Symphony Band

About the Program

Michael-Thomas Foumai
Spiritus Mundi

BORN 1987, Honolulu, Hawai‘i
COMPOSED 2010
PREMIERED November 22, 2012, Royal Hawaiian Band, Clarke Bright, conductor
DURATION 8 minutes

Dr. Michael-Thomas Foumai is a composer of contemporary concert music and educator. His music has been described as “vibrant and cinematic” (New York Times) and “full of color, drama, and emotion” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). A prolific composer of symphonic music, his work is marked by storytelling, with a focus on the history, people and culture of his Hawaii home. In 2019, he was selected into the 17^th class of the Pacific Century Fellows comprised of 35 outstanding and talented young leaders to represent the individual and professional diversity of Hawaii. His commitment to local storytelling is seen in his recent large scale works Raise Hawaiki,  a large scale choral-symphony based on the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hōkūle´a, and his work on the collaborative educational multi-media production Symphony of the Hawaiian Birds which cultivated awareness of extinct and endangered Hawaiian species of birds. Spiritus Mundi was commissioned by the Royal Hawaiian Band in celebration of its 175th anniversary.  The work borrows melodic motives from Hawaiian chant and fragments from the song Aloha ‘Oe composed by Queen Lili’uokalani, the last reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The title refers to the World Spirit or Spirit of the World and resonates with the long and prosperous career of the Royal Hawaiian Band. The work is a celebration and tribute to the band’s continued prosperity and to the ever-present gift of music making to come.

Yukiko Nishimura
Sparkleberry

BORN 1967, Japan
COMPOSED 2006
DURATION 8 minutes

Composer and pianist Yukiko Nishimura graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1990 and a year later moved to Miami, Florida to study with maverick Alfred Reed. She then undertook studies at the Manhattan School of Music, and in 1994, returned to Japan where she maintains an active career as both pianist and composer. Her 2006 work Sparkleberry— named after the Florida-native tree, and close relative to the blueberry, huckleberry, and lingonberry plants — earned a special citation at the 26^th International Composition Competition for Band in Corciano, Italy. Consisting of two contrasting movements: the first a bright and playful ode to the tree’s white spring-time blossoms, and the second, a darker yet still dance-like movement featuring saxophone soloists, possibly reflecting its blue-black berries which develop in the fall.

Michael Colgrass
Bali

BORN April 22, 1932
DIED July 3, 2019
COMPOSED 2006
DURATION 9 minutes

Michael Colgrass began his musical career as a jazz drummer. After moving to New York City, and performing with the New York Philharmonic, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and being featured on a recording conducted by Igor Stravinsky, he turned his attention to composing. He received the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his 1977 commission by the New York Philharmonic, Deja Vu: for Percussion Quartet and Orchestra. The composer writes:  

Bali was inspired by my two summers living in Ubud, the arts-and-crafts center of Bali. The very first sound I heard every morning was a gamelan instrument playing the five-note scale unique to that region of the island. The Balinese are a warm, playful and artistic-minded people...The Dutch, the Japanese, and the Communists all failed to dominate this little island, and finally gave up and left, because they could not conquer the passive resistance of the Balinese people This work offers an example of their indomitable spirit. It is divided into three main parts: the bright dance rhythms of the gamelan orchestra are the outer sections, and the middle section is the slow lament for the dead, introduced by an explosion representing the 2002 terrorist bombing of the nightclub in the island’s capital, Denpassar. The offstage oboes represent peace-loving Muslims, who are the majority, grieving for their victims. The Balinese have a unique way of dealing with tragedy: they build a spiritual monument on the spot where the event took place as an offering to the gods. Following the requiem-like music we hear a gradual build-up of bright sounds representing the sun reflecting off of the icon built to the memory of the dead, which then leads to a return of the dance.

Adam Schoenberg
Rise

BORN November 15, 1980, Northampton, MA
COMPOSED 2018
PREMIERED March 13, 2019 Cal Poly Pomona Wind Ensemble, Ricky Badua, conductor
DURATION 10 minutes

Emmy Award-winning and Grammy® nominated Adam Schoenberg has twice been named among the top 10 most performed living composers by orchestras in the United States with commissions from the Atlanta and Kansas Symphony Orchestras, and the LA Philharmonic. Of his work Rise, the composer writes:

I wanted to create a new piece that could be presented in three distinct ways: Both movements played back-to-back; standalone movements (“Beginnings” can be a concert opener or encore, and “Farewell Song” can be placed anywhere in a program); or having the movements bookend an entire program (i.e., the concert begins with “Beginnings” and closes with “Farewell Song”.) “Beginnings” is designed to function as a long gradual crescendo. It begins with a rhythmic ostinato that becomes the driving force for the entire movement. As it progresses, the orchestration and overall intensity grows, ultimately creating an uplifting and optimistic ending. “Farewell Song” is based on the final movement of my violin concerto, Orchard in Fog. This movement is meant to have a timeless feel, simultaneously serving as an atmospheric and pastoral-landscape type of sonic experience, while also being imagined as a goodbye song to a loved one.

Allison Loggins-Hull
The Loop

BORN 1982, Chicago, IL
COMPOSED 2021
PREMIERED December 2021,  Eastern Wind Ensemble,  Midwest Clinic, Chicago, IL
DURATION 5 minutes

From the Composer: 

The Loop is inspired by Chicago and its promise to African-Americans who came to the city during The Great Migration. It opens with a train sound, representing the trains migrants took up to the city from places like Mississippi and other southern states. It also nods to Chicago’s L train, which sounds throughout the city and circles a downtown area appropriately referred to as “The Loop.“ The piece is comprised of musical loops and also embodies the repetitive and rhythmic nature of factory labor, which the majority of black southerners found themselves doing once they made it to the big city— including my own grandfather who worked in a can factory. The piece has a driving and determined energy, much like the spirit that is needed when anyone migrates to a new home for a better life. For fun, I added house beats (house music started in Chicago!) and the opening horn motifs are inspired by Chicago-native Kanye West’s, “All of the Lights.” A little side note: I’m originally from Chicago, as well as my entire family, and hold this great city very close to my heart. 

Denis Llinás
Un Cafecito

BORN 1980, Miami, FL
COMPOSED 2020
PREMIERED April 27, 2021 WalkerHigh School Band (Jeff Sleighman, conductor) 
DURATION 6 minutes

Dennis Llinás is a Cuban-Columbian conductor and composer. He currently is the Director of Bands at The University of Oregon where he conducts the wind ensemble, teaches graduate & undergraduate conducting, and oversees the band area. A native of Hialeah, FL, Dennis studied at Florida International University & The University of Texas at Austin. According to Llinás, “The phrase “Un Cafecito” means a little coffee. Growing up in Miami in our Cuban culture, it was customary for co-workers to bring to work an 8 oz. cup filled with Cuban coffee (basically really strong and sweet espresso) and tiny shot cups. At certain points in the day, they would approach colleagues and pour a quick shot for them accompanied with the phrase, “¿Quieres un cafecito?” translating to “Do you want some coffee?” Needless to say after that shot, you were ready for another few hours of daily activity.”

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About the Artists

Mike Lebrias

Mike Lebrias is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting at the University of Texas at Austin where he studies with Professor Jerry Junkin and serves as an assistant instructor for the UT Bands. His responsibilities include co-teaching undergraduate conducting, serving as an assistant conductor for the concert bands, and a teaching assistant for the Longhorn Band. An active clinician & guest conductor, Mike has worked with various schools in the Austin and Tampa areas. Mike is also active in the transcription and arrangement realm, where he has transcribed multiple works for winds, most notably Orbital (originally for percussion quartet and orchestra) by New Zealand composer John Psathas - in addition to a large body of arrangement work for collegiate and high school marching bands. Recently, Mike has taken up content creation and maintains a steady presence on social media platforms. He aims to provide educational music and conducting content to his viewers, with hopes to help bring the Wind Band art form into the mainstream.

Tyler Ehrlich

Tyler Ehrlich (he/him) serves as a graduate teaching assistant and doctoral student in wind conducting at The University of Texas at Austin. In this role, he assists with conducting and administrating The University’s concert bands, athletic bands, conducting courses, and the new music ensemble. Tyler previously lived in Atlanta, Georgia where he served as conductor of the Emory University Wind Ensemble, director of bands at Decatur High School, and associate conductor of the Atlanta Wind Symphony. During the 2023–2024 year, Tyler will be giving invited talks at The Midwest Clinic on interpretation strategies with Viet Cuong and at the TMEA Convention on navigating cultural appropriation and exoticism in wind band music with Omar Thomas and Danielle Fisher. Ehrlich has a Master of Music from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from Cornell University. Tyler shares his life with his partner, Dr. Brent Allman, and their dog Milo. His website is tylerehrlich.com.

T.j. Anderson

T.j. Anderson (he/him) is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Wind Conducting as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Texas at Austin. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music at Coastal Carolina University, focusing on percussion under the mentorship of Dr. Jesse Willis. T.j. continued his education by pursuing a Master’s Degree in Instrumental Conducting at Appalachian State University. There, he studied primarily with Dr. John Stanley Ross. As a graduate teaching assistant, T.j. made contributions to university bands, teaching conducting, band literature, and band methods courses. He also worked with the Marching Mountaineers as a winds and percussion instructor/arranger and served as Musical Director for the Appalachian Concert Band. In addition to his academic pursuits, T.j. has held leadership roles as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Festive Brass and Assistant Conductor of the Carolina Master Chorale. He is an active member of various professional music and education organizations and has been recognized as an Honorary Brother of Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and a Sigma Alpha Iota Friend of the Arts.

Cliff Croomes

Cliff Croomes serves as the Associate Director of Bands and Director of the Longhorn Band at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to this appointment, Croomes was the Assistant Director of Bands at Louisiana State University and the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Baton Rouge. Previous to his appointment the faculty he studied at LSU for his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. Dr. Croomes earned his Bachelor of Music Studies degree from the University of Texas at Austin and is an alumnus of the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps from Rosemont, Illinois. He has performed with ensembles throughout the United States, London, Paris, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and consulted throughout Japan. Dr. Croomes holds an endorsement with Innovative Percussion Inc. and is a founding board member of the composer diversity initiative “And We Were Heard” as well as a member of the Dr. William P. Foster Project advisory board. Dr. Croomes also holds an honorary membership in Kappa Kappa Psi.

Symphony Band

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