Special Guests

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:30:18 -0700

The Music Department at Willamette University presents:

The Willamette University Wind Ensemble
&
The University Chamber Ensemble

First Suite in E Flat for Military Band
III. March
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

The First Suite in E Flat for Military Band is one of the best known and most often performed works in the wind-band repertoire. In the notebook in which he kept a record of his compositions from 1895 until his death, Holst entered the '1st Suite for Military Band Op.28A' on the page for 1909. This is the only evidence we have of the work's origins, for there is no certain record of any performance before 1920, nor is there any evidence of for whom the work was written. It is strange that this masterpiece of band writing should not have entered the repertoire at once; there has certainly been no lack of performances in the years since 1920.
The March begins suddenly. It consists of two themes, the first of which, performed by brass choir and percussion, is a march light in character. The second theme is dominated by the woodwinds and is composed of a long, lyrical line reminiscent of the original Chaconne melody. The movement concludes with both themes intertwining as the band crescendos to a climax.
N. Avirom

Joe’s Last Mix
tanner menard (b. 1978)

Joe's last mix was begun in the summer of 1999 and completed early in the year 2000. It was commissioned by a great friend, Stuart Sims, in memory of his stepfather Joe Sullivan. At the time, Stuart and I spent many hours listening a variety of music, especially the minimalistic orchestral works of John Adams, he a graduate student the University of Michigan and I a 19 year old undergraduate at Louisiana State. We decided that i would compose a work that would be a celebration of Joe's life rather than a requiem in his memory.
At the time, I was highly involved in the electronic dance scene that was rapidly reaching its peak in the U.S. It seemed fitting to combine my infatuation with minimalism with the thumping music that had taken over the underground night life of cities all across America.
Throughout the work you can hear many things that are at least reminiscent of artist such as Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. joe's last mix was my first attempt at orchestrating techniques common in electronica into a setting for traditional instruments and you will find many sections that seek to imitate delay, reverb and filtering. I was able to achieve this by using compositional techniques that would have been impossible with out the aid of a computer. One of the aspects of the work that still fascinates me is my cyclical use of isorhythms both in motivic and orchestrational material.
Joe's last mix has taken on a life of its own since then, being played at concerts and festivals around the world, by professional and amateur ensembles, and has been recorded professionally in Japan by Kafua Records. Originally, Stuart was kind enough to start a publishing company just to get this work out to an eager public, and named the company Loose Filter Music, after a term coined by John Adams (referring to Adams' own very diverse musical influences, due to his parents' very eclectic and democratic musical tastes). In September 2008, our publishing agreement came to an end and I approached Stuart about releasing joe's last mix freely under a Creative Commons license. My hope here is that this will increase performances of this work, lead to new works, and increase the possibility that traditional music can thrive in a changing world.
Special thanks to Stuart Sims for supporting joe's last mix over the years. He has spent countless hours promoting, learning, conducting, and engaging audiences with this piece. This free release is dedicated to the work that he has done to give this piece the wonderful life that it has had and will continue to have.
Note by the composer

Tanner Menard was born on September 20th, 1978 – the same month that Brian Eno published his essay titled “Ambient Music”. At the age of 11, Menard composed his first works for piano and has since explored minimal sound worlds in myriad contexts that are bound by a central poetic understanding of sound. For nearly 20 years he has composed and curated experimental sound works and installations both for electronic media and orchestral ensembles. Menard’s music is released on Install Records, Archaic Horizon Net Label, Friendly Virus Net Label, Kafua Records and will soon be released on Tokyo Droning, Experimedia, Slow Flow Rec and Mandorla. His orchestral music has been published by Loose Filter Music.
Menard’s work has also appeared on the radio, on tv, in plays, at art galleries, festivals, spiritual centers and in major concert halls across the world. In 2005 Menard served as an artist in residence at Arizona State University where he collaborated with Jeph Jerman, Gary Hill, and Daniel Bernard Romain for his installation, “Envyronie”. Menard is rapidly becoming known for recreation of Robert Rich's Sleep Concert with Chika Iijima and Jeremy Bible and has lulled audiences to sleep with sounds from over 100 artists from all over the globe.

Intermission

Concerto pour Saxophone alto et Orchestre a Cordes
I. Lento espressivo, Allegro
Pierre Max Dubois (1930-1995)

Ballade für Flöte mit Begleitung des Orchesters, Op. 288
Carl Einrich Reinecke (1824-1910)

Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes
II. Rhosymedre
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

Egmont Overture, Op. 84
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Written in 1809 and premiered in 1810, Beethoven composed this as incidental music to Goethe’s five-act tragedy with the same name. The work consists of the overture (played this evening) followed by nine pieces for soprano, male narrator, and symphony orchestra. Upon hearing the work for the first time, Goethe wrote that Beethoven had expressed his intentions with "a remarkable genius." Read an English translation of the full text of the play here.

The Wind-Band Music of the Renaissance

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:30:11 -0700

The Willamette University Wind Ensemble
presents:
The Wind-Band Music of the Renaissance

Fanfare & Chorus
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

La Bergamasca
Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560-1627)
Edited: Mark Scatterday

O Che Felice Giorno
Giavani Gabrieli (c. 1554-1612)
Arranged: Grant Linsell

Canzon per Sonare No. 3
Giavani Gabrieli (c. 1554-1612)
Arranged: Grant Linsell

William Byrd Suite - Selected from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
1. The Earle of Oxford’s March William Byrd (c. 1540-1623)
2. Pavana Freely Transcribed: Gordon Jacob (1895-1984)
3. Jhon Come Kiss Me Now
4. The Mayden’s Song
5. Wolsey’s Wilde
6. The Bells

Star Trees Family Holiday Concert

Sat, 3 Dec 2011 19:00:57 -0800

The Willamette University Wind Ensemble
presents:
The Star Trees Family Holiday Concert

The Willamette University Wind Ensemble

Tandem - Willamette’s co-ed a cappeala
Angela Boston, Chris Buto, Brian Highkin, Colin Jones, Rick Jones
Grace Elizabeth Katzmar, Benny Kuo, Emily Larkin, Katie Jade McCoy,
Megan Newcomb, Kirsten Ramsdell, Derek Sup, Stephen Yamada

Matt Sazima, piano; Derek Sup, vibes
Thomas Shipley, bass; Wyatt Johnson, drums

The Willamette University Trumpet Ensemble
Brendan Dwyer, Ziv Feinberg, Ben Mow, Josephine Reeder

The Willamette University Flute Ensemble
Jacqueline Anderson, Natalie Amo, Lydia Atkinson, Rosemarie Cabading, Kara Faciszewski, Paige Gorry, Candace Hamar, Kelsey Kinavey, Gabi Rasmussen, Lindsay Russo, Alex Xeros

Matt Sazima, piano; Derek Sup, vibes
Thomas Shipley, bass; Wyatt Johnson, drums

Christiana Zollner and Harris Long

Das boot? No, Das Band - Rather, Die Band

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:47:32 -0800

The Willamette University Wind Ensemble (Willamette Hochschulblasorchester)
presents:
A concert of Germanic masterworks with special guest conductor, Dr. James Tapia

“March” from “Symphonic Metamorphosis”
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)

March - “Zapfenstreich” - WoO 20
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
arr. Grant E Linsell

Selections from: Serenade in E-flat Major, K375
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
II Menuetto I
III Adagio
IV Menuetto II

“Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral” from “Lohengrin”
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

"Wind and Chamber Ensembles"

Mon, 2 May 2011 10:44:08 -0700

Entry March Of the Boyars - Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935)
arr. Frederick Fennell
Brent Hengeveld, guest conductor

Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935) was a Norwegian with a rich musical career, including violin performance, conducting, professor of music, and composition. While some of his career and study place on the mainland of Europe, the vast majority of his musical contributions were to his homeland, frequently as a theatre and opera conductor. His compositional style manifests in a manner similiar to fellow Norwegian contemporary Edvard Grieg, and fits well into the nationalistic composition trends often used to characterize music from the turn of the century.
Halvorsen was compelled to create “Entry March of the Boyars” (1895) in response to powerful imagery borne from reading an account of Romanian Boyars (high ranking aristocrats, second in rank only to the ruling prince of a given region) entering the city of Bucharest. The work deviates in several ways from the traditional concert march, particularly in its treatment of key, thematic development, and orchestration. The performance tonight is of Frederick Fennell’s concert band arrangement of the work, which is based off of the original orchestral score.

Trio Sonata in C Major - Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773)
Alexander Xeros & Cassandra Herr, flute; Janelle Hammerstrom, bassoon
Helena Kopchick Spencer, coach

Canzonetta Madgrigal - William Byrd (1540-1623)
arr. Henry Mancini

Fughetta - Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
arr. Henry Mancini
Willamette University Trumpet Ensemble
Ziv Feinberg, Josephine Reeder, Tony Tunzat, Sarah Viens
Sarah Viens, coach

Fanfare for Barcs - Kerry Turner (b. 1960)

Concertino - Alexander Mitushin (1850-1920)
I. Maestoso
Willamette University Horn Ensemble
Sean Fogerty, Mike Hettwer, Hayley Hill, Colin Wilson
Mike Hettwer, coach

Clapping Music - Steve Reich (b. 1936)
Noah Avirom, Miran McPoland

~Intermission~

Dance Movements - Philip Sparke (b. 1951)
II. Molto vivo
Willamette University Wind Ensemble

Dance Movements was commissioned from the London-born and educated Philip Sparke (b. 1951) by the United States Air Force Band and first performed by them at the Florida Music Educators Association Convention in January 1996. It was originally composed for a large wind band that included the piano and harp and, according to Sparke, the presence of these instruments colored the score in a way that was foreign to his music.
“Movements” can be interpreted as somewhat of a double entendre, as it may pertain not only to the particular installment of music, but also to the different styles and time periods employed by Sparke in its composition, which include Latin, classical ballet, and Broadway. The movement performed tonight, Molto vivo, is in the style of an English country-dance—a style particularly favored and performed often by this ensemble. Sparke notes that the movement uses a tune that “plagued him for some time, “ and will likely leave you whistling its’ melody long after you’ve left the auditorium as well.
It begins with a rustic dance, filled with pleasantries from the upper winds, riding up and down dynamic lines, quickly moving runs, and driving bass-lines, particularly in the bassoons. Several key changes lead the tune into the minimalist, yet “bubbling ostinato” (ostinato, meaning ‘stubborn’ or ‘obstinate;’ relating to the repetitive theme) on the glockenspiel, cello, piano and harp. It is with this motif that we begin to hear Sparke’s deliberate integration of these latter two instruments. The oboe, succeeded by the soprano and alto saxophones, adds a layer of intricacy with a “languid tune,” momentarily shifting the mood of the piece from a charming skip to a more contemplative and seductive dance. Next, the clarinets and lower winds introduce yet another idea: a highly syncopated, jazzy line built on the 9th and 11th chords, interspersed by snatches of the ostinato and the original light rays from the upper winds. Eventually, the oboe theme reappears, accompanied by the lower wind chords. This reprise then leads to the dance tune reestablishing itself and the movement gracefully coming to a close.

Quartet in D Major, Op. 92 - Ernesto Köhler (1849-1907)
IV. Rondo Finale
Willamette University Flute Ensemble
Kathryn Murata, Cassi Herr, Kelsey Kinavey, Sarah Tiedemann
Sarah Tiedemann, coach

Ernesto Köhler was a respected flutist and a prolific composer of flute études, duets, and solos. Trained by his father, who was a prominent flutist in Italy, he spent much of his life in Saint Petersburg, where he performed in the orchestra of the Imperial Ballet, and later in the Imperial Russian Opera, making him the most renowned flutist in all of Russia. This Rondo Finale from his Quartet in D Major is characteristic of Kohler's lovely and accessible style, with the flutists often pairing off in an interplay of melody across the group, and the rondo theme weaving its way playfully through the piece.

Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6 - Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)
I. Aria
Alexander Xeros, flute; Janelle Hammerstrom, bassoon
Helena Kopchick Spencer, coach

Estampas Criollas - Beatriz Lockhart (b. 1944)
Arr. Jorge Montilla
Willamette University Clarinet Ensemble
Zachary Cardoso, Sam Sain, Hayley Serres, clarinet; Angela Leone, bass clarinet
Natalie Pascale, coach

The Black Horse Troop - John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)
Willamette University Wind Ensemble

The Black Horse Troop, one of the 136 marches composed by “The March King,” John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), was completed December 30th, 1924 at Sousa’s Sands Point, Long Island, estate, and was performed for the first time about ten months later on October 17, 1925 at a concert of the Sousa Band in the Public Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio.
From 1929 to1940, Troop E of the 106th Cavalry Regiment, a mechanized cavalry unit of the United States Army in WWII, was known as The Black Horse Troop and participated in parades and ceremonies as a horse mounted unit. Arranger Frederick Fennell notes that Sousa himself was a devoted horseman, and that his attention to rhythm, and use of trumpets and drums mirrors the “thrilling spectacle of regimental movement.”
Fennell’s interpretation of Sousa’s march seeks to expand and exaggerate the aspects of the original, and delegates a wide variety of players to various parts and charges in order to achieve his goal. For example, Fennell breaks up the instrumentation of percussion parts by instrument, and the regimental trumpet lines are given also to trumpets and cornets. He notes that this version “scrupulously preserves” the original, and that his alterations seek only to clarify the genius of the King.
The grandeur of the first and second strains of the march is highly dependent on their dynamic color, the swelling of the melodic lines, and the crisp articulation traditional to military marches. Next, the trio is marked principally by a legato line in the upper winds, but also features the regimental trumpet lines to which Sousa so offered favor. The “dog-fight” is driven again by the trumpet as well a forceful, pesante bass-line. This leads promptly into the final strain, which, with its’ ostentatious piccolo line and grandiose reiteration, offers a victorious pomp and circumstance to the march, and nods to the overall character of Sousa’s marches.

“The Piano”

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 14:34:43 -0700