Symphony Band

About the Program

Tetsunosuke Kushida
Asuka
Born 1935, Kyoto, Japan
Composed 1969 / 1981 / 1994
Duration 9 minutes

Tetsunosuke Kushida was born in Kyoto in 1935. While majoring in mathematics at Kyoto University of Education, he studied composition with Tadashi Fukumoto. After graduation, he continued studies under Nagomi Nakaseko and film-music composer Nakaba Takahashi. After winning the Ongaku-no-Tomo-sha Corporation Prize for Composition in 1969 for his work “Stone Garden,” he studied composition and arranging for wind music under Paul Yoder, and Ichitaro Tsujii, who would be the conductor to premiere his work Asuka. Utilizing folk song inspired melodies, Kushida offers an image of the ancient landscape of Asuka, a region in the central part of the Nara district in Japan.

Ralph Vaughan Williams
Toccata Marziale
Born October 12, 1872, Down Ampney, United Kingdom
Died August 26, 1958, Hanover Terrace, United Kingdom
Composed 1924
Duration 5 minutes

Vaughan Williams was first introduced to military bands during his service in the British Army during World War I, when he volunteered to join the Royal Army Medical Corps, serving as a stretcher bearer in an ambulance crew in France and Greece. As a forty-something, he was significantly older than the rest of his comrades, and the experience took a significant toll on both his mental and his physical health, notably leading to deafness later in life. It took him nearly four years after the 1918 armistice before he would compose again. In 1924, he revisited the sound world of the military band, and wrote two works, his Folk Song Suite and Toccata Marziale. With a title derived from the Italian word “toccare” (to touch), Vaughn Williams is hearkening back to the days of the virtuosic Baroque keyboard works of Bach and his predecessors, requiring musicians to be as nimble as a harpsichordist as the ensemble’s sections engage in a dialogue of thrilling rhythmic vitality. 

Elena Specht
Embers to Ash
Born 1993, Evanston, IL
Composed 2016
Duration 10 minutes

The Composer writes: 

In conceiving of Embers to Ash, I was interested in both the physical and emotional meanings of these words. Embers are the smoldering remains of a fire, while ash is the powdery residue that remains after a fire, as well as being a pale shade of gray. However, both have double meanings: embers can also refer to slowly fading emotions, memories, or relationships, and ash can mean feelings of remorse, regret, and nostalgia. Ash is also a type of tree, something alive and growing. These definitions reminded me of the mythological creature of the phoenix, a bird that is cyclically reborn from the ashes of the fire in which its previous life had ended. Embers to Ash is structured around these concepts: fire, decay, a gray-like stasis, and finally, a sense of rebirth and renewal.

Edward Elgar
Chanson de Matin, Op. 15, No. 2
Born June 2, 1857 Worcestershire, England 
Died February 23, 1934. Worcester, England
Composed 1899
Duration 4 minutes

Originally a work for solo violin and piano, Edward Elgar himself orchestrated Chanson de Matin (Morning Song), shortly after its 1899 publication. His original orchestration for chamber orchestra premiered at a Queen’s Hall Promenade concert in 1901 with its companion piece Chanson de Nuit (Evening song).  Here the Dutch composer and conductor Johan de Meij has arranged the work for wind ensemble, allowing concert goers of all ilks the opportunity to experience the lush harmonies and gentle melodies so indicative of Elgar’s music.

Leonard Bernstein
arr. William James Duthoit
West Side Story: Selection
Born August 25, 1918, Lawrence, MA
Died October 14, 1990, New York, NY
Composed 1957

When West Side Story hit Broadway in 1957, it was an immediate success, and a turning point in American theater. Leonard Bernstein—whose previous theater works On the Town, Wonderful Town, and Candide had also made splashes in different measure—had crafted a theatrical work which simultaneously looked back to operatic origins, and looked beyond the musical comedies that had ruled Broadway for so many years. In West Side Story, Bernstein showcased complicated vocal ensembles ala Mozart operatic finales and implemented letimotifs as Wagner had perfected, all while utilizing the jazz harmonies, and Latin rhythms of the New York streets. Even without the dialogue to drive the drama, Bernstein’s music depicts the tragic story of the Shakespearean star-crossed lovers. In this arrangement by William James Duthoit we hear the familiar tunes "I Feel Pretty," "Maria," "Something's Coming," "Tonight," "One Hand, One Heart," "Cool," and "America."

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About the Artists

Emily Warren

Emily Warren attends The University of Texas at Austin, where she is currently pursuing a doctor of musical arts degree in wind conducting. As a graduate teaching assistant, she works with the university’s athletic and concert bands, assisting with administrative duties and conducting the ensembles. Additionally, she teaches courses in conducting and wind band literature. Prior to her graduate studies, Emily lived in Massachusetts where she spent four years as a public school music educator. She is a specialist in electroacoustic repertoire for wind ensemble and has been invited to present her research internationally, most recently at the IGEB (International Society for the Promotion and Research of Wind Music) conference in Valencia, Spain. Emily holds a bachelor's degree in music education from Indiana University and a master's degree in wind conducting from the University of Kansas, where she studied under the direction of Dr. Paul Popiel. She is an active member of various professional music organizations, including CBDNA, TMEA, IGEB, and is an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi.
 

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.

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symphony Band

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Upcoming Events

Wind Ensemble
Friday, April 11,  7:30 pm
Bates Recital Hall

Wind Symphony
Wednesday, April 23, 7:30 pm
Bates Recital Hall

Symphony Band
Sunday, April 27, 7:30 pm
Bates Recital Hall

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