Bryan, Alicia, (Performer)

Diller, Brian, (Director)

Johnson, Laura, (Graduate Conductor)

Kim, Hyorium, (Performer)

Old Dominion University Wind Ensemble

English

Old Dominion University

Sunday, October 6, 2019                       3:00 pm  F. Ludwig Diehn School of Music Presents Travels Old Dominion University Wind Ensemble Brian Diller, director Laura Johnson, graduate conductor Alicia Bryan and Hyorim Kim, flute Old Dominion University University Theatre Program: Travels Gustav Holst First Suite in E-flat  1. Chaccone  2. Intermezzo  3. March Franz Doppler Of Our New Day Begins Omar Thomas Alicia Bryan and Hyorim Kim, flute Cyrus the Great Karl King Lincolnshire Posy  1. Dublin Bay (Lisbon)  2. Horkstow Grange. The Miser and      Man: A Local Tragedy  4. The Brisk Young Sailor  5. Lord Melbourne. War Song.  6. The Lost Lady Found Percy Grainger Traveler David Maslanka Andante and Rondo Intermission Flute Alicia Bryan Rachel Feit Nicole Jenkins, piccolo Hyorim Kim, principal Esther Yi  Oboe Hailey Hargis, principal Alex Payne, principal Vladislav Voscanean, principal  Clarinet Emalee Alexander Courtney Deberry Laura Johnson, principal Tim Martin, principal Grant Minor Marshall Rigby Conner Robinson Randy Smith Brianna Yevak  Bass Clarinet Roderick Gaines  Bassoon Jonathan Carr, principal Timothy Bright  Saxophone Patrick Bays Branden Garner, principal David Limos Lawrence O’Neal  Trumpet Erica Allen Jack Beckner Tim Burleigh Elly Carlson Kymani Senegal Alonzo Tinsley Josh Williams, principal  Horn Andrew Broom, principal Nico Craig Justin Durham Lizzy Tait Eric Quick  Trombone Noah Chapman Devonte Ezell, principal Katie McCaffrey Jose Rodriguez Phil Lane, bass  Euphonium Alex Federico, principal Foster Grubbs, principal Jamie Williams, principal  Tuba Brandon Berridge Eric Lavallais, principal Lea Sampsell Percussion Ethan Cagle, principal Jaihlen Cheatham Christian Mitchell Forrest Nodland Danny Slader Matthew Trumble Michael Vazquez  Paul Zybak  Piano Joel Sanford  String Bass Xavier Eubanks  Librarian Elly Carlson         Old Dominion University Wind Ensemble Players are listed in alphabetical order to emphasize each player’s contribution Biographies Dr. Brian Diller teaches conducting and directs the Wind Ensemble at Old Dominion University. He was recently awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts de-gree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) where he served as Music Director of the University of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He has previously served on the faculties of Ithaca College and Ten-nessee Tech University.  Diller's scholarly research centers on integrating chamber music in the school music program. He was invited to present a paper on this topic at the 2014 Col-lege Band Directors National Association Conference on Music Education. Oth-er research on band pedagogy has appeared as an article in Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, volume 10 and two articles in Teaching Music Through Performance in Middle School Band, both published by GIA.  Diller received a Masters degree in wind conducting from Ithaca College where he studied conducting with Stephen Peterson and Jeffrey Meyer. From 2007-2010 he served as Associate Director of Bands at Brentwood High School in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Diller holds undergraduate degrees summa cum laude in Music Education and Piano Performance from Miami University (OH). While at Miami, he was honored as winner of the Undergraduate Artist Performance Competition and received the 2007 Presser Scholar prize for excel-lence in music scholarship and performance.  An active pianist, Diller performs regularly as soloist, chamber recitalist, and studio musician; he has completed additional study in piano, chamber music, and conducting at France's Fontainebleau Conservatory. Having prepared ar-rangements in the recording studios of A. R. Rahman, India's most celebrated film composer, Diller is also an avid arranger and his works have been per-formed by orchestras, wind ensembles, and choirs across the country. Experi-enced in the marching milieu, he has also arranged and instructed brass with Nashville's Music City Drum Corps and various high school bands.      Program Notes Gustav Hoist’s First Suite in E-flat for Military Band occupies a legendary posi-tion in the wind band repertory and can be seen, in retrospect, as one of the earliest examples of the modern wind band instrumentation still frequently per-formed today. Its influence is so significant that several composers have made quotation or allusion to it as a source of inspiration to their own works.  Hoist began his work with Chaconne, a traditional Baroque form that sets a series of variations over a ground bass theme. That eight-measure theme is stated at the outset in tubas and euphoniums and, in all, fifteen variations are presented in quick succession. The three pitches that begin the work -- E-flat, F, and B-flat, ascending -- serve as the generating cell for the entire work. The Intermezzo, which follows is a quirky rhythmic frenzy that contrasts everything that has pre-ceded it. This movement opens in minor and starts and stops with abrupt transi-tions throughout its primary theme group. The contrasting midsection is intro-duced with a mournful melody, stated by the clarinet before being taken up by much of the ensemble. At the movement’s conclusion, the two sections are wo-ven together, the motives laid together in complementary fashion in an optimis-tic major key.    The March that follows immediately begins shockingly, with a furious trill in the woodwinds articulated by aggressive statements by brass and percussion. This sets up the lighthearted and humorous mood for the final movement, which eventually does take up the more reserved and traditional regal mood of a Brit-ish march and is simply interrupted from time to time by an uncouth accent or thunderous bass drum note. The coda of the work makes brief mention of ele-ments from both the Chaconne and Intermezzo before closing joyfully.    Albert Franz Doppler, following the example of Paganini, was both a composer and a virtuoso performer. Taught by his composer and oboist father, Joseph, Franz made his Vienna debut as a flutist at the age of 13 and embarked on sever-al concert tours, often accompanied by his brother Carl, also a highly-accomplished flautist and composer. In 1853, Doppler, his younger brother, Karl, and Ferenc Erkel were all involved in establishing the first Hungarian sym-phony orchestra. Doppler is most famous for his works for flute, including Fan-taisie pastorale hongroise and Andante et Rondo. Andante et Rondo, composed in 1874, is written for two flutes and piano. This piece is no exception to the Hun-garian influence present in many of Doppler’s works. The first movement con-sists of traditional romantic lyricism while the second movement is a jaunty, light-hearted rondo.    Of Our New Day Begun was written to honor nine beautiful souls who lost their lives to a callous act of hatred and domestic terrorism on the evening of June 17, 2015, while worshipping in their beloved sanctuary, the historic Eman-uel African Methodist Episcopal Church (affectionately referred to as “Mother Emanuel”) in Charleston, South Carolina. My greatest challenge in creating this work was walking the line between reverence for the victims and their families, and honoring my strong, bitter feelings towards both the perpetrator and the segments of our society that continue to create people like him. I realized that the most powerful musical expression I could offer incorporated elements from both sides of that line - embracing my pain and anger while being moved by the displays of grace and forgiveness demonstrated by the victims’ families.  Historically, black Americans have, in great number, turned to the church to find refuge and grounding in the most trying of times. Thus, the musical themes and ideas for Of Our New Day Begun are rooted in the Black American church tradition. The piece is anchored by James and John Johnson’s time-honored song, Lift Every Voice and Sing (known endearingly as the “Negro National An-them”), and peppered with blues harmonies and melodies. Singing, stomping, and clapping are also prominent features of this work, as they have always been a mainstay of black music traditions, and the inclusion of the tambourine in these sections is a direct nod to black worship services.    Karl King is one of America’s great Bandsmen, having composed hundreds of marches and led numerous professional bands in the early twentieth century, the golden period of the American Concert Band. Born near Dayton, Ohio, King learned the trade of printing but was drawn to the band at an early age. He paid for his first cornet by working a paper route. King became a virtuoso per-former on the euphonium and found employment in the circus bands which were very popular at the time. His Cyrus the Great march is dedicated to the composer’s friend Cy Tremain and is subtitled “Persian March.” It features exotic harmonies and rhythms. Lincolnshire Posy was conceived and scored directly for wind band in 1937. The composer tells us it is a collection of six English folksongs -- a bunch of “musical wildflowers” (hence the title) -- based on tunes collected in Lincoln-shire, England mainly in the years 1905 - 1906 with the help of an early phono-graph. It is dedicated to the yeomen folksingers who sang so sweetly. The com-poser wrote: “Each number is intended to be a kind of musical portrait of the singer’s personality and habits of song, - his regular or irregular wonts of rhythm, his preference for gaunt or ornately arabesqued delivery, his contrasts of legato and staccato, his tendency toward breadth or delicacy of tone”.   1. “Lisbon” (Sailor’s Song) is a brisk seafaring melody presented several times with changing accompaniment.  2. “Horkstow Grange” (The Miser and his Man: a local Tragedy) The accents shift constantly throughout, as the number of quarter notes in a measure chang-es from four to five to three and back again.  4. “The Brisk Young Sailor” (who returned to wed his True Love) tells the tale of a girl who’s lover is heading off to war. She tries to go along by dressing up in boy’s clothes.  5. “Lord Melbourne” (War Song), begins in free time, heavy and fierce.  6. “The Lost Lady Found” (Dance Song) is the most conventional setting of the suite, in straight 3/4 meter with usual accompaniment patterns.  Percy Grainger (1882-1961) was born in Australia. He studied music from a young age with his mother. He enjoyed early succes as a concert pianist on sever-al continents. At the outbreak of WWI he enlisted as an army bandsman (oboist). He became a U.S. citizen in 1919 and made many worldwide concert tours. As a composer he was a remarkable innovator, using irregular rhythms and pioneering in field music collection. In 1905-1906 he traveled throughout Lincolnshire, England using a gramophone to record local yeomen singing their songs. He was the first to attempt to transcribe these songs with musical nota-tion. He tried to retain the original flavor of these local singers by strict ob-servance of peculiarities of performances such as varying beat lengths and orna-mentation.   The idea for David Maslanka’s Traveler came from the feeling of a big life movement as I contemplated my friend’s retirement. Traveler begins with an assertive statement of the chorale melody “Nicht so traurig, nicht so sehr” (“Not so sad, not so much”). The chorale was not chosen for its title, although in retro-spect it seems quite appropriate. The last part of life need not be sad. It is an accumulation of all that has gone before, and a powerful projection into the future – the potential for a tremendous gift of life and joy. And so the music begins with energy and movement, depicting an engaged life in full stride. At the halfway point, a meditative quiet settles in. Life’s battles are largely done; the soul is preparing for its next big step. In our hearts, our minds, our souls We travel from life to life to life In time and eternity. 

Old Dominion University Wind Ensemble: Travels

https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&amp;context=musicperformance_ensembles

Old Dominion University Wind Ensemble: Travels

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