title of the work.” Harnsberger serves as Associate Professor of Music and Percussion Coordinator at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee.
UPCOMING WELLS SCHOOL OF MUSIC EVENTS For full event details visit wcupa.edu/music or call (610) 436-2739
COVID-19 STATEMENT In Person Audiences Are Not Permitted for Spring 2021 Events Thursday, April 29, 2021, 8:15 PM Wind Symphony & Concert Band Concert M. Gregory Martin & Adam Gumble, directors Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre Performing Arts Center
Friday, April 30, 2021, 8:30 PM *WCU Opera Theatre: Drive-In "The Elixir of Love" Nicholas Provenzale, director M Lot Parking Lot wcupatix.com
Saturday, May 1, 2021, 3:00 PM Jazz Combos & Statesmen Jazz Ensemble Concert Dan Chrerry, director Virtual livestream.com/wcupa
Saturday, May 1, 2021, 8:30 PM *WCU Opera Theatre: Drive-In "The Elixir of Love" Nicholas Provenzale, director M Lot Parking Lot wcupatix.com
Sunday, May 2, 2021, 3:00 PM Wind Ensemble Concert Andrew Yozviak, director Virtual YouTube (https://bit.ly/2SbIu0A)
Monday, May 3, 2021, 7:30 PM Collegium Musicum Concert Mark Rimple, director Virtual Zoom (https://bit.ly/3edH4tK)
Tuesday, May 4, 2021, 8:15 PM Symphony Orchestra Concert Joseph Caminiti, director Virtual livestream.com/wcupa
Wednesday, May 5, 2021, 8:15 PM Chamber Winds Concert Andrew Yozviak, director Philips Autograph Library Philips Memorial Building
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Events at the Wells School of Music are often supported by individual donors and organizations. Contributions to the Wells School of Music may be made out to: WCU Foundation, 202 Carter Drive, West Chester, PA 19382 Please include “School of Music Deans Fund” in the memo line. For further information, please call (610) 436-2868 or visit wcufoundation.org A majority of performances are available to watch via live stream at Facebook.com/WellsSchoolofMusic and LiveStream.com/wcupa. Mr. Robert Rust, Audio & Visual Technician Steinway & Sons Piano Technical, Tuning and Concert Preparations by Gerald P. Cousins, RPT If you do not intend to save your pro gram , please recycle it in the baskets at the exit do o rs.
The Wells School of Music | West Chester University of Pennsylvania Dr. Christopher Hanning, Dean