Symphony Band

About the Program

Program notes by Mark Bilyeu

Ryan George
Portrait in Jade
Born 1978
Composed 2016
Premiered Spring 2017, Beijing, China
8 minutes

Ryan George currently resides in Austin, Texas where he is active as an arranger and composer. A graduate of the University of Kentucky, his work ranges from music for the concert stage to music for marching ensembles and is performed regularly throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. He is a specialist in music designed for marching ensembles, and currently is in his 8th year as the brass arranger/composer of the Boston Crusaders from Boston, MA.  He writes of his work Portraits in Jade: “Portrait in Jade is a theme & variations written for the Wan Quan School in Beijing China. The school's song is utilized as the main thematic idea. I fragmented this simple, folksong like melody and used these musical slivers as the basis for building each variation. The result is an exuberant and joyful 8-minute work that reflects my experiences in Beijing during the winter of 2016.” 
 

Shuying Li
Starry Ocean
Born 1989, China
Composed 2024
Premiered March 27, 2024, Academy of the Arts Wind Ensemble, John Seaton, conductor, CBDNA Regional Conference in Las Vegas, NV
6 minutes

Shuying Li began her musical education in her native China. In her sophomore year at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, she won a scholarship to continue study at the Hartt School in Connecticut. She holds a doctorate and a master’s degree from the University of Michigan. Her composition teachers include Michael Daugherty, Evan Chambers, Ye Guohui, and Larry Alan Smith. She writes “Starry Ocean is a musical journey that takes listeners deep into the depths of the ocean, capturing the alluring spectacle of marine life as it mirrors the mystical allure of a star-filled sky. The narrative in the music seeks to depict the enchanting undersea landscape that resembles Van Gogh's "Starry Night." The piece begins with a tranquil, serene depiction of the undersea world, gradually building in complexity as the marine life becomes more active and vibrant. The music reflects this flurry of activity within this undersea cosmos, creating a soundscape that is as intriguing as the bioluminescent creatures in the deep ocean.” Dr. Li taught and directed the Composition/Music Theory Program at Gonzaga University before joining the faculty at California State University, Sacramento, in the fall of 2022.
 

Joel Love
The Golden Hour
Born 1982
Composed 2016
Premiered February 20, 2017, University of Texas at Austin Symphonic Band, Ryan S. Kelly, conductor
4 minutes

“This work began life as the second movement of Three Images (2016) for saxophone octet. The Golden Hour is a meditation on the image of the sun setting (or rising). In photography, the term “the golden hour” refers to the time just before and after sunrise/sunset, during which daylight is reddish and soft,” explains composer Joel Love. Love completed a D.M.A. in composition from The University of Texas at Austin and holds degrees from the University of Houston's Moores School of Music (M.M.) and Lamar University’s Mary Morgan Department of Music (B.M.). His music explores an eclectic mix of genres, from short video pieces to works for chamber and large ensembles, and he is the only two-time winner of the PARMA Recordings Composition Competition. He lives in Houston, Texas, where he teaches full-time at Houston Community College's Southwest location in Stafford, Texas.
 

George Gershwin
Theme from Rhapsody in Blue
Born Sept 26, 1898, Brooklyn, NY
Died July 11, 1937, Los Angeles, CA
Composed 1924
Premiered February 12, 1924
15 minutes
 

Despite Gershwin’s one-act opera Blue Monday being a commercial failure, it inspired the bandlead Paul Whiteman to commission the songwriter to create a concert piece for an all-American program he was assembling. His goal was to show the world what American music really was, and his plan was to invite every big name he knew. The New York Tribune ran an article five weeks before the concert with the headline “Whiteman Judges Named. Committee Will Decide ‘What Is American Music.’” It was a ploy, of course, but an effective one! It also lit a fire under Gershwin, who had not yet begun composing the work. Fortunately, inspiration struck him shortly after, as he later recounted: 

“It was on a train...that I suddenly heard — and even saw on paper — the complete construction of the Rhapsody in Blue, from beginning to end. I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America — of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness. By the time I reached Boston, I had a definite plot of the piece, as distinguished from its actual substance.”

Jascha Heifetz, Victor Herbert, Fritz Kreisler, Sergei Rachmaninoff, John Philip Sousa, Leopold Stokowski and Igor Stravinsky were all in attendance to witness the premiere of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the composer at the piano, backed by Whiteman’s jazz band.
 

Dennis Llinás
Cajon’s Reverb
Born 1980, Miami, Florida
2025
Premiered March 29, 2025, South Dakota All-State, Dennis Llinás, conductor
5 minutes
 

Dennis Llinás is a Cuban-Colombian 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. Cajón's Reverb is not a programmatic piece and more a development of a groove and motive. It features the cajón throughout and it is encouraged that the instrument be in a visually prominent position while still providing tempo from a strategic location. The work is built on one rhythmic/intervallic fragment which is passed around the ensemble until its full version near the end of the piece. Meanwhile, there are techniques for echoes of rhythms in the percussion instruments to add to the effect.

Back to Program ^

About the Artists

Cody Ray

Cody Ray is currently pursuing a doctor of musical arts in wind conducting at The University of Texas at Austin where he studies with professor Jerry Junkin and serves as a graduate teaching assistant for University Bands. He received his bachelor of arts in music education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham under the mentorship of Dr. Sue Samuels, Dr. Gene Fambrough, Dr. Cara Morantz, and Dr. Sean Murray, and a master of music in wind conducting from Tte University of South Carolina (’24) studying under Dr. Cormac Cannon, Dr. Jay Jacobs, and Dr. Quintus Wrighten. Prior to his graduate studies, Cody served as the assistant director of bands at Cairo High School in Cairo, GA from 2020-2022. Before coming to Cairo, he also served as director of bands at Sipsey Valley High/Middle School from 2019-2020 and director of bands at Sulligent High School from 2018-2019. His professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, the College Band Directors National Association, and the National Band Association.

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 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. Croomes also holds an honorary membership in Kappa Kappa Psi.

Back to Program

Symphony Band

Back to Program

Upcoming Events

Mahler Symphony No. 2 
Resurrection
Symphony Orchestra & Combined Choirs
Leah Crocetto, soprano 
Sophio Dzidziguri, mezzo soprano

One of the most beloved symphonies in the canon, Mahler's "Resurrection" symphony boasts a large orchestra, mezzo and soprano soloists, and similarly to Beethoven's 9th Symphony, a large choir in the final movement. For this performance, the Butler School's Concert Chorale and University Chorus ensembles will join forces; they will be joined by Butler School alumni singers and community choral singers from around Austin.

Tuesday, March 31, 8:00 p.m.
Long Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets

Back To Program ^