Program Notes

Fischer Middle School 8th Grade Band

On the Edge of Tomorrow by Michael Sweeney

Although not meant to depict any specific series of events, the opening section of this work is suggestive of rampaging energy, colored perhaps with a touch of frustration or anger. The repetitive rhythmic patterns and angular harmonies are combined with fierce punctuations from the percussion section. A calmer and slower middle section presents a more reflective mood, with a glimmer of optimism and a strong sense of faith in tomorrow. The original faster tempo returns, but with a renewed sense of hope that as we near “the edge of tomorrow” things will be better - a rebirth, both physically and emotionally.

*Taken from the composer

Arabian Dances by Roland Barrett

After a long day’s journey, the nomads set up camp for the evening. As the sun casts its final searing rays on the desert landscape, a campfire roars to live and the celebration begins. As the sky darkens, the festivities grow wilder and wilder until eventually, three groups of revelers take turns dancing at the edge of the fire, each trying to outdo the other. Finally the entire tribe joins, dancing wildly for hours until the campfire dims and morning grows near.

*Taken from the composer

Still Middle School 8th Grade Band

Shipwrecked by Ryan Nowlin

Based on harrowing stories of shipwrecked mariners, this dramatic piece is an event in itself. Beginning with finger snaps portraying a rainstorm, an ominous-sounding ostinato and active percussion tell of a ship that is beginning to sink. To depict the helplessness of the shipwrecked sailors, Eternal Father Strong to Save, Nearer My God to Thee and Ode to Joy are all heard in a hymn-like setting as they prepare to meet their fate. The original theme returns and fades out as the victims await rescue. The students have had fun making up their own stories for how this adventure all unfolds.

Frogs by Randall D. Standridge

Frogs is a fun piece from Randall Standrige. It is one of many of his pieces that involve imagery through sound. Through Frogs you will be treated to the sounds of the swamp, buzzing insects, rain falling onto leaves and the ground, and of course, frogs! While most of these sound effects are achieved by students and their normal instruments, others come from snapping of fingers, rain sticks, or even frog guiros. These guiros are something that many people see in souvenir shops, but in this piece they become an integral part of making it sound like there are frogs all around us.

Scullen Middle School 8th Grade Band

Yorkshire Ballad by James Barnes

Yorkshire Ballad is a very lyrical piece that allows the students to hone their musicianship skills while giving each section a chance to shine. Here is a note from the composer:

“Over the years, many conductors and teachers have called me to ask about the work, and whether the tune itself is in fact a folksong. Yorkshire Ballad is not a folksong, but it is written in that style. I composed this little piece so that younger player would have an opportunity to play a piece that is more or less in the style of Percy Aldridge Grainger’s Irish Tune from County Derry. Even Grainger’s easier works are too difficult for most younger players to do them musical justice, so I thought I would write a little piece that might emote some of the feelings and colors of Grainger’s wonderful music, but, at the same time, was technically much more accessible to the younger player.” “People always ask me what I was trying to portray when I wrote Yorkshire Ballad. All I can say is that I was thinking of the beautiful, green Yorkshire dales of Northern England; the rolling hills and endless stretch of beautiful pasturelands that my wife and loved so much when, a year before, we had driven through this most marvelous spot in the world.“

James Barnes, Composer

St. Petersburg March by Johnnie Vinson

St. Petersburg March not only introduces the students to a new Time Signature, but a new key as well. This piece in D Harmonic minor challenges the students to listen to each other more intently, while also presenting the challenge of playing in a march style. St. Petersburg is today considered the cultural heart of modern day Russia. This original march from Johnnie Vinson is evocative of this city's rich and exciting history of intrigue, revolution and mystery while painting a musical picture of frigid winters, magnificent castles, and imposing cathedrals.

Concert Band

Highland Echoes by Larry Daehn

This concert band setting is based on several 18th Century Scottish folk songs. They occur in the following order throughout this piece:

“Blythe, Blythe, And Merry Was She”

“Highland Dance” (also known as “OThis Is No My Ain Lassie”)

“The Lass Of Gowrie” (also known as “Twas On A Summer’s Afternoon”)

“Scotland The Brave” and

“Auld Lang Syne”

We hope you enjoy hearing these lovely Scottish songs in this setting as much as we have enjoyed learning to play them for you.

Chasing Sunlight by Cait Nishimura

“Chasing Sunlight” was inspired by the composer’s experience of driving west into the setting sun, as if trying to keep up with the Earth’s rotation to catch the last few rays of light before dusk. The steady eighth note motif throughout the piece represents this sense of urgency, while the soaring, lyrical themes depict the warmth and radiance of the sun low in the sky. “Just as the sun will always set, humans must accept the impermanence of all things in life, and make the most of every opportunity before it has passed. Chasing Sunlight also represents the ongoing pursuit of these opportunities.”

- Cait Nishimura

Legend of Devil’s Lake by Michael Sweeney

Devil’s Lake, in central Wisconsin, was formed during the last ice age. It is located in an area of scenic hills and forests, and is known for the majestic limestone cliffs that surround the lake. From ancient times many legends of the lake have been passed down from generation to generation. Legend of Devil’s Lake musically depicts one of the more colorful tales - a Native American legend of an epic battle between the Serpents of the lake and the giant Thunderbirds who inhabited the surrounding cliffs. The primary theme heard toward the beginning of the piece represents the Serpents, and the Thunderbird theme appears shortly after that as eighth notes in contrary motion that simulates flapping wings. The descending musical lines depict giant falling eggs as the Thunderbirds bombard the Serpents below. This is followed by the sounds of the ensuing battle.

Symphonic Band

Orion by Jan van der Roost

There are all sorts of marches: fast and slow, solemn and energetic, military and civil, procession and funeral. Orion is a so-called ‘slow march’. The slower tempo does not make a passive or heavy impression, though. On the contrary, this march contains natural optimism and spontaneity. The persistant ‘pulse’ gives this majestic march a noble character.

-notes from the composer

Sun Cycles by Brian Balmages

This innovative work is based on the Egyptian Sun God Ra and features a wealth of Middle Eastern percussion instruments. A mystical opening leads into the main theme of the work, representing the beginning of day. The second section, “Journey through the sky,” takes the listener on a journey with Ra as he flies through the clouds, following the sun's rotation. A dark passage represents his journey to the Underworld before the original theme returns once more to represent “Renewal.” The music then builds as an incredible series of modulating chords and textures all combine to bring the piece to a tremendous and powerful conclusion.

-notes from the publisher

Symphonic Winds

Arsenal by Jan van der Roost

Arsenal was composed for the 50th anniversary of the Harmonie van het Spoorwegarsenaal (railroad arsenal), based in Mechelen (Belgium). Rather a stately concert march, it has beautiful themes and a broad melody in the trio. It was premiered in the Mechelen Cultural Center on the 11th of May 1996 during the solemn ceremony, opening the anniversary year and conducted by the composer. Since then Arsenal has been recorded by several renowned ensembles, including the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and the Black Dyke Band.

-notes from the composer

A Longford Legend by Robert Sheldon

A Longford Legend was commissioned by the Normal Community West High School Band, Normal, Illinois, Lisa Preston, director. The piece was written in 1996 and premiered in April of that year with the composer conducting. It is based on the composer’s impressions of three poems found in a collection of 18th century Irish ballades, and is written as a tribute to the wonderful music of Grainger, Holst and Vaughan Williams. Sheldon heard “A Longford Legend,” the poem that inspired the first movement of the suite, on “A Writer’s Almanac” broadcast on National Public Radio, read by Garrison Keillor. Taken with the humor and potential for musical inspiration in the poem, he sought to find the author with the intent of writing a suite based on a variety of poems from the same venue. Through his research, he found a collection of eighteenth century Irish street ballades

by anonymous authors, and selected an additional two works Young Molly Bawn and Killyburn Brae, from this collection to complete the instrumental suite.

-notes from the publisher

Wind Symphony

Athletic Festival March by Serge Prokofieff, arr. By Richard Franko Goldman

“The Athletic Festival March differs in form and spirit from the military march or quickstep of American or European pattern. It is actually an expanded A-B-A form, each section being in turn composed of a smaller a-b-a form. The original tempo indication is given as skoro, meaning ‘fast’. It is clear that the gaiety and humor of the march are best revealed when a briskly vivacious tempo is maintained throughout, and when the dynamic contrasts are sharply and carefully emphasized.

Prokofieff’s original scoring was of course for the typical military band of Russia, using no saxophones, alto or bass clarinets, 3rd cornet, etc. Oboe, bassoon and 3rd and 4th horns were marked as optional; cues were liberally provided. Eb alto parts, however, had a certain importance. It would indeed have been presumptuous on my part had I attempted to rescore this brilliant sounding little work; my editing therefore did not exceed the bounds of adding parts for those instruments which American bandmasters consider essential.” - Richard Franko Goldman

Amazing Grace by Frank Ticheli

“I wanted my setting of Amazing Grace to reflect the powerful simplicity of the words and melody - to be sincere, to be direct, to be honest - and not through the use of novel harmonies and clever tricks, but by traveling traditional paths in search of truth and authenticity.

I believe that music has the power to take us to a place that words alone cannot. And so my own feelings about “Amazing Grace” reside in this setting itself. The harmony, texture, orchestration, and form are inseparable, intertwined so as to be perceived as a single expressive entity.

The spiritual, “Amazing Grace”, was written by John Newton (1725-1807), a slave ship captain who, after years of transporting slaves across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, suddenly saw through divine grace the evilness of his acts. First published in 1835 by William Walker in The Southern Harmony, “Amazing Grace” has since grown to become one of the most beloved of all American spirituals.”

- Frank Ticheli

Fate of the Gods by Steven Reineke

“Fate of the Gods is a programmatic work for symphonic band. It was inspired by tales of Nordic mythology. The piece tells the story of Ragnarok, also known as the Twilight of the Gods. An incredible war between forces of good and evil is fought, bringing about the end of the cosmos. After the destruction, a new and idyllic world will arise and this new earth will be filled only with joy and abundance.

The first section of the piece represents the creation of the primordial world in which forces of both good and evil are established. The second section is the development of the dark, devious themes that symbolize the God Loki, the personification of all things evil. His theme gives way to the more soothing music that represents the God Balker, son of Odin. Balder personifies all things good, pure and innocent. When the evil ensues once again, Heimdall, the watchman of the Gods, sounds his horn, signaling the beginning of the end. From all the corners of the world, gods, giants, dwarves, demons and elves will ride towards the huge plain where the last battle will be fought. This tremendous battle brings about massive chaos and eventually the destruction of the world. All is destroyed save one tree, the tree of life, known as Yggdrasil. The tree gradually brings existence back to the world. This time it is only forces of goodness which are created. Evil has destroyed itself and good has won over all.”

- Steven Reineke

Wind Ensemble

Valdres by Johannes Hanssen

Valdres is one of the most famous marches ever composed. The fact that it is evocative and expressive of its land of birth, Norway, is also significant. While march enthusiasts have typically been drawn to the vastly larger and better known repertoires of the United States, Germany, England, and Spain, Valdres remains a greatly loved petite Norwegian tone-poem in march time. Its composer, Johannes Hanssen, began his career as a tenor-horn player in the Oslo Military Band in 1900. In 1903-1904, he composed Valdres.

The opening tune is a bugle call from the Valdres Battalion; Valdres is a valley is southern Norway. The second subject is an old tune for hardanger-fiddle; the trio is a pentatonic tune based upon Norwegian folk music.

- note by Loras John Schissel

Dusk by Steven Bryant

This simple, chorale-like work captures the reflective calm of dusk, paradoxically illuminated by the fiery hues of sunset. I’m always struck by the dual nature of this experience, as if witnessing an event of epic proportions silently occurring in slow motion. Dusk is intended as a short, passionate evocation of this moment of dramatic stillness.

-note from stevenbryant.com

Ghost Train: The Ride, by Eric Whitacre

This piece helped launch Eric Whitacre's career in wind band composing. In this highly programmatic work, Whitacre transforms a story from American folklore of a supernatural locomotive that roars throughout the Western U.S. Rich in special effects and unique compositional techniques, this dynamic piece creates vivid aural images as the train leaves the station and passes through a varied landscape.

Congratulations to the following WVHS Music students on being

selected as ILMEA District 9 festival participants.

ILMEA Band - Luke Bebar, Mark Cabinian, Skanda Iyer*, Jackie Li, Victoria Lokshin, Rishi Mahadevan, Mallory McCarron, Marina Mattos, Mason Ringenbach, Stephen Thomas*, Jamie Thurman-Keup, Mike Zhou*

ILMEA Jazz - Amir Patel, Rohan Satapathy

ILMEA Orchestra - Sai Peddainti

*Denotes First Chair