Program Notes

Imaginarium

By Randall Standridge

Inside every person, there is a place where creativity dwells. Gears turn, dreams flow, and ideas spark into life. This idea-factory or “Imaginarium” is the place that every creative person goes to, again and again, to find their muse, flesh out ideas, and to exert change on the world around them. This piece is dedicated to all of the dreamers who see more in the world than is actually there, who see possibilities where others see only dead ends, and who believe in creation rather than destruction. This one’s for you.

This work, commissioned by the Association of Texas Small School Bands for their All-State conference in 2015, was a blast to write. It is comprised of four sections: “Sparks” where ideas begin to germinate; “The Cloud Factory,” which represents the day dreamy zone where one imagines endless possibilities (with my best nod to Eric Satie as well), “Here, There be Monsters…” is that moment of panic or nightmare that all creative people feel when self-doubt sets in and the task seems to monumental to overcome; a brief recapitulation to “Sparks” before “Eurkea!” the idea is fully realized!

Those familiar with my work may notice some textural and rhythmic similarities between this work and another of my pieces, “Gadget.” These are intentional as, when I was writing Gadget, there were many ideas I wanted to explore but couldn’t find room for (side note here, the original draft of Gadget was 8 1/2 minutes long; the final draft was around 4 and 1/2). A few of these ideas found their way into “Imaginarium,” and I find no shame in that. Just like some visual artists may create a series of works based on a color scheme or a textural idea, composers may find themselves similarly inspired. This has happened to me once before (see my “machine” series: Afterburn, Adrenaline Engines, and Steel). I still have some material left over, even after this piece that may find its way into a work at a future date…or it may not. That’s the fun, isn’t it? The journey of discovery that begins with a blank score and ends with the work the listener hears.

- Randall Standridge, Program Notes from Imaginarium

It is rare that I program two pieces by the same composer; however, this one was picked before we had the opportunity to be part of the second one. I also have a huge amount of respect and appreciation for the way Mr. Standridge is trying to change the way music is published. A large majority of music is published through corporations that try their best to legally control how music is disseminated, both in the printed sheet music form and via recordings. This means you are not allowed to make copies of the sheet music and not allowed to record and save performances. For your information, it typically costs around $2.50 per replacement part and the average piece has around 30 unique parts. Obtaining rights to record and save performances can range from $100 to thousands of dollars, depending on the use of the recording. Mr. Standridge on the other hand lets us make however many copies of parts for our own use and record and share however we see fit. This is a game changer for bands to be able to legally make copies for each student so that if they misplace a part, all it costs us is the time to go copy another one. Because of this, I will always support and program his music, which is the best way to support a composer.

English Folk Song Suite

By Ralph Vaughan Williams

English Folk Song Suite occupies a revered place in the wind band repertoire. This work was one the earliest written expressly for band by a recognized composer of international prominence–Holst’s suites are its only peers in this regard. The significance of the work is augmented by its high musical quality and staying power.

Ralph Vaughan Williams was one of the leaders of the English National School of Composition. Since the time of Purcell, most English composers had studied on the continent in Germany, Italy, France, etc., and their music reflected the traditions of those countries. Vaughan Williams and his colleagues believed strongly that England needed to reinvigorate its native music; that it needed its own original voice as transmitted by English composers in an authentic English style. He believed that returning to folk music–the music of the people–was the way to find the roots of such a national language. He and many others who shared this belief started to roam the countryside, recording and notating folk songs as sung by the residents of the various locales. They then used these songs as the basis for their compositions, either in settings of the songs themselves or manipulating the materials in original compositions.

The English Folk Song Suite was composed in 1923 and published in 1924. It is a three-movement work using English folk songs exclusively as the musical material. The suite uses a total of nine different folk songs: I’m Seventeen Come Sunday, Pretty Caroline, Dives and Lazarus, My Bonny Boy, Green Bushes, Blow Away the Morning Dew, High Germany, The Trees They Do Grow High, and John Barleycorn. It was premiered on July 4, 1923 as a suite with four movements. The second movement, “Sea Songs”, was removed from the suite by its publishers upon publication and published under its own name as a separate work.

There is some speculation as to the reason for the removal of “Sea Songs” from the work. One reason might be that Vaughan Williams himself decided to remove the movement, after reconsidering putting two consecutive march movements in the piece. A second reason is that he might have considered “Sea Songs” strong enough to stand on its own as an independent composition. A third reason is that the publisher may have made the decision based on financial considerations, deciding that it was cheaper to produce a three-movement work rather than a four-movement work. Additionally, they had the financial advantage of reaping the profits on the sale of two pieces rather than one.

- Robert Grechesky, from “Teaching Music through Performance in Band, Vol. 1”

On a personal note, English Folk Song Suite has been one of my favorite pieces of band literature since I first performed it as a freshman at UT Knoxville. I’m thrilled to have a band capable of performing it this year, and I hope the students have felt the same joy playing it that I have experienced. It definitely makes me smile when I hear some of the students humming one of the folk tunes as they go about their daily activities!

- Kathy Sotelo, Co-Director of Bands

Deerpath Dances

By David Holsinger

The wonder of imagination is that certain words, when you first hear them, produce mental images that stir the visionary juices of the creative process . . . Such a word was "Deerpath". Now beyond the obvious, my imagination ran rampant thinking in "James Fenimore Cooper Mode"; early colonial days, the opening frontier, the colonization wars of early America, specifically the French and Indian campaigns of the 1700's . . . Anyway, I was sure I had happened upon THE true and positive historical factor that would make this piece blossom into an epic picture of early America . . . . But wrong! (Cue big red X buzzer, audience sighs in unison: disappointed "Ooooooooh!"). In talking to summer employees at Deer Path School, I discovered that it is named only for Deer Path Road, on which it resides . . . and city officials had no idea why the road was so named . . . The most reliable source I spoke with said the name seemed "country romantic" . . . a spark of revelation from the subdivision contractor, no doubt! . . . Well, Heather Pettit is excited about her band. She knows them inside out, high and low, and she wrote to me about them and the expectations she had for the coming year. Her letters literally oozed with enthusiasm! And THAT was the factor that sparked this piece . . . An upbeat, rhythmic dance episode dedicated simply to the joy of a group of young musicians and teacher excited about a piece of music they can call their own! And for you who follow . . . I invite you to take up the standard! After-all, we all need a little bit of excited joy for life to be complete! . . . So ooze some happy music of your own!

- David Holsinger, Program Notes from Deerpath Dances

I picked Deerpath Dances because it is very distinct of Holsinger’s compositional style, however still accessible to high school students unlike some of his other music that is extremely challenging. Even people not well versed in music can tell that this piece never fully settles into a reliably repeated groove. This is due to the ever changing time signature. The main melody that returns several times features a grouping of 4 beats followed by 3 beats. Ever changing meters is a signature of Holsinger as much as his name is on the top of the music. In fact, many consider him a pioneer of modern band literature because of his prolific use of this compositional technique in so many of his works. When asked why he started doing this, he simply responds that his melodies did not fit the conventions of the time, so he wrote what he needed to fit the melodies in his head.

On a personal note, I am very fortunate to be able to call Dr. Holsinger a mentor and friend. He currently serves as the Wind Ensemble director at Lee University where I spent two years playing under his baton. I also was privileged to be able to study conducting with him for a summer, and while I am not sure I learned a whole lot about conducting, I learned more about wind band music that summer than I have my entire life preceding that.

Blessed Are They from “A German Requiem”

By Johannes Brahms, arr. Barbara Buehlman

Composed mainly between 1865-1867, Brahms’ choral masterpiece, Ein deutsches Requiem, is still considered to be a unique contribution to the genre of choral music generally, and the Requiem specifically, for at least two reasons: the choice of Biblical passages for text, in lieu of the traditional Mass for the Dead; and the use of the vernacular language of the composer, German, rather than the traditional Latin. The seven-movement work begins with Blessed Are They, the text taken from two Biblical sources based on Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible: Matthew 5:4 and Psalm 126:5-6:

Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, denn sie sollen getröstet werden.

Die mit Tränen säen, werden mit Freuden ernten.

Sie gehen hin und weinen und tragen edlen Samen,

und kommen mit Freuden und bringen ihre Garben.

Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall have comfort.

They that sow in tears shall reap joy.

Who goeth forth and weepth, and beareth precious seed,

shall doubtless return with rejoicing,

And bring his sheaves with him.

An important distinction in Brahms’ treatment of the Requiem is that, instead of honoring the dead, Ein deutsches Requiem seeks to comfort the living, offering solace and hope to those who have lost loved ones. The austere and traditional Latin texts of darkness and suffering are replaced with reassuring texts, including “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall have comfort,” “How lovely is thy dwelling place,” and “Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord.” Other composers who have set the Requiem Mass to music include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, Gabriel Fauré, Heinrich Schütz, Maurice Duruflé, and John Rutter.

This arrangement for band is by Barbara Buehlman who was a public school band director and Executive Administrator for the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic – one of the largest instrumental conventions in the US. Her arrangement incorporates both the instrumental and choral parts from the original work.

- Craig Paré, from “Teaching Music through Performance in Band, Vol. 1”

Much of early wind band music was transcribed or were arrangements of orchestral works. While several British composers wrote specifically for wind band (such as Ralph Vaughn Williams), it did not have a distinctive collection of music to call its own until well into the 2nd half of the 20th century. Out of this history came several masterworks for wind band that are transcriptions of chorales such as: JS Bach’s Komm susser Todd (Come, Sweet Death) and Sheeps May Safely Graze arranged by Alfred Reed, Salvation Is Created arranged by Bruce Houseknecht, Wagner’s Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral arranged by Lucien Cailliet, and this piece. While probably the least amount of notes in a piece on this concert, this work is probably one of the most challenging to perform successfully. The simple chorale melodies mixed with the thick texture of the moving harmonic lines leave little room for error or erroneous thought to pass through a performer's mind.

(not) Alone

By Randall Standridge

Many who live with mental health conditions experience a profound sense of isolation. Discussing these issues and more so, identifying as someone who lives with them, has been extremely taboo in our society. Thus, many suffer in silence, facing their troubles with no support. But, as the title of the work implies, they are not alone.

I live with depression and anxiety. I have tried to use my platform to normalize discussions about mental health and to help start conversations about this issue. Here are some statistics you may or may not be aware of: (1) 1 in 5 of adults in the US experience mental health issues each year. (2) 1 in 6 youths in the US experience mental health issues each year. 90% of suicides worldwide are attributable to mental illness. (3) Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in the United States.

With statistics like this, it is shocking and frustrating that so many people are reluctant to acknowledge, discuss, and address these issues.

In 2021, I was asked to create a work for wind ensembles addressing mental illness. The resultant work, “unBroken”, is one of my favorite works I have ever created, both from an aesthetic and personal perspective. However, this work is very advanced (Grade 5), which limits its demographic for performers and, thus, audiences.

Those of us that teach or have taught middle school and high school know that there is a need to address this issue at younger ages, and to make such tools available to middle schools and developing high school ensembles.

I decided to make this work a consortium, expecting there would be 20-30 schools that would support such a piece. 40 tops. The consortium included over 300 schools.

This is an issue whose time has come. The time is now. We need to talk about this, and we are going to talk about this. We are going to show them all that they are not alone.

The piece starts very softly, with both beauty and dissonance. The individual is aware that something is wrong but is trying to bravely persist. A soloist introduces the main theme of the work, a bittersweet melody that is lovely and vulnerable. As the first segment continues, dissonant elements and a three note descending theme signals the onset of a mental health crisis.

The second segment is manic and violent. The individual struggles with their condition as everything seems to be in darkness. The piece builds to a thunderous moment before dying away to a cloud of confusion. Their heartbeat is heard racing and then slowing. The individual is broken.

The original theme sounds out again, unaccompanied, but others join in. The work rises to a triumphant climax, as a sense of solidarity is achieved. The work ends with the soloist again, but more confident and with others there for support.

- Randall Standridge, Program Notes from (not) Alone

The Cocke County Red Regiment was thrilled to be able to participate in this commissioning consortium. A commissioning consortium is a group of individuals or groups that collectively pool money together to have a piece of art created within various parameters. Typically, only members of the consortium can perform the work within a certain window of time and list any performance of that work within that window as a premiere, which is what you will see tonight. Commissioning new works is something that I think is the best way to constantly promote and support the arts. Not only does this allow for composers and artists to be paid fairly for their craft, it also contributes to the current zeitgeist of wind band music.