PROGRAM

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ASU Wind Ensemble

Fanfare pour précéder "La Péri," Paul Dukas arr. Wayne Barrington

Leif Austin, Diego Enriquez, trumpet 

Kathy Phillips, horn

Michael Thompson, trombone

Max Godfrey, tuba

Wilderness of Mirrors, Nicole Piunno

*World Premiere

Symphony No. 7 for Wind Ensemble, David Maslanka

I. Moderate

II. Slow

III. Very Fast

IV. Moderately Slow

Jason Caslor, conductor

Andrew Campbell, piano

INTERMISSION

ASU Symphony Orchestra

Ruy Blas Overture, Op. 95, Felix Mendelssohn

Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2, Sergey Prokofiev

I. The Montagues and Capulets

II. The Young Juliet

III. Friar Lawrence

IV. Dance

V. Romeo and Juliet Before Parting

VI. Dance of the Girls with Lillies

VII. Romeo at Juliet's Grave

Alejandro Gómez Guillén, conductor

Wilderness of Mirrors (2026)

Nicole Piunno

A wilderness of mirrors is a state in which the surfaces of life reflect one another without revealing what lies beyond them. T.S. Eliot used this image to describe the spiritual atmosphere of modern culture, in which transcendence no longer anchors our understanding of reality. Without a horizon beyond the self, reality becomes a sequence of reflections, interpretations, and projections. 

The term has also been used in the world of espionage, where deception and interpretation blur together until nothing can be taken at face value. One no longer walks on firm ground, but wanders through images of images in search of what is real. This condition increasingly describes modern life. We are surrounded by constant interpretation, yet struggle to locate what is ultimately real.

Wilderness of Mirrors names the tension of living in a world of appearances while longing for truth grounded beyond the self. 

*Program note by the composer 

Symphony No. 7 for Wind Ensemble (2004)

David Maslanka

I am strongly affected by American folk songs and hymn tunes, and I think of this Symphony as "old songs remembered." With one exception, all the tunes are original, but they all feel familiar. The borrowed melody is from the 371 Four-Part Chorales by J.S. Bach. Each song has a bright side and a dark side, a surface and the dream underneath. Each is a signal or call which evokes an inner world of associations. 

I. Sunday night church services from my youth. Mrs. Smith played the piano. The opening piano solo is marked "enthusiastically" in the score. A dream travels to a far place. 

II. In the manner of an American folk song, with a setting that might have come our of the 19th or early 20th centuries. 

III. A ferocious fast music, unrelenting, determined to get a grip on chaos. Toward the end, a fractious quote of the Bach Chorale melody "Du Friedenfürst Herr Jesu Christ" (Prince of Peace Lord of Light).

IV. A simple song of peace and healing.

*Program note by the composer

Ruy Blas Overture, Op. 95 (1839)

Felix Mendelssohn

Written in 1839 for a Berlin production of Ruy Blas, Felix Mendelssohn’s Ruy Blas Overture was composed in just three days—an astonishingly short time for a work of such clarity and momentum. The music opens with a stern, almost ominous introduction before quickly giving way to a restless, surging idea that drives the overture forward. Moments of lyricism emerge but never linger, as the piece presses ahead with urgency and precision. Though written to accompany the stage, the overture stands firmly on its own, revealing Mendelssohn’s remarkable ability to shape drama with both economy and elegance.

Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2 (1936)

Sergey Prokofiev

Drawn from his ballet, Sergey Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2 presents a series of contrasting scenes that capture the emotional breadth of Shakespeare’s tragedy. The music shifts between moments of imposing grandeur—most notably in “Montagues and Capulets,” with its heavy, processional character—and passages of intimacy and lyricism that reflect the vulnerability of the central characters. Rather than narrating the plot step by step, the suite captures emotional snapshots, inviting listeners into the tension, passion, and inevitability of the drama.

MEET THE ASU WIND ENSEMBLE

Conductor & Music Director

Jason Caslor

Assistant Conductors

Rich Ebersole, Ethan Owens

MEET THE ASU SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Conductor & Music Director

Alejandro Gómez Guillén

Assistant Conductors

Hayoung Jeong, Serena Fornay, Lauren Burchell