Yale Concert Band Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director
A Veterans Day Matinee Sunday, November 11, 2018 at 2:00 pm
Woolsey Hall, Yale University
WALTER PISTON KENNETH AMIS KATHRYN SALFELDER JODIE BLACKSHAW
Tunbridge Fair (1951) Spring Overture (2018)* Reminiscence (2018)* Twist (2017) I. Survival II. Reflection III. Discovery IV. Obsession V. Carnevale VI. Ascension
~ Intermission ~
GEORGE M. COHAN FRED W. CLEMENT SAMUEL AUGUSTUS WARD STANLEIGH P. FRIEDMAN arr. Erik W.G. Leidzén
Over There (1917) Yankee Division AEF (1923) America, the Beautiful (1910) Down the Field (1904)
Presentation: Yale Band Centennial 1918-2018 Address: Peter Salovey, President, Yale University, and the Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology arr. Bob Lowden LEONARD BERNSTEIN trans. Marice Stith
Armed Forces Salute (1981) Three Dance Episodes from “On the Town” (1945) *Specially commissioned by a consortium including the Yale Concert Band, funded in part by the Robert Flanagan Yale Band Commisions Endowment Fund.
Tunbridge Fair (1951) WALTER PISTON (1894-1976)
About Tonight’s Music
Tunbridge Fair was written as a commission from the League of Composers, led by Edwin Franko Goldman, in an effort to build a strong repertoire of American concert band music. When asked to replace his less descriptive original title, Intermezzo for Band, Piston used the diverse and bustling county fair in Tunbridge, Vermont, as his inspiration. Tunbridge Fair stands as a marvel of concise, painstaking craft combined with an energetic and lyrical spirit of expression. Its riotous atmosphere is captured by the bright, bouncy rhythms of the jazzy first voice of the piece, pitted against the smoother, syncopated rhythm of the second voice. The work is bright and loud, yet quietly underscored with subtle humor.
The Robert Flanagan Yale Band Commissions Endowment Fund is a resource that has made it possible for the Yale Bands to commission new and exciting music. The latest commission was a set of three pieces to commemorate the 85th birthday of major American band conductor Frank Battisti. Battisti was asked to provide a musical motive that served as the basis for all three pieces, two of which are presented on today’s program. The motive is F, G, A, F, Gb. Spring Overture (2018) [Frank Battisti 85th Birthday Commission] KENNETH AMIS (b. 1970) Kenneth Amis says this about Frank Battisti: “My first contact with Frank Battisti was in 1991 when I was accepted to the New England Conservatory of Music as a composition major. At that time composition majors were not expected and, in my case, discouraged by the administration from auditioning for performance ensembles at the school. A friend recommended that I call the conductor of the wind ensemble, Frank Battisti, directly. I did, and after introducing myself on the phone and telling him how my efforts to schedule an audition time for the school’s ensembles were being met with resistance, he told me to simply walk in after the last person before lunch and start playing. This turned out to be the beginning of a tremendously supportive and motivating relationship. In the years that followed, Mr. Battisti had me judge concerto competitions, commissioned two new works from me, and has served as valued counsel on every aspect of my musical career, from conducting and interpretation to artists’ relations and music industry politics. I can honestly say that Frank Battisti gave my career as a professional composer the momentum it needed to get off the ground. His passion, drive and unwavering professionalism still sets a shining example and the bar for me and all who know him.” Reminiscence (2018) [Frank Battisti 85th Birthday Commission] KATHRYN SALFELDER (b. 1987) Kathryn Salfelder introduces her piece as follows: “Reminiscence is one of three pieces commissioned to honor Frank L. Battisti’s 85th birthday, June 27, 2016. A five-note motive – composed by Frank himself (!): F G A F Gb (here, transposed down a fifth: Bb C D Bb B) – saturates every measure of the piece. “In its entirety, the motive serves as the first five notes of the principal melody. The first three pitches (Bb C D) morph into a repeated hemiola, which rises sequentially in pitch as the piece progresses. The motive’s range – Major 3rd and minor 3rd – is emphasized via third relations in the harmony. \
YALE CONCERT BAND “Reminiscence evokes nostalgia, yearning, and growth. Some moments are peaceful, while others are full of angst. I encourage both performers and listeners to weave their own personal memories and stories into the musical narrative. “I am fortunate to have first encountered Frank Battisti during my undergrad years at NEC. His teaching, his passion for details, and his advocacy for new, rich, and challenging music at all grade levels are inspirations. I am grateful to celebrate him with my first piece for young wind band.” Twist (2017) JODIE BLACKSHAW Twist, composed for wind orchestra, is inspired by the shape, spirit and history of Australia’s magnanimous waterway, the Murray River (the Wiradjuri people of the Albury-Wodonga region call the river ‘Millewa’). The work is divided into 6 sections, subtitled as follows: I. ‘Survival’. This powerful opening was stimulated by the indigenous story of ‘Tiddalick the Frog’. There are assorted versions of this Dreamtime fable but essentially, it tells of a colossal, greedy amphibian who consumes the entire river without any thought for the inhabitants of his bionetwork. This forthright, almost violent introduction to your journey along the river is driven by bass and percussion; it seeks to paint Tiddalick’s volatile movements whilst he selfishly gorges on the region’s lifeblood. “From that dark recess There is a voice cursing. Soon a snarl echoes In the body dark, and From the lip, a fall, All things descending, Where the River’s anger smashes
In twist and scream it heaps upon itself One giant convulsion, and From this mouth a roar repeats Over and again. But in its vicious chant, In its water heavy air, It inhales, and The monster’s skin is rent.” Excerpt from ‘Rapid Acoustic’
II. ‘Reflection’ speaks of the majestic beauty the river displays at dawn and dusk. At times, the water is so very calm a perfect mirror image of the surrounding landscape is reflected on the water’s surface, bringing a sensation of inner peace to any spirit who is fortunate enough to experience such splendor. The elegance of the vibraphone pitted against a meandering flute solo and unpredictable bass line reflects the stillness of the river but the hidden undercurrents that lurk just beneath the surface. “Upon that westward reach, The mirrored trees and banks are gone In a play of light and dark. The reflection of myself alone, The words, the world, forgone.
Beneath the gums a shimmering light, Wave upon wave reflecting, and I am no longer solid, I have no reflection of myself, I shimmer in the light of the River.” Excerpt from ‘The Light of the River’
III. ‘Discovery’ reveals the arrival of European settlers and the introduction of paddleboats in the mid-1800s. These steam-powered beasts enabled essential supplies to be delivered to farmers working the land in arid, remote regions. The magnificence of the towering cliffs must have been an awesome sight to newcomers navigating this often-treacherous waterway. These discoveries inspire a chorus of brass rising above busy, interlocking woodwinds and pulsating percussion, transforming into a glittering, joyous melody that echoes the enthusiasm and spirit of the paddleboats themselves. Just as dawn is announced by a chorus of Kookaburras, so too is this movement, but instead of a recording, the call of these idiosyncratic Australian birds is emulated here by the trumpet section using various playing techniques and plunger mutes.
“Deep in the range threads a singing path Where every bend reveals a world of sheer Too steep for life to cling. Beneath a plunge from cloud to liquid deep, Where it repeats and arcs away, A chime against the stone, A whispered word,
Too soft for you and I to hear. But all the time it steals away The mountain chain, Grain by grain, Till none remain, But the mute white beach.” ‘The Gorge Country’
IV. ‘Obsession’. Following the paddleboats is a bush soundscape, painting the timbral colours experienced at the campfire at dusk. This is usurped by a sleazy late night Tango featuring at first the soprano then baritone saxophone. The river is as deceiving as it is beautiful. Whilst the calm and innocent surface has lured many into the Murray’s embrace, precarious snags, unseen creatures and treacherous undercurrents present many hazards. Even with experience the Murray still makes those in love with her unable to resist her temptations. …Now I’m folding, folding, Country ‘round me “Catch me I’m falling like an old possum-skin cloak, now catch me I’m falling, as the River is cutting, down the face of Old Barmah Country. carrying and carving, On each river bend away my intelligence, The world in unwinding, to leave me primitive…” Forever unwinding. Excerpt from ‘Catch me I’m falling’ V. ‘Carnevale’ is the Italian term for carnival or festival and is used here to capture the profound influence of Mediterranean culture in the South West regions of New South Wales. In the late 1940s and early 1950s hundreds of Italian people migrated to Australia and thanks to the development of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and many years of strenuous labour, they helped to transform otherwise unworkable land into thriving viticultural regions. Whilst many despise the changes that man has brought to the Murray and her surrounding landscape, no one can deny that these one-time immigrants, now the Great-Grandfathers and Mothers of second and third generation Australians, have promoted positive change in Australia. The melodic material used in this section is inspired by the Italian folk dance the ‘Tarantella’ and is simply bursting with energy and joy. “I feel My skin begin to peel, Unpuzzling, forgetting. I am emptying, and My headwater is a circle Winding into a vortex.
Accelerate! Accelerate! Suck me down The hollowed out tube The River is carving for itself.” Excerpt from ‘Headwater’
VI. Ascension. Through all of these twists and turns the piece comes back to where we started using material from ‘Survival’. Not only does this implicate the lifecycle of the eco-system, it also hopes to challenge all listeners to consider this; how do we successfully sustain of our beloved Murray River? As now it not only affects the natural inhabitants, it encompasses all who prosper from her bounty, and that means you. “Ego dissolves, The body, osmotic, Is everywhere, And all I’m hearing Is the sound of water
Falling on stone, The echo of myself, And my own body, Ringing.” Excerpt from ‘Headwater’
YALE CONCERT BAND The Kanstal York tubas were donated to the Yale Bands by David Alexander, Yale class of 1964. His gift makes it possible for us to present both the look and sound of the instruments that defined the highest standards of the brass world at the turn of the 20th century. Over There (1917) GEORGE M. COHAN (1887-1949) (arr. James Lamb)
George M. Cohan, a successful Broadway producer, playwright, performer, lyricist and composer, wrote Over There on his way into work. The headlines that inspired him the morning of April 6, 1917, were not ordinary. They announced that the U.S. had abandoned its isolationist policy and entered World War I on the side of the Allied Powers against the Central Powers. Cohan based his music on a three note bugle call, and the song was loved by the general public. President Wilson described Over There as “a genuine inspiration to all American manhood” and Cohan remained unwavering in his patriotic fervor. However, a significant number of artists and performers grew increasingly disillusioned with a war in which 9,000,000 individuals lost their lives (117,000 of whom were Americans). Thus, Cohan’s work was contrapuntal to the edgier music produced by performers such as James Reese Europe and Noble Sissle, who drew on their direct experience of war’s brutality to develop works such as On Patrol in No Man’s Land, recorded in March of 1919. – from the Library of Congress
Yankee Division AEF (1923) FRED W. CLEMENT (1865-1951) [no photo] Fred Clement of Massachusetts was the leader of the Worcester Brass Band from 1902 to 1904, and the cornet soloist for the 1916 Reeves’ American Band in Providence, RI, under the direction of Herbert L. Clarke. Clements was a popular composer of patriotic marches, including the Yankee Division AEF. This march was written for the 26th Infantry Division. Formed on July 18, 1917, and activated August 22, 1917 at Camp Edwards, MA, consisting of units from the New England area, the division’s commander selected the nickname “Yankee Division” to highlight the division’s geographical makeup. America, the Beautiful (1910) SAMUEL AUGUSTUS WARD (1847-1903) The Star-Spangled Banner was made the United States national anthem by Herbert Hoover in 1931. Until then, a number of patriotic songs were used at important social and civic events – the colonial hymn Chester, America (My Country, ’Tis of Thee), and, as of 1910, America, the Beautiful, with lyrics by Katherine Lee Bates (below). This is a more contemporary setting of the America, the Beautiful that citizens of New Haven would have heard 100 years ago. O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!
Down the Field (1904) STANLEIGH P. FRIEDMAN Yale Class of 1905 (arr. Erik W.G. Leidzén) Yale Class of 1905 Stanleigh Friedman’s two most famous marches are Glory for Yale and Down the Field, the traditional fight song written to exhort the Yale football team to crush rival Harvard: March, march on down the field Fighting for Eli Break through that crimson line Their strength to defy We’ll give a long cheer for Eli’s men We’re here to win again Harvard’s team may fight to the end But YALE! WILL! WIN! This fine fight song has been adopted for use by many schools, including the Universities of Tennessee and Oregon. Armed Forces Salute (1981) [no photo] (arr. Bob Lowden) This medley acknowledges each branch of the United States’ military forces. The Army begins with The Caisson Song, followed by the Coast Guard’s Semper Paratus (Always Ready). The Marine’s Hymn and The U.S. Air Force precede the Navy with their song Anchors Aweigh. As we perform this piece, we acknowledge all of the individuals who have served in the military and honor them for their service on the centennial of The Armistice agreement of World War I. Three Dance Episodes from “On the Town” (1945) LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990) (trans. Marice Stith) Marice Stith arranged Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes from “On the Town,” from the original pit orchestra scoring for the Cornell University Wind Ensemble. The ballet, originally entitled “Fancy Free,” depicts a New York street corner and bar. Three sailors appear, obviously on the prowl for girls. The story of the ballet unfolds as the sailors walk about New York City on twenty-four hour leave. The first sailor dances in an acrobatic vaudeville style; the second sailor changes from mock gentility to a sensuous dancehall style; the third sailor displays an intensely emotional acrobatic style. The music reflects these choreographic attributes. The original scoring was for a military band of five flutes, seven oboes, twenty clarinets, ten bassoons, six horns, six trumpets, nine trombones, three tubas, and six muted snare drums.
Yale University Bands P.O. Box 209048, New Haven, CT 06520-9048 ph: 203-432-4111; fax; 203-432-7213 stephanie.hubbard@yale.edu; www.yale.edu/yaleband
YALE CONCERT BAND
About the Music Director Thomas C. Duffy (b. 1955) is Professor (Adjunct) of Music and Director of University Bands at Yale University, where he has worked since 1982. He has established himself as a composer, a conductor, a teacher, an administrator, and a leader. His interests and research range from non-tonal analysis to jazz, from wind band history to creativity and the brain. Under his direction, the Yale Bands have performed at conferences of the College Band Directors National Association and New England College Band Association; for club audiences at NYC’s Village Vanguard and Iridium, Ronnie Scotts’s (London), and the Belmont (Bermuda); performed as part of the inaugural ceremonies for President George H.W. Bush; and concertized in twenty-three countries in the course of twenty international tours. Duffy produced a two-year lecture/performance series, Music and the Brain, with the Yale School of Medicine; and, with the Yale School of Nursing, developed a musical intervention to train nursing students to better hear and identify body sounds with the stethoscope. He combined his interests in music and science to create a genre of music for the bilateral conductor - in which a “split-brained conductor” must conduct a different meter in each hand, sharing downbeats. His compositions have introduced a generation of school musicians to aleatory, the integration of spoken/sung words and “body rhythms” with instrumental performance, and the pairing of music with political, social, historical and scientific themes. He has been awarded the Yale Tercentennial Medal for Composition, the Elm/ Ivy Award, the Yale School of Music Cultural Leadership Citation and certificates of appreciation by the United States Attorney’s Office for his Yale 4/Peace: Rap for Justice concerts – music programs designed for social impact by using the power of music to deliver a message of peace and justice to impressionable middle and high school students. From 1996 to 2006, he served as associate, deputy and acting dean of the Yale School of Music. He has served as a member of the Fulbright National Selection Committee, the Tanglewood II Symposium planning committee, and the Grammy Foundation Music Educators Award Screening Committee, and completed the MLE program at the Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership in Education. He has served as: president of the Connecticut Composers Inc., the New England College Band Directors Association and the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA); editor of the CBDNA Journal, publicity chair for the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles; and chair of the Connecticut Music Educators Association’s Professional Affairs and Government Relations committees. For nine years, he represented music education in Yale’s Teacher Preparation Program. He is a member of American Bandmasters Association, American Composers Alliance, the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, Connecticut Composers Incorporated, the Social Science Club, and BMI. Duffy has conducted ensembles all over the world and was selected to conduct the NAFME National Honor Band in the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
YALE CONCERT BAND 2018-2019 THOMAS C. DUFFY, Music Director STEPHANIE HUBBARD, Business Manager
Piccolo Ben Tillinger MY 21
Soprano Saxophone Nick DeWalt SY 21
Piano Julia Weiner BK 19
Flute Beatrice Brown PC 19* Jeremy Goldwasser MY 21 Julia Cai BR 20 Melissa Leone SY 21 Yaa Owusu JE 22 Katherine Handler TC 21 Sarah Monahan MY 21
Alto Saxophone Nick DeWalt SY 21* Jacob Hillman BK 19 Flynn Chen TC 20 Jose Key TC 22
Harp Michelle Tong MY 21
Bb Tenor Saxophone Antonio Medina MY 19
Oboe Amelia Merriman YSM 20 Madison Murphy JE 22
Eb Baritone Saxophone Sara Harris SY 19
Percussion David Zuckerman DC 20* Meshach Cornelius ES 22 Melina Delgado TD 19 Ryan Haygood BF 21 Jack McArthur MY 22 Lance Saddler MY 22 Alexandria Wynn TD 22 Andrew Zheng TD 22
English Horn Leonardo Ziporyn YSM 19 Eb Clarinet Alex Brod BK 19 Bb Clarinet Christopher Zhou PC 19 ** Keith L. Wilson Principal Clarinet Chair Eric Wang PC 21 Daphne Zhu ES 22 Christian Fernandez BF 20 Jessica Oki TC 20 Madeline Bender TD 20 Heather McClure MY 20 Derek Chen TD 22 Eb Alto Clarinet Jessica Oki TC 20 Bb Bass Clarinet Ethan Dodd JE 22 Bassoon Maddy Tung TD 21* Bradford Case SM 20 Kunsang Dorjee TD 22
Cornet/Trumpet (rotating) Eli Baum JE 19* James Brandfonbrener MC 21 Joseph Cho BR 22 Adam Tucker MC 21 Jacob Zavatone-Veth MY 19 French Horn (rotating) Claire Calkins PC 22 Allison Hammer BF 20 Miriam Huerta BF 22 Michael McNamara TD 20 Sida Tang SY 19 Trombone Elliott Smith BR 22 * Robert Howard GH 21 Luke Benz SM 19 Jordan Crimminger YSM 20 Euphonium Fernando Trejos Suarez ES 22 Tuba Josef Lawrence TC 20 * Adam Wolnikowski TC 21
String Bass Kohei Yamaguchi YSM 19
Music Librarian James Brandfonbrener * principal ** Friends of Keith L. Wilson (Director of Yale Bands from 1946-1973) honored him by endowing the principal clarinet chair in the Yale Concert Band in his name. If you would like information about naming a Yale Concert Band chair, please contact the Yale Bands Office.
OFFICERS Beatrice Brown, President Madeline Bender, General Manager Heather McClure, General Manager Maddy Tung, Social Chair David Zuckerman, Social Chair Adam Tucker, Personnel Manager Jeremy Goldwasser, Publicity Chair
Upcoming Yale Bands Performances
• Friday, November 30, 2018: Yale Jazz Ensemble. Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. “The Nutcracker” (Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn). 5:00 pm, New England Brewing Company, Woodbridge, CT. Free. • Saturday, December 1, 2018: Holiday Concert. “Side By Side: The Nutcracker Swings!” Yale Concert Band and Yale Jazz Ensemble, Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director, present the classic wind orchestra version and Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn “big band” arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. 2:00 pm, Woolsey Hall. Free. • Friday, February 15, 2019: Yale Concert Band Winter Concert. Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. La Fiesta Mexicana (H. Owen Reed), Magic of this Dawn (Christopher Sainsbury). 7:30 pm, Woolsey Hall. Free. • Monday, February 25, 2019: Yale Jazz Ensemble Winter Concert. Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. 7:30 pm, Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall. Free. • Sunday, March 31, 2019: Stan Wheeler and Marcia Chambers Memorial Jazz Concert. Yale Jazz Ensemble, Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director, and the Reunion Jazz Ensemble. 2:00 pm, Levinson Auditorium, Yale Law School, 127 Wall Street. Free. • Friday, April 12, 2019: Yale Concert Band Spring Concert. Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. The Rite of Spring (Igor Stravinsky/Terry Vosbein), Symphony No. 1 (Frank Ticheli), 7:30 pm, Woolsey Hall. Free.