Wind Ensemble

About the Program

Program notes by Mark Bilyeu

It is difficult to name a composer whose music is as ubiquitous to our daily lives, and as immediately recognizable as that of John Williams. Known primarily (and sometimes wrongly derided) for being a film composer, Williams has received twenty-six Grammy Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, the American Film Institute’s (AFI) Lifetime Achievement Award, four Golden Globes, and five Academy Awards — sitting just behind Walt Disney for the most Academy Award nominations at fifty-four. Even with these mind-boggling accolades, the composer has a hard time admitting his success. “I’ll be honest,” he said in a CBS Sunday Morning interview “It’s very hard for me to take complete pleasure in anything I’ve made. You can love it, and you can love it all, but you can always see things that can be improved.”  

Williams began his music studies in Los Angeles as a pianist, and took composition lessons from Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco before enlisting in the US Air Force in 1951. In the Air Force, he played piano, brass instruments, and arranged for the jazz band as part of his assignments. He left the Air Force in 1956 to study with the world-famous piano pedagogue Rosina Lhévinne at The Juilliard School, while simultaneously playing in New York’s jazz clubs. After his studies at Juilliard and the Eastman School, he returned to L.A. where he began working in Hollywood as a studio pianist. He is featured on Henry Mancini’s Peter Gunn, and was the pianist that recorded the original soundtrack for the 1961 film adaptation of West Side Story. Williams cites much of his inspiration to those composers who came before him, for whom opera was the pinnacle of theatrical experience: Tchaikovsky, Strauss, and Wagner whose leitmotif (a melody that is attached to a person or idea throughout the opera) is the hallmark of film scores today. 
 

With a list of over 100 feature film scores to his name, it is impossible to list them all, yet some of the most memorable are featured on this program. His long-standing relationship with filmmaker Steven Spielberg, which began in 1974 with Sugarland Express and 1975 with the iconic two-note shark motive from Jaws, also gave us the music from the thrilling original Indiana Jones trilogy (1981-1989), the 1993 soundtrack to the groundbreaking Jurassic Park franchise, and the 1994 theme to Schindler’s List, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. In 1979, Williams capitalized on his military background to craft music for Spielberg’s comedic film 1941, creating what Williams described as a “zanily patriotic march.” Spielberg’s 2012 work depicting Abraham Lincoln’s struggle as a leader during the Civil War brought a different approach to patriotism for Williams. With Malice Toward None, is based on the quote from Lincoln’s second inaugural address, and features a prominent trumpet solo for Christopher Martin, who, along with the rest of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, recorded the original soundtrack.
 

Williams has also been able to create music that seems to exist outside our own times and places. Along with George Lucas, he has taken us to galaxies far, far away, with the music to Star Wars as they depicted intergalactic battles between good and evil, a mystical energy field known as The Force, and even a cantina band on the planet Tatooine. On our own terra firma, yet existing in a parallel society, we are transported to the wizarding world Williams crafted for the original triptych of Harry Potter films in the early 2000’s. 
 

One of his newest additions to the cultural sports canon — which already included The Olympic Fanfare, Fanfare for Fenway, and the instantly-recognizable Olympic Spirit for NBC’s Olympic coverage — is his 2023 work Of Grit and Glory, which he composed for the ESPN College Football Championships.
 

“Without John Williams,” said Steven Speilberg as he honored Williams with the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, “bikes don’t really fly, nor do brooms in Quidditch matches, nor do men in red capes. There is no Force, dinosaurs do not walk the earth. We do not wonder, we do not weep, we do not believe. John, you breathe belief into every film we have made. You take our movies — many of them about our most impossible dreams — and through your musical genius, you make them real and everlasting for billions and billions of people.”

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About the Artists

Brian Lewis

“There are a lot of fine violinists on the concert stage today, but few can match Lewis for an honest virtuosity that supremely serves the music,” reports the Topeka Capital-Journal. Acclaimed performances include concerto debuts in both New York’s Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, among many others.  Awards for his musical contributions include the Instrumentalist Award by the 2014 Austin Critics’ Table, two Teaching Excellence Awards at the University of Texas, ING Professor of Excellence Award, Medal of St. Barthélemy (French West Indies), Texas Exes Teaching Award, Fredell Lack Award, Peter Mennin Prize, William Schuman Prize, Waldo Mayo Talent Award, and two Elizabeth B. Koch fellowships. He is also the artistic Director of the Starling-DeLay Symposium on Violin Studies at The Juilliard School in New York City.

Caleb Hudson

Uniting virtuosity and musical sensitivity, Caleb Hudson has carved out a unique space in the world of classical trumpet. Having received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School, Caleb has over a decade of experience captivating international audiences as a member of the Canadian Brass. Acclaimed by the New York Times as “brilliantly stylish,” he is known for his mastery of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, performing as soloist with ensembles such as the Philadelphia Orchestra and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. A dedicated educator, Caleb is the Associate Professor of Trumpet at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin. His previous teaching experience includes the University of North Texas and Colorado State University. An accomplished arranger and composer, his original composition “White Rose Elegy” debuted at Lincoln Center, performed by the Canadian Brass and New York Philharmonic Brass. He’s also the recording artist for Suzuki Trumpet School, Volume I, the first brass application of the Suzuki Method. Rooted in a deep faith in Christ, Caleb resides in Texas with his wife, Amanda, and their three children.

Alec Rodriguez 

Alec Rodriguez is a conductor and music educator pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Band Conducting at the University of Texas at Austin, where he serves as a Graduate Assistant with the University Bands. In this role, he assists with conducting, ensemble operations, and undergraduate teaching while advancing his artistry and scholarship. From 2022 to 2025, Rodriguez was Associate Director of Instrumental Music at Clovis High School (CA), conducting the Symphonic Band and String Orchestra, leading the percussion program, and managing transportation and facility operations. Previously, he taught at Independence High School (2019–2022), directing the Symphonic Band and Indoor Percussion Ensemble, which earned first place at the 2022 WGI Merced Regional. Rodriguez holds a Master of Arts in Music – Conducting and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from California State University, Fresno. A passionate advocate for student-centered, inclusive music-making, he emphasizes emotional authenticity, technical excellence, and diversity in repertoire. Active in the marching arts, Rodriguez serves as Front Ensemble Coordinator for Blue Devils B and has worked with Red Wave Indoor, Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps, and Bakersfield College Indoor. His research focuses on expanding wind band repertoire to reflect diverse and LGBTQIA+ voices.

Jerry Junkin

Serving since 1988 on the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the Vincent R. and Jane D. DiNino Chair for the Director of Bands, in addition to serving as a University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Jerry Junkin is recognized as one of the world’s most highly regarded wind conductors. Previously, he served on the faculties of both the University of Michigan and the University of South Florida. In addition to his responsibilities as professor of music and conductor of the Texas Wind Ensemble, he serves as head of the conducting division and teaches courses in conducting and wind band literature. He has served as music director and conductor of the Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia since 2003, and as artistic director and conductor of the Dallas Winds since 1993. He also serves as visiting professor at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music Wind Ensemble in Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Junkin has conducted All-State bands and festivals in forty-eight states and five continents, and is a Yamaha master educator.

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Wind Ensemble

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