Emotional Response To Music.

[AwayWeGo]

Thank You.

I hope you can get an accurate diagnosis and treatment that will help you.

Your good wishes & encouraging words are much appreciated.

The doctor said, "I cannot imagine life without music & I know you can't either. I think we can help you." He divided the problem into 2 parts -- protecting the hearing that remains despite hearing loss, & making the most out of what I still have.

For hearing protection, the doctor recommended sound shields (which may or may not be practical for the ensembles I'm part of -- we'll see) & special musician ear plugs, custom-fitted to my ear canals, that provide more protection than over-the-counter plugs. I was fitted for those last week & should have them before Fairfax Band rehearsals resume next month. They will not only protect against exposure to loud sounds, they will also affect how I hear what I hear while playing, which the doctor & the audiologist both say will take some getting used to.

For tinnitus, the doctor recommended eliminating caffeine -- not cold turkey, but gradually. The mix I'm loading into Mr. Coffee in the morning is now 6 to 1 decaf, so I'm getting there. He also recommended ginkgo biloba, which he said is not proven to help nor FDA approved for that but which so many patients find helpful that he said it can't hurt to give it a try. (So far, no improvement from ginkgo biloba, but maybe it takes more time, I don't know.)

As another measure to help with tinnitus, the doctor prescribed a tranquilizer at an extremely low dose. The idea is not that the drug will reduce the tinnitus directly, but that it might make it less intrusive & less tension-building. He said not to take it if I'm going to drive -- which virtually means not to take it, because I drive at least a little practically every day, if only to Planet Fitness & back for alternating daily turns on the hamster wheel (bike & elliptical machine) & Nautilus weight machines. He did say that exercise can also help by promoting health & reducing tension -- good to know, I guess, although I haven't noticed any tinnitus improvement since I started daily exercise 2 years ago.

To hear more of what I'm missing due to irreversible hearing loss, the doctor said I might want to try high-tech digital hearing aids. They can help with those right there at Johns Hopkins, he said, although there are plenty of good audiologists closer to where I live so that I don't need to drive to Baltimore to get fitted. He did say it's important to get connected with an audiologist who understands the needs of musicians & who will be willing to work with me as long as it takes to get the adjustments right. Apparently hearing aids these days are remarkably advanced, with all sorts of tricky features like Blue Tooth wireless linkage to cell phones & iPods & concert venue sound-loop systems. Various settings can be tailored to my audio spectrum & loaded into memory as needed for everything from recital hall to rehearsal room to social gatherings. I guess I'll need to take'm out before I go swimming, & I doubt it's a good idea to wear'm while sleeping. No doubt the audiologist will coach me on that. From what I'm told, top-line feature-laden hearing aids do not come cheap, & until recently -- i.e., before I saw the doctor -- I have not been open minded about the idea of sticking electronic amplifiers in my ear holes. Now that I am warming up to the idea, I don't think I will mind the cost if the results are good.

Some of the people I know who wear advanced hearing aids use the over-ear type. The doctor said the in-ear kind, by contrast, can be designed to include hearing protection, so I'll ask about those when I take the hearing aid plunge.

The doctor said to come back in 6 months & maybe he'll order MRI of my brain because of the asymmetry in my hearing loss left to right & because tinnitus occurs in the brain rather than anywhere in the anatomy of the ears.

Even though the doctor offered no miraculous means of reversing my hearing loss & taking away my tinnitus, the encouragement & practical measures he outlined left me feeling better about my predicament & about the prospects for dealing with it better than I have been.

BTW, the audiologist who fitted me for musician earplugs no longer does clinical work, other than helping musicians & doing that out of her home. Her day job is in the halls of the speech & hearing national association, so maybe she can help steer me to a top practicing audiologist locally. A friend I've known since we were both GS-7s in the civil service already gave me the name & number of his audiologist, so that's a start.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

"Musician" Ear Plugs.

I was fitted for special custom-made sound-reducing musician ear plugs last month. The fitting is done by an audiologist, who fills the ear canals (1 at a time) with fast-setting silicone goo. A few minutes after the goo goes in, the silicone comes out in exactly the shape of the little empty space between my ear holes & my eardrums. The congealed silicone shapes are used to make earplugs for hearing protection that completely fill the ear canals. Each 1 has a sound filter on the opening at the outside end of the plug. Reduced sound volume comes out of the filter & goes through a narrow tube at the core of the earplug, emerging at the eardrum.

When the plugs are in, my ears feel like I'm under water.

When I'm playing horn with the plugs in, the tone of the horn sounds (to me) more like the tone of a kazoo.

At brass quintet rehearsal this afternoon, I was able to play 4-5 tunes with the new ear plugs in. That was all I could take. After that, I took out 1 of the new plugs & stuck in 1 of my old non-custom Etymotic ear plugs. After another couple of tunes, I took out the other "musician" ear plug & installed the other Etymotic plug.

Clearly, the new Sensaphonic "musician" earplugs are going to take some major serious getting used to.

So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[MULTIZ321]

I was fitted for special custom-made sound-reducing musician ear plugs last month. The fitting is done by an audiologist, who fills the ear canals (1 at a time) with fast-setting silicone goo. A few minutes after the goo goes in, the silicone comes out in exactly the shape of the little empty space between my ear holes & my eardrums. The congealed silicone shapes are used to make earplugs for hearing protection that completely fill the ear canals. Each 1 has a sound filter on the opening at the outside end of the plug. Reduced sound volume comes out of the filter & goes through a narrow tube at the core of the earplug, emerging at the eardrum.

When the plugs are in, my ears feel like I'm under water.

When I'm playing horn with the plugs in, the tone of the horn sounds (to me) more like the tone of a kazoo.

At brass quintet rehearsal this afternoon, I was able to play 4-5 tunes with the new ear plugs in. That was all I could take. After that, I took out 1 of the new plugs & stuck in 1 of my old non-custom Etymotic ear plugs. After another couple of tunes, I took out the other "musician" ear plug & installed the other Etymotic plug.

Clearly, the new Sensaphonic "musician" earplugs are going to take some major serious getting used to.

So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Hi Alan,

I sent you a PM.


Richard

 

[AwayWeGo]

Thank You.

Hi Alan,

I sent you a PM.


Richard

Got it, Richard. Thanks.

I responded via E-Mail.

Thanks again.

-AC.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Musical Journeys -- Fairfax Band Concert November 3, 2012.

8PM, Saturday, November 3, 2012

Musical Journeys
Subscription Series Concert by
The City Of Fairfax Band
Conductor: Robert Pouliot, music director

Guest artist: Eric Moore, french horn
Host: Rich Kleinfeldt

Location: Chantilly High School
4201 Stringfellow Road
Chantilly, Virginia

Eric Moore
-- hotlinked --

-- oOo --​

Overture to Barber of Seville (Gioacchino Rossini, 1792-1868). Rossini was born into a musical family. His mother sang and his father played horn, so he learned horn and sang in the opera at Bologna, where he studied music and began a career in opera. Because of its elegant melodies, fresh wit, exhilarating rhythms, and inventive ensemble writing, Il barbiere di Siviglia, which dates from 1816, is among the greatest of all Italian comic operas. Despite having no success at first, it survived to became the best loved of Rossini’s comic works, and a favorite of both Beethoven and Verdi. The arrangement of the overture by Mayhew L. Lake (1879-1955) has become a concert band classic.

-- oOo --​

Marche des Parachutistes Belges (Pierre Leemans, 1987-1980). Pierre Leemans, a native of Schaarbeek, Belgium (near Brussels), studied piano, harmony, orchestration, and composition the Etterbeek Music Academy, where he began a teaching career in 1917. At age 23, after a year of military duty, he resumed music teaching until 1932, when he became the pianist-conductor-program director for the official Belgian broadcasting company. In 1934, he won the composition contest for writing the official march of the 1935 Brussels World Exposition. He founded the Schaarbeek High School Choir in 1940 and won a composition contest for school songs three years later. From entries by 109 anonymous composers, works by Leemans were selected for first and second prizes for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. During his year of military duty, the regimental commander asked Leemans to compose a march. He started writing it but never got it finished. Near the end of World War II, a group of paratroopers asked Leemans to compose a march. As the group commander drove Leemans home, the march theme that he started years before came back into his mind, and he wrote out all the parts for the official March of the Belgian Paratroopers after reaching home. The piece is in the form of a “patrol,” with the music heard softly as from a distance, growing louder as the troops pass near, and getting quiet again as the formation marches off. The first USA performance of The March of the Belgian Paratroopers was of the version arranged by Charles A. “Pete” Wiley (1925- ), done at the request of his band students at Lamar University (Beaumont TX).

-- oOo --​

Villanelle (Paul Dukas, 1865-1935). Dukas entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 16, studying piano, harmony, and composition. Although he won prizes for some of his pieces, disappointment over losing the Prix de Rome (he came in second) led him to leave the conservatory. After military service, he started working as a music critic and composer. The Sorcerer's Apprentice, the brilliant and inventive tone poem Dukas wrote in 1897, overshadowed everything else the composer wrote, even in his own lifetime. A perfectionist, he destroyed many of his own incomplete as well as finished compositions. Little of his output survives. Dukas wrote his Villanelle as a demanding exam piece for the horn class of the Paris Conservatoire in 1906. The title, referencing a cheerful traditional vocal genre that originated in 16th century Italy, shows that the piece is by no means a dry etude. Alongside the technical challenges (hand-stopped notes, fast scales, playing without valves using natural horn techniques), the piece is successful because of its refreshing melodies, for which reason the Villanelle is still one of the most popular performance pieces for horn. The first edition was originally for horn and piano. The piano part was expanded for full orchestra in 1966 by Vitaliy Mikhailovich Buyanovsky (1928-1993), principal horn player of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestration for horn and wind ensemble is by Donald Miller. (Note adapted from web sites of G. Henle Publishers, Munich, Germany, and Compozitor Publishing House, St. Petersburg, Russia.)

-- oOo --​

Variations on a Korean Folk Song (John Barnes Chance, 1932-1972). John Barnes Chance, a Texas native born in Beaumont, played percussion instruments in high school and tried his hand at composing music. On scholarship at the University of Texas, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music, studying under Clifton Williams. After college, he enlisted for a 3-year tour of duty in U.S. Army bands in Texas and Korea as a percussionist and arranger. After his discharge, under a grant from the Ford Foundation’s Young Composers Project, he was assigned to the public schools in Greensboro, North Carolina. He wrote 7 pieces for school ensembles including Incantation and Dance. In 1966, his Variations on a Korean Folk Song received the Ostwald Award from the American Bandmasters Association. The following year he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Kentucky, where he was later appointed head of the theory-composition program. While serving with the 8th U.S. Army Band in Korea, Chance was attracted by the popular folk melody Arirang, a traditional Korean song of love and heartbreak found in many versions, possibly dating back 1,000 years, which he used as the basis for his Variations on a Korean Folk Song. The pentatonic (5-tone) theme which opens the piece is developed through 5 contrasting variations marked Vivace, Larghetto, Allegro con brio, Sostenuto, and Con Islancio ("with impetuousness").

-- oOo --​

Aspen Jubilee (Ron Nelson, 1929- ). Ron Nelson has described Aspen Jubilee as a “flashy, high-energy overture.” Commissioned in 1984 by the Manatee High School Band in Bradenton FL, Aspen Jubilee is in a 3-part form (slow-fast-slow). The featured soprano vocal line provides additional tonal color. Nelson credits several influences to conceiving this work. He states, “I was thinking of the stupendous beauty of the Rockies in general, of blinding sunlight of snow-covered peaks; of the frontier spirit of old Aspen with its brash, funny dynamism, its corny ragtag Fourth of July parades and firework displays. I was also thinking about indescribably beautiful nights under star-filled skies (the middle section is titled Nightsong).” Ron Nelson began composing at age six, and by 17 had already written and performed a piano concerto with symphonic band. He went on to study composition with Howard Hanson and Bernard Rogers at the Eastman School of Music, where he earned three degrees. A Fulbright Grant in the mid-1950s took him to Paris, where he studied with Tony Aubin and Arthur Honegger. The composer joined the music faculty of Brown University in 1956, where he remained until his retirement in 1993 and was named Professor Emeritus. His works have earned him numerous composition awards, including the American Bandmasters Association Ostwald Award. In addition to over 90 works written for orchestra, wind symphony, and chorus, Nelson has also composed film scores for Columbia Pictures, Eastman Kodak, and NBC. (Program note from American Treasures CD recording by the U.S. Air Force Band, Washington DC, Colonel Dennis M. Layendecker, commander & music director.)

-- oOo --​

Mannin Veen (Haydn Wood, 1882-1959). Haydn Wood was born in Yorkshire, but grew up on the Isle of Man, an island of 227 square miles in the Irish Sea between Ireland and England. Wood’s talent on violin got him into the Royal College of Music, and he went on to become a popular composer. The Manx phrase Mannin Veen translates to Dear Isle of Man, reflecting nostalgic feelings for the land where Wood spent so much of his childhood, as reflected in Wood’s 1933 creation of a tone poem for concert band using four Manx folk tunes. (The composer later rescored the piece for orchestra.) The four tunes are “The Good Old Way,” “The Manx Fiddler,” “Sweet Water in the Common,” and “Harvest of the Sea.”

-- oOo --​

South Pacific Symphonic Scenario (Richard Rodgers [1902-1979], adapted by R. Mark Rogers). South Pacific, the long-running musical show by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960), is one of Broadway's greatest Broadway musicals. South Pacific premiered in 1949 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1950. Several of its songs, including “Bali Ha'i,” “I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Happy Talk,” “Younger Than Springtime,” and “I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy,” became popular standards. Beside winning 10 Tony Awards (including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Libretto) South Pacific is the only musical production ever to win all four Tony Awards for acting (to Ezio Pinza, best musical actor as Emile de Becque; Mary Martin, best musical actress as Ensign Nellie Forbush; Myron McCormick, best supporting or featured musical actor as Luther Billis; and Juanita Hall, best supporting or featured musical actress as Bloody Mary). The show's critical and box office success spawned many successful revivals and tours, including a 1958 Hollywood film and other adaptations. Together, Rodgers and Hammerstein were responsible for a revolution on Broadway, to the point where the American musical became more important than serious drama. Of Rodgers's music, his partner Oscar Hammerstein said, “Each melody adheres to the purpose for which it was put into a play. It is romantic, funny, or sad according to the situation for which it was written and the character required to sing it.” Even after South Pacific's Broadway run ended, the Hollywood movie version of it did big box office, and the songs from South Pacific continue to be heard in concert halls and band shells all over the country, as in the South Pacific Symphonic Scenario, adapted for concert band by R. Mark Rogers.

-- xXx --​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

The Lighter Side of Life -- Fairfax Band Concert March 23, 2013.

8PM Saturday, March 23, 2013.

The Lighter Side Of Life
Subscription Series Concert by
The City Of Fairfax Band
Conductor: Robert Pouliot, music director

Host: Rich Kleinfeldt

Location: Fairfax High School
3501 Rebel Run
Fairfax, Virginia

Alpha & Omega (Paul Yoder, 1908-1990). Paul Yoder graduated from the University of North Dakota & earned a masters degree from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. He co-founded the Japanese Band Directors Association, was President of the American Bandmasters Association, & served on the board of directors of the Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic. Yoder wrote more than 1,500 original compositions & arrangements, with a focus on works for young bands. He also produced a number of instrumental method instruction books. According to biographer Steven Kelly, Yoder's “emphasis on ensemble class instruction changed the manner in which bands were taught," such that no American band student between the 1930s & 1970s would be likely to go without experiencing a Yoder piece. Paul Yoder was noted for for his warm, humorous personality, which is reflected in his music. He wondered, “What would it sound like if a concert piece had no middle, just famous beginnings (“alpha”) & famous endings (“omega”)? To find out, Yoder wrote a unique piece in which there are no middle sections at all, just some of the concert hall's best known opening and closing phrases. The result is Alpha & Omega.

-- oOo --​

Turkey In The Straw (traditional, arr. Lewis J. Buckley). Lew Buckley joined the U.S. Coast Guard Band in 1969 as principal trumpet & trumpet soloist. In 1975, he became Coast Guard Band director, becoming the longest-tenured conductor (over 29 years) in the history of senior U.S. military bands. Under his baton, the Coast Guard Band became a famed national touring organization, released some 20 recordings, & earned its reputation as 1 of the world's most accomplished wind bands. He composes, arranges, & publishes music that is widely performed. Lew Buckley continues as an active trumpet performer, frequently combining solo appearances with conducting, often in premiere performances of his own commissioned works. Composer's note on Turkey in the Straw: This arrangement came about as a result of my getting the tune stuck in my head as I was driving to work 1 morning. At first, I was just hearing the basic fiddle tune; however, I soon began imagining the kinds of things one could do in arranging it into a set of variations for band. At 1 point, I could just hear the trombone section playing a set of glissandi in the final section of the song, & I wanted to actually hear that sound so badly that the die was cast -- I went home that very day & started writing it. Another of my favorite parts of the arrangement is the flute cadenza that takes itself oh-so-seriously, considering the relative frivolity of the tune itself. I have been gratified that both bands & audiences alike seem to enjoy this arrangement.

-- oOo --​

Eine Kleine Yiddishe Ragmusik (Adam Gorb, 1958- ). Adam Gorb, born in Cardiff, Wales, started composing at age 10. The 1st piece of his music broadcast on British national radio was written when Gorb was 15. He studied at Cambridge University (1977-1980) & the Royal Academy of Music (1991-1993), where he graduated with highest honors, including winning the Principal's Prize. He has been on the staff at the London College of Music & Media, the junior academy of the Royal Academy of Music, & since 2000 he has been the Head of School of Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Many of Gorb's compositions celebrate two of his abiding passions: symphonic wind ensembles & klezmer, the folk music of the Yiddish-speaking people. With those, Gorb's Eine Kleine Yiddishe Ragmusik spins in some witty & jazzy ragtime rhythms. The tune's title is a tip of the hat to Mozart's Serenade No. 13 for strings
(Eine Kleine Nachtmusik).

-- oOo --​

The Homeowners Guide To Making Music (Hiram Power). The roster of modern band instruments ranges from woodwinds & reeds (oboe, flute, saxophone, clarinet, bassoon, etc.) through percussion (drums, cymbals, bells, chimes, gongs, etc.) to the brasses (trumpets, cornets, horns, trombones, euphoniums, tubas, etc.). Varied as the sounds from those instruments are, they're not wide-ranging enough for composer Hiram Power, who creatively augmented those traditional music makers with “instruments” from the catalog of Home Depot (power saw, drill, etc.) and Sears (vacuum cleaner, blender, etc.). The result is The Homeowners Guide To Making Music, which raises the question: Is it still music if the sound source is non-musical? Well, as Duke Ellington put it, If It Sounds Good It Is Good.

-- oOo --​

Godzilla Eats Las Vegas! (Eric Whitacre). Usually the script comes 1st, then the casting, the story boards, the shooting schedule, & later on the composition of the film score. That’s if you’re really making a movie. But what if the movie is only a figment of the imagination, & not a fully realized work of the imagination? That is, what if the movie does not exist on film, but the idea of the movie takes hold in a composer’s whimsical imagination? If the composer is Eric Whitacre, then the answer is you go right ahead with the score anyway. And that’s what Eric Whitacre has done, creating on commission from the Wind Symphony of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas some extremely energetic movie music minus the movie, telling the story in sound but not in pictures of how the hideous movie monster Godzilla accosts the Las Vegas Strip, crushing cars, frightening tourists, & triggering a military counterattack which gets nowhere until a fearless army of Elvises (the “Elvi”) target the savage brute with bombs, tanks, & cannon balls. Meanwhile, in the clubs & casinos the showy glitter & neon glitz proceed with no awareness of the devastation that is about to descend on gambler & showgirl alike. From the earliest distant rumblings of foreboding to the triumphant annihilation of Godzilla, musically speaking it’s all there. Godzilla Eats Las Vegas! had its premiere with the UNLV Wind Symphony in November 1996. Since then, bands all over Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, & Australia have shared in the fun, including the City of Fairfax Band.

-- oOo --​

A Rhapsody of Reruns (arranged by Paul Jennings). The TV shows that were on the longest are the ones with the most familiar theme songs, even if it was a long time ago when they were on, way back during the days of black & white TV. Then again, only the pictures were in black & white; the music & soundtracks were in living color -- at least that’s the way some of us remember it. Musical arranger Paul Jennings has a fondness for the tunes associated with some of those long-running shows, & he has woven them together in a concert band medley. See how many of these television theme songs you remember, from . . .

McHale’s Navy
The Addams Family
Leave It To Beaver
Roy Rogers & Dale Evans
The Lone Ranger
Maverick
Dragnet
Gilligan’s Island
The Groucho Marx Show (You Bet Your Life)
Perry Mason
M*A*S*H

-- oOo --​

Kadiddlehopper March (Red Skelton, 1913-1997). Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton, from Vincennes, Indiana, auditioned for a medicine show at age 10. An accidental fall from the stage broke bottles on the way down, getting laughs from the audience & convincing the boy that his talent for clowning could earn him a living. By 15, Red was on the Vaudeville circuit. At 16, he was clowning in a circus. He started working for RKO in short Hollywood films in 1937, & got a long-term contract with MGM in 1940. Red introduced his character Clem Kadiddlehopper on his NBC network radio show in its initial season (1941). (Later, Red thought the voice of Bullwinkle Moose on TV sounded so much like Red's voice pattern as Clem Kadiddlehopper that Red was ready to sue the actor who voiced Bullwinkle.) Red's weekly hour-long TV comedy shows ran 20 years on CBS. After that, his half-hour TV series ran on NBC, & he appeared on HBO specials. Red never quit making people laugh. He said, “In the morning, when I open my eyes & look around, if I don't see candles or smell flowers, then I figure I'm still alive so I get up.” He said, “I want to live long enough to see who gets Brooke Shields.” Red Skelton's talents & energies went beyond show business. He was a prolific writer & composer. After typically sleeping 4-5 hours, he would get up at 5AM and begin writing stories, composing music, & painting pictures. He wrote at least 1 short story per week & composed some 8,000 songs during his lifetime. Red's Kadiddlehopper March was performed on an April 1969 episode of The Red Skelton Show by conductor Arthur Fiedler & the Boston Pops, along with another of Red's pieces plus some light classical numbers & show tunes. Red Skelton excelled at pantomime, with minimal props. A poignant example is of an old man watching a parade, a sketch rooted in personal tragedy. Red's son Richard, who died of leukemia at age 9, asked his father what happens when people die. Skelton told him, "They join a parade & start marching." Who knows if they might possibly be marching to the strains of the Kadiddlehopper March? (Note adapted from Wikipedia.com & IMDB.com )

-- oOo --​

Symphony No. 5½, A Symphony For Fun (Don Gillis 1912-1978). Symphony No. 5½ is the best known of 13 symphonies written by Don Gillis, some with names & numbers, other with names only (no numbers). Gillis acknowledged his Star-Spangled Symphony as his “Ninth,” but he was reluctant to number it Nine because he didn’t want people to get the idea it would “compete with Beethoven.” With his 5th symphony completed, and while at work on composing his sixth, Gillis put No. 6 aside as his mind was drawn to some entirely different and light-hearted musical material. Coming after Five but before Six, the intervening symphony became No. 5½, which Gillis subtitled A Symphony For Fun -- an unconventional symphony with an odd factional number, plus punny titles for 2 of the 4 movements & unusual punctuation for the other 2:

Perpetual Emotion
Spiritual ?
Scherzophrenia
Conclusion !​

The symphony was premiered in May 1947 by the Boston Pops, conducted by Arthur Fiedler. In September 1947 Symphony No. 5½ received its 1st radio broadcast performance with Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The 4 short movements, drawn on American jazz & folks idioms, are full of good humor, sly wit, & sparkling orchestration. The concert band arrangement is by Maurice Ford.

-- xXx --​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Spotlight On The Pops! -- 8PM Saturday, May 11, 2013.

​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Spotlight On The Pops! -- 8PM Saturday, May 11, 2013.

Spotlight On The Pops! -- 8PM Saturday, May 11, 2013.

City Of Fairfax Band
Robert Pouliot, Music Director
Guest Artist: Andrea Hsu, flute (2013 Fairfax Band Young Artist Competition Winner)
Guest Artist: Paul Fadoul, xylophone (1996 Fairfax Band Young Artist Competition Winner)
Host: Rich Kleinfeldt

Auditorium Location: W.T. Woodson High School
9525 Main Street
Fairfax, Virginia

Click here for tickets.

--oOo--​

Blue Shades (Frank Ticheli, 1958 - ). Frank Ticheli, born in Monroe, Louisiana, received his Bachelor of Music in Composition from Southern Methodist University and his Masters Degree in Composition and Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan. He is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Southern California and Composer-in-Residence of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. He has written works for bands, wind ensemble, orchestra, chamber ensembles, and the theatre. His music has garnered many prestigious awards including the Goddard Lieberson fellowship and Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters; the 1989 Walter Beeler memorial Composition Prize; the Ross Lee Finney Award; and 1st prize in the 11th annual Symposium for New Band Music in Virginia. The New York Times has described his music as “lean and muscular and above all, active, in motion.” Blue Shades reflects Frank Ticheli’s love for the traditional jazz music that he heard so often while growing up near new Orleans. Blue Shades was his opportunity to express his own musical style in this medium. Here is his own description of the piece: As its title suggests, the work alludes to the Blues, and a jazz feeling is prevalent -- however, it is in not literally a Blues piece. There is not a single 12-bar blues progression to be found, and except for a few isolated sections, the eighth-note is not swung. The work, however, is heavily influenced by the Blues: “Blue notes” (flatted 3rds, 5ths, and 7ths) are used constantly; Blues harmonies, rhythms, and melodic idioms pervade the work; and many “shades of blue” are depicted, from bright blue, to dark, to dirty, to hot blue. At times, Blue Shades burlesques some of the clichés from the Big Band era, not as a mockery of those conventions, but as a tribute. A slow and quiet middle section recalls the atmosphere of a dark, smoky blues haunt. An extended clarinet solo played near the end recalls Benny Goodman’s hot playing style, and ushers in a series of “wailing” brass chords recalling the train whistle effects commonly used during that era. (Note courtesy of the Foothill Symphonic Winds, Los Altos, California.)

--oOo--​

The Complete Harry Potter (arranged by Jerry Brubaker). Program note by the arranger: The Wizard Lives On! The Complete Harry Potter marks the culmination of my six-month(+) project to arrange and incorporate the most beautiful and most exciting themes from all of the Harry Potter movies into one manageable work. Over a 10-year period, four different composers contributed poignant and truly magical scores to eight different award-winning films. This music is now brought together in a suite for Symphonic Band. In less than 12 minutes the listener can experience Hedwig’s Theme, Hogwarts, Quidditch, Harry’s Wondrous World, Fawkes Phoenix, Harry in Winter, Dumbledore’s Farewell and the intense Elder Wand theme where Voldemort wickedly thrusts Dumbledore’s Wand to the sky! More themes abound, including the mysterious Lily’s Theme. A fitting finale, John Williams’s compelling Family Portrait theme used in the finale of the concluding film in the series, to send off future wizards as they board Hogwarts Express! Published by Alfred Music.

--oOo--​

Russlan and Ludmilla Overture (Mikhail Glinka, 1804-1857). Glinka, the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, is considered the father of Russian classical music. He was an important influence on future Russian composers (especially Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov), who created a distinctive Russian style of music following Glinka's lead. Russlan and Ludmilla (1842 premiere) is the second of Glinka's two operas. (The first is A Life For the Tsar, 1837.) Russlan and Ludmilla was not much appreciated at its St. Petersburg premiere because Italian operas were in vogue at the time. In the years since, Russlan and Ludmilla has become a mainstay of the Bolshoi Opera, which staged over 700 performances of it in 9 different productions over the past 165 years. Beyond its native country, Russlan and Ludmilla is mainly known for its rollicking overture, which is a famous orchestral showpiece. The concert band transcription is by Mark H. Hindsley (1905-1999).

--oOo--​

The Thunderer (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932). Sousa wrote 136 marches, 15 operettas, 70 songs, 11 waltzes, and lots of incidental music. His most famous march, The Stars & Stripes Forever, is the official march of the United States, by Act of Congress. Sousa was quoted saying, "My religion lies in my composition.” Beyond music, John Philip Sousa wrote three novels -- The Fifth String, Pipetown Sandy, and The Transit of Venus – plus a full-length autobiography titled Marching Along. Sousa is enshrined in the Trapshooting Hall of Fame as one of the all-time greats in that sport. He was a regular competitor representing the United States Navy in trapshooting competitions, particularly against the United States Army. In his Hall of Fame biography, he remarks, "Let me say that just about the sweetest music to me is when I call, ‘Pull,’ the old gun barks, and the referee in perfect key announces, ‘Dead’." The Thunderer (1889) is among Sousa's best known and most performed marches. Its title may or may not refer to the thunderous blast from a shotgun. The 1998 edition of The Thunderer was arranged by Sousa experts Keith Brion and Loras John Schissel.

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Selections From Les Misérables (arranged by Warren Barker, (1923-2006). The show that broke records on Broadway and London has been produced in 14 languages reaching audiences that have totaled well over 50 million people worldwide -- and that was before the movie version of Les Misérables came out. For such a smash hit, the production with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg and English libretto by Herbert Kretzmer got off to a rough start. After the London opening of Les Misérables (October 1985), the Sunday Telegraph's reviewer called the show "a lurid Victorian melodrama produced with Victorian lavishness." A review in the London Observer said the show was “witless and synthetic entertainment." But the theater-going public saw it differently. The original sold-out 3-month theater engagement was renewed indefinitely. Les Misérables has been on the stage in London continuously ever since. In New York, Les Misérables opened in 1987 and ran through 2003, the 4th longest-running Broadway show ever. The show was nominated for 12 Tony Awards and won eight, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. A 2006 Broadway revival ran through 2008. Warren Barker's arrangement of Selections From Les Misérables features “At The End Of The Day,” “I Dreamed A Dream,” “Master Of The House,” “On My Own,” and “Do You Hear The People Sing.”

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Bacchanale from Samson & Delilah (Camille Saint-Saëns, 1835-1921). Camille Saint-Saëns was born in Paris in 1835. He began learning piano at age 2½ and memorized all of Beethoven’s piano sonatas by age 10. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1848. He based his most famous opera, Samson & Delilah (1877), on the Old Testament story. In the opera, after Samson succumbs to Delilah’s wiles, there is a riotous celebration in the temple of Dagon. Samson is led in. Delilah joins others in mocking him, telling him of her duplicity. Samson is taken to the two pillars that support the building. In a final exertion of strength, he brings the temple down on himself and the whole assembled company. The Bacchanale was arranged for concert band by Fred M. Hubbell (1924-2007).

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1st Movement, Concerto No. 2 for Flute in D Major K.V. 314 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756-1791). Mozart's Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major started out as a concerto for oboe in C Major, written for an Italian oboist in 1777. In 1778, Mozart rewrote the piece as a flute concerto in D Major for a Dutch flautist who commissioned four flute quartets and three flute concertos from Mozart. Of those the composer completed three of the commissioned flute quartets and only one new flute concerto. Instead of starting over on a new work for the second flute concerto, Mozart rearranged his oboe concerto from a year earlier, delivering that as the second commissioned flute concerto, although in a new key and with substantial changes in accord with the composer's conception of performance characteristics more suitable for flute. Mozart's client, however, did not pay for the second flute concerto because instead of being all new, it was based on the earlier oboe concerto. Before long, the written music for the oboe version of the concerto was lost, not to be rediscovered until 1920 in Salzburg, although references to it in the literature suggested to music historians that the surviving Flute Concerto No.2 had its origin as a concerto for oboe. With versions for both instruments restored to the Mozart catalog, the concerto K.V. 314 has become an important part of the repertory for flute as well as oboe. The piece was transcribed and arranged for concert band by Ervin Monroe, former principal flute of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. (Note adapted from Wikipedia.com )

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The Golden Age of the Xylophone (arranged by Floyd E. Werle, 1929-2010). The orchestral debut of the wood-bar xylophone was in 1874, with the instrument's crisp, bright staccatos evoking the sounds of dancing skeletons in Danse Macbre by Camille Saint-Saëns, who used xylophone again to suggest rattling fossils in Carnival of the Animals (1886). About that time, John C. Deagan, an English clarinetist who became interested in percussion tuning, established the Musical Bells Company in St. Louis, Missouri. By 1897 he started producing fully chromatic xylophones (equipped with all the flats and sharps) of consistent orchestral quality and consistency. Deagan's company helped make xylophones popular in community and military bands all over the United States and around much of the western world. By the early 20th century the xylophone had become an attention-getting solo instrument because its bright and piercing tone color stood out above all the other instrumental sounds. The xylophone's bright woody vibrations had carrying power which greatly suited the early acoustic recordings that worked by sound power alone, before the invention of electronic amplification. Thus the xylophone was widely featured in ragtime and early jazz recordings. Bandleaders like Paul Whiteman used the xylophone as a solo instrument, as did John Phillips Sousa and Arthur Pryor, showing off the virtuoso talents of players like Arthur Racket, George Lawrence Stone, and brothers George Hamilton Green and Joe Green, who were all famous back in that Golden Age of solo xylophone playing. Evoking those old-time xylophone fireworks, arranger Floyd Werle created a show-stopping ragtime novelty xylophone solo, with band accompaniment, featuring eight lively tunes that were big favorites in the 1900s. Premiered by Randy Eyles and the United States Air Force Band, The Golden Age of the Xylophone since then has been performed around the world, including a 1987 live radio broadcast in China that reached an audience estimated at 60 million people.

-- xXx--​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

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Tell Me A Story -- October 26, 2013, Concert By Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band.

Tell Me a Story -- Theme Concert by the City Of Fairfax Band
Robert Pouliot, Music Director
8PM Saturday, October 26, 2013
Fairfax High School
3501 Rebel Run
Fairfax, VA​

“Hobbits,” from Symphony No. 1, The Lord of the Rings (Johan de Meij, 1953 - ). Dutch composer Johan de Meij received his musical education at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, where he studied band conducting & trombone performance. After graduation de Meij gained an international reputation as an arranger of classical as well as popular music. Well before the epic films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy-trilogy The Lord of the Rings reached the big screen, de Meij retold the story musically via his Symphony No. 1. His creation won the Sudler International Wind Band Composition competition in 1989 on its way to becoming one of the world’s most popular works for winds & percussion. The symphony was written between March 1984 and December 1987. The premiere was performed in Brussels by the Military Band of the Belgian Guides under the baton of Norbert Nozy on March 15, 1988. The City of Fairfax Band performed the complete symphony in 1996. In 2001, the orchestral version was premiered by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra.
The concluding 5th movement of the symphony, titled “Hobbits,” reveals the carefree & optimistic character of the Hobbits in a happy folk dance. The hymn that follows expresses the determination & nobility of character of the Hobbit folk. The symphony does not end on an exuberant note, but concludes peacefully with quiet resignation, in keeping with the symbolic mood of the saga's last chapter, “The Grey Havens,” in which Frodo & Gandalf sail away in a white ship & disappear slowly beyond the horizon.

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A Symphony of Fables (Julie Giroux, 1961- ). Julie Ann Giroux was born in 1961 in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, & grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, & Monroe, Louisiana. Her formal education is from Louisiana State University and Boston University. She studied composition with John Williams, Bill Conti, & Jerry Goldsmith, among others. Although an accomplished performer on piano & horn, her first love is composition. She began playing the piano at age three & published her 1st piece at the age 10. In 1985, she began composing, orchestrating, & conducting music for television & films, & now has over 100 film & television credits. She won 3 Emmy Awards. A Symphony of Fables was commissioned by the United States Air Force Band of Flight, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Lt. Col. Alan Sierichs, commander & conductor. Notes from the composer: Once I had decided upon composing a work based on fables & had chosen the 5 fables that I would musically tell, I was faced with the decision of style. Taking to heart the often spoken phrase “write what you know about,” I decided after great debate to compose all the fables in what I consider to be “old school” style. What I mean by that is I used styles which I believe I would have heard as “background” music in my head or at the movies when I was young. Keep in mind that when I was a child, my favorite musical story compilation was Disney's Fantasia. I knew I did not want this work to come off as “cartoon” music, but as an emotionally serious & highly programmatic work with several options for the performers in its “telling.” Each movement has been composed to stand alone & is capable of being performed in that manner with no introduction other than the normal program notes as a guide. Any combination of the movements in any order is also perfectly acceptable. The published “order” is what I feel to be the best if the entire work is being performed. But, again, I will leave that to the performers.

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L'Apprenti Sorcier (Paul Dukas, 1865-1935). Dukas entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 16, studying piano, harmony, & composition. Although some of his pieces won composition prizes, his disappointment at not winning the Prix de Rome (he came in 2nd) led him to drop out of conservatory. After military service, he started working as a music critic and composer. The Sorcerer's Apprentice, the brilliant & inventive tone poem Dukas wrote in 1897, overshadowed everything else the composer wrote, even in his own lifetime. Dukas subtitled the piece “Scherzo after a ballad by Goethe,” because his inspiration for the music came from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's poem, also titled The Sorcerer's Apprentice, written in 1797. The tone poem by Dukas was already popular among concert-goers when Walt Disney took it to a much larger audience by featuring it in his 1940 animated feature Fantasia. Disney had acquired the music rights in 1937 for a separate Mickey Mouse film he was planning. At the suggestion of maestro Leopold Stokowski, Disney's plan blossomed into Fantasia, with Mickey Mouse starring as the apprentice in the Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence. For that sequence, Stokowski conducted a Hollywood studio orchestra. In all the other musical sequences recorded for Fantasia, Stokowski directed the Philadelphia Orchestra. The Sorcerer's Apprentice was transcribed for concert band by Frank Winterbottom.

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Songs of Abelard (Norman Dello Joio, 1913-2008). The composer was regarded during his lifetime as one of the foremost figures in modern American music. His compositions show clear formal structure as well as partiality to variation technique. A New York City native, he was descended from three generations of Italian organists, & became a church organist himself at age 14. He attended Juilliard, studied under Paul Hindemith at Yale, then taught composition at Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville NY (1944-50), before becoming Professor of Music at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. Dello Joio earned wide respect for his fine craftsmanship. He won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize in music for Meditations on Ecclesiastes for string orchestra. He received an Emmy for Scenes from The Louvre, his original score for a 1964 NBC television special. Songs of Abelard (1969) was inspired by the medieval French legend of Abelard and Heloise. In 12th century Paris, Heloise strives for an answer to the question of human existence. Only one teacher, the famous scholar Abelard, can provide the wisdom that she seeks. Though 20 years older than Heloise, Abelard is intrigued by the young woman's rare intelligence. The pair soon find themselves powerless over a spiritual and physical desire for each other, despite knowing that any such relationship is forbidden. When Heloise becomes pregnant, they flee. To protect the dignity of his fallen niece, Cathedral Canon Fulbert arranges a secret marriage between Heloise and Abelard. But soon the lovers discover that Fulbert has plotted to ruin Abelard & keep Heloise for himself. Heloise escapes to the convent at Argenteuil. But for Abelard, it is too late. A brutal attack in Paris leaves him mutilated. After that, Abelard no longer considers himself capable of teaching at Notre Dame. Heloise & Abelard decide that their only option is to take holy orders as monk & nun even though Heloise knows that in doing so she must give up her child & will never see him again. Through 20 years of correspondence, the love between Heloise & Abelard survives their physical separation. Years later, upon reuniting briefly at a ceremony in Paris, Heloise & Abelard comprehend that their reason for human existence is their shared love. Though they never meet again, their love endures through the ages. Program note by the composer: This band composition is a symphonic synthesis culled from the music of Time of Snow, a dance score choreographed by Martha Graham. Its three movements are the dramatic & tragic musical expression of the Abelard and Heloise legend. The text for the vocal solos is based on poetic material from the medieval period in which the events of this compelling love story took place in Paris. This early 12th century romance between the foremost scholar of his day and the niece of a canon of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which stunned the academic & clerical world at the time, is still recalled in an inscription upon a small house on the Isle de la Cité:

Heloise, Abelard lived here.
Sincere lovers. Precious models.
The year 1118.

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Jericho Rhapsody (Morton Gould, 1913-1996). Gould developed an interest in concert band music & especially the burgeoning phenomenon of school bands. His 1st original work for band was his Cowboy Rhapsody, composed in 1940 at the behest of William Revelli for the University of Michigan Band. Gould was clearly impressed by the experience and immediately began proselytizing on behalf of bands, as evidenced by his comments in the October 1940 issue of Etude magazine: Band composing and arranging has been an exclusive field, and its importance to today’s musical idiom has not yet been fully realized by those composers who seek out only the orchestral field. I have found this field most intriguing and propose to compose other works exclusively for band. The work that followed this bold statement was Jericho Rhapsody, composed in 1941 for the Pennsylvania School Music Association. As with American Salute (1942), the composer wrote Jericho Rhapsody under such a tight deadline that he had to create the work overnight. The piece itself may have been written quickly, but the idea had gestated over a longer period of time, beginning with the composer’s reading of the biblical Book of Joshua. As one might expect from the title, the melody at the core of this fantasy is the spiritual song “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho,” but the work is also a programmatic accounting of the battle. In order to tell the story Gould adds several melodies of his own invention in the 7 episodes that correspond to the narrative. Although the scene of the original Battle of Jericho is geographically far removed from this country, the themes, styles, & tonalities of this work are thoroughly American. The opening scene is set with a dramatic and declamatory “Prologue,” a sequence that portends a conflict of epic proportions. Next is the “Roll Call,” in which God instructs Joshua to select 12 men, one from each tribe, to take into battle. The melody of the “Chant” that follows is original to Gould, but is clearly inspired by the African-American spiritual tradition. The next episode, “Dance,” features the 1st appearance of “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho” in a jazzy back-and-forth treatment between the trumpets and the rest of the band. Gould provides 2 secondary melodies in this section that are as memorable as the one he borrowed & that evoke images of American dance halls in the 1920s and 1930s. A solo snare drum escorts us into the “March and Battle,” a scene that gradually builds in excitement & intensity, especially when “Joshua’s Trumpets” (and cornets!) are engaged in the conflict. As expected, “The Walls Come Tumblin’ Down” is represented by a host of cacophonous percussion effects. In the denouement following the battle, we hear final echoes of the trumpets, followed by a reprise of the chant, which is now offered in thanks. A final rousing “Hallelujah” leads the work to its joyous conclusion.
Adapted from liner notes to Morton Gould: An American Salute, 2012 CD recording by the United States Marine Band, Col. Michael J. Colburn, director.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

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Cathedral Brass Performance 5PM Sunday, October 20, 2013, In Burke VA.

The musical program includes . . .

Feierlicher Einzug (Richard Strauss)
Little Suite For Brass (Malcolm Arnold)
Canzona Bergamasca (Samuel Scheidt)
Ite Missa Est (Brian Balmages)
Grand Choeur Dialogue (Eugene Gigout)​

Click here for the Cathedral Brass web site.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

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Local News Feature About Fairfax Band "Tell Me A Story" Concert.

Tell Me A Story -- October 26, 2013, Concert By Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band.

Click here for the story.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

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Gershwin, By George! -- Fairfax Band's All-Gershwin Concert -- March 22, 2014.

Fairfax Band's all-Gershwin concert is set for 8PM on March 22, 2014. Click here for tickets.

George Gershwin
(1898 - 1937)​

George Gershwin was born 2 years after his brother Ira. With their parents and their younger brother Arthur and younger sister Frances, they moved from place to place in New York City as their father chose a different residence with every new job & each new business activity. George & Ira grew up near the Yiddish theater district, frequently attending the shows. George also ran errands for cast members & appeared sometimes onstage as an extra.

George was not into music until age 10. Then, when he heard his friend Maxie Rosenzweig playing violin, George was captivated. The Gershwin family bought a piano so that Ira could take lessons, but it was George who started playing. After a couple of years of different piano teachers, Gershwin was introduced to Charles Hambitzer, who taught George piano technique, introduced him to European classical music tradition, & encouraged Gershwin to attend orchestra concerts. Following such events, young Gershwin would try to play on the family piano the concert music that he had just heard. Gershwin later studied with the classical composer Rubin Goldmark & avant-garde composer-theorist Henry Cowell.

On leaving school at age 15, Gershwin got his first job: “song plugger" for a Tin Pan Alley music publisher in New York City. George earned $15 a week. His own 1st published song (“When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em”) was published in 1916. Gershwin was 17 years old. The song earned him $5. Gershwin's 1917 novelty rag, "Rialto Ripples,” became a commercial success, and in 1919 Gershwin's song, "Swanee,” (with words by Irving Caesar) became a big hit after Al Jolson sang it on stage.

Before long Gershwin met songwriter & music director William Daly, who collaborated with him on Broadway musicals. In 1924, George & Ira Gershwin started working together on stage musicals that not only succeeded financially, but that also featured tunes which are still popular today ( e.g., “Strike Up The Band,” “I Got Rhythm,” “Oh, Lady Be Good!"). In the mid-1920s, when Gershwin was staying in Paris, he applied to study composition with the Nadia Boulanger, who, along with several other prospective tutors such as Maurice Ravel, decided against teaching Gershwin, fearing that rigorous classical study might impair Gershwin's jazz-influenced creative style. While abroad, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris, which received mixed reviews upon its first performance at Carnegie Hall on December 13, 1928, but thereafter became part of the concert repertoire in Europe & the USA.

Although Gershwin's 1922 1-act jazz-opera Blue Monday flopped on Broadway, it still impressed Paul Whiteman so favorably that Whiteman asked Gershwin to compose a symphonic jazz piece for a concert Whiteman was planning. The resulting concert piece, Rhapsody in Blue, became Gershwin's most famous composition. Arts consultant Jeffrey James claims that Blue Monday is "the missing link in Gershwin's evolution into the Rhapsody in Blue" as well as a source to Gershwin's Preludes, the Piano Concerto in F, and Porgy & Bess.

Porgy & Bess, which Gershwin called a "folk opera,” is now generally regarded as 1 of the most important American operas of the 20th century. Theater historian Robert Kimball noted that "From the very beginning, it was considered another American classic by the composer of Rhapsody in Blue — even if critics couldn't quite figure out how to evaluate it. Was it opera, or was it simply an ambitious Broadway musical?” Porgy & Bess crosses the barriers, says Kimball. It elicits both musical & dramatic response while remaining beyond either the limits of either category.

Porgy & Bess was not a money maker. Gershwin moved to Hollywood after the opera's commercial failure. RKO Pictures commissioned Gershwin in 1936 to write music for the film Shall We Dance, starring Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers. Gershwin's extended score, a novel blend of ballet & jazz, took Gershwin several months to write and orchestrate.

Headaches, hallucinations, & severe coordination problems that affected not just piano performance but also routine daily activities led to Gershwin's hospitalization at Cedars of Lebanon in Los Angeles. He was released after inconclusive tests. The condition worsened, & after a collapse Gershwin was rushed back to Cedars of Lebanon, where he lapsed into a coma. Doctors diagnosed brain tumor. Surgery was unsuccessful, and Gershwin died July 11, 1937, at age 38.

George Gershwin was not prone to grand statements about his music. Yet he believed that "true music must reflect the thought & aspirations of the people & time. My people are Americans. My time is today."

(Note adapted from wikipedia.org )​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

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Gershwin, By George! -- Fairfax Band's All-Gershwin Concert -- March 22, 2014.

Fairfax Band's all-Gershwin concert is set for 8PM on March 22, 2014. Click here for tickets.

Concert selections . . .

Gershwin! This rich montage features a broad spectrum of instrumental colors & musical effects showcasing songs by of 1 of America’s premiere composers. Arranger Warren Barker brought creative wit & dazzling skill to his appealing concert band arrangement of some great George Gershwin tunes: “I Got Rhythm,” “Fascinating Rhythm,” “Embraceable You,” “Somebody Loves Me,” & “Someone To Watch Over Me.”

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Rhapsody In Blue. First heard in 1924, Rhapsody In Blue was a major success for George Gershwin. The 1st attempt at using jazz on an extended scale to achieve great popularity, this landmark of American music paid for it by being misrepresented for several decades, the tide only turning in recent years. It was commissioned by Paul Whiteman for “An Experiment in Modern Music,” the first formal jazz concert given in America, in New York, 1924. Gershwin responded with a loosely structured Lisztian rhapsody in the jazz idiom of that time, its manuscript headed “for jazz band and piano.” But it came to be performed almost exclusively by large ensembles, even symphony orchestras, & this inflation made parts of the Rhapsody sound rather elephantine. When the original instrumentation & tempos (demonstrated on Gershwin's 2 recordings of the piece with Whiteman) are restored, an extraordinary transformation occurs, & the music explodes with galvanic energy. Commissioning such a piece was characteristic of Whiteman, who had the sort of musical curiosity that will always be uncommon in the field of popular entertainment. His band was long assigned a dubious position in jazz history, yet his remarkable ear for talent led to his maintaining an ensemble that decisively raised the level of performance of popular music. The scores it played, including in the 1920s the work of Ferde Grofé (who orchestrated Rhapsody In Blue), display an orchestral technique that is imaginative & resourceful. (Adapted from liner notes to a 1987 London Sinfonietta CD recording titled The Jazz Album: A Tribute to the Jazz Age.)

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An American In Paris. During most of 1928, Gershwin was busy with the composition of his tone poem An American In Paris, which he started during a trip to Europe that year. Gershwin was greeted as a musical celebrity, & he met many outstanding composers during that journey, including Prokofiev, Milhaud, Poulenc, Ravel, Walton, & Berg. The next summer Gershwin had his debut as a conductor at an outdoor concert in New York City conducting the New York Philharmonic in both An American in Paris and Rhapsody In Blue, playing the Rhapsody piano part himself, to an audience of more than 15,000. In An American In Paris, Gershwin succeeds in richly & subtly blending materials representing both musical impressions of 1920s Paris & of an American artist’s response to those impressions. Yet just 4 years earlier, as he prepared for the premiere of Rhapsody In Blue, Gershwin felt fearful that he might not have anything of lasting merit to offer the audience. That performance forever labeled George Gershwin as the man who took jazz into the concert hall. The music for tonight’s performance of An American In Paris was transcribed & arranged for symphonic band by Jerry Brubaker, a former member of the City of Fairfax Band.

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Cuban Overture. Workaholic George Gershwin practically knocked himself out in 1931 on his musical Of Thee I Sing and his soundtrack music for the movie Delicious, not to mention his Second Rhapsody, which premiered in January 1932. To unwind in February 1932, he spent a couple of weeks in Havana, more for fun than for relaxation. Gershwin described his Havana vacation as “two hysterical weeks in Cuba, where no sleep was had.” A big part of the experience was total immersion in exotic tunes & rhythms, with street musicians practically everywhere & Afro-Cuban dance numbers rocking the clubs. He came home with a set of claves -- Gershwin called them "Cuban sticks" -- plus bongos, maracas, & a gourd. He also brought back the idea for a Cuban-style orchestral piece he wanted to write. He began in July & finished just in time to conduct the premiere at the New York Philharmonic's first All-Gershwin concert August 16, 1932. Gershwin wrote that it was "the most exciting night I have ever had . . . 17,845 people paid to get in & just about 5,000 were at the closed gates trying to fight their way in." Gershwin's original title for the symphonic overture was simply Rumba. But when Gershwin conducted the piece at a Metropolitan Opera benefit concert 3 months later, he renamed it Cuban Overture in case anybody might assume it was simply a juke-box number or novelty tune. "Cuban Overture gives a more just idea of the character & intent of the music," he said, which was to "embody the essence of the Cuban dance."

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Three Preludes. George Gershwin’s music has penetrated the culture so thoroughly that it is a part of our musical subconscious. We can hum or whistle a Gershwin tune spontaneously without a thought as to who composed it, or even that it was composed at all, because it seems to be so much a part of the American fabric. Gershwin created songs with staying power. The director of the 1st performance of Porgy & Bess, said, "I've heard many pianists & composers play for informal gatherings, but I know of no one who did it with such genuine delight and verve... George at the piano was George happy. He would draw a lovely melody out of the keyboard like a golden thread, then he would play with it & juggle it, twist it & toss it around mischievously, weave it into unexpected intricate patterns, tie it in knots and untie it & hurl it into a cascade of ever changing rhythms & counterpoints." Gershwin performed his 5 preludes for piano for the 1st time on December 4, 1926. He published 3 of them in 1927. The adaptations on tonight’s program were arranged for concert band by Robert Pouliot, music director of the City of Fairfax Band. They appear on the City of Fairfax Band's compact disc album titled Made In America (2002).

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Lullaby. This 1-movement piece started out as a homework assignment. In 1923, Gershwin was supposed to complete a harmony exercise for his 3rd lesson with Rubin Goldmark (nephew of Hungarian composer Karl Goldmark & a pupil of Antonin Dvořák). Gershwin was too busy (working on music for George White's Scandals), so he handed in a 1-movement composition that he had written several years earlier as a harmony exercise when he was studying with Edward Kilenyi. Gershwin later had fun telling the story of how Goldmark, looking over the piece we know as Lullaby, told Gershwin, "It's plainly to be seen that you have already learned a great deal of harmony from me!" (That turned out to be Gershwin's final lesson with Goldmark.) Gershwin wrote Lullaby both as a string quartet and as a piano piece. The piano piece remained unfinished & unpublished. The version for strings was played by the composer's friends in the months following its composition, but only at private events. The public 1st heard the piece (part of it) in 1922. Gershwin borrowed the main musical idea of Lullaby for his 1-act opera Blue Monday, in the form of an aria titled “Has Anyone Seen My Joe?” Lullaby disappeared for the next 40 years except in rare revivals of Blue Monday. Then in 1962, harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler happened to mention to Ira Gershwin that he planned to overdub his own harmonica playing 4 times in recording a film score. Somehow the word “four” triggered Ira's recollection of the 4-part string version of Lullaby & prompted him to show his brother's score to Adler. On August 29, 1963, Adler premiered his transcription of the piece for harmonica & string quartet in an appearance with the Edinburgh String Quartet at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. Later, he recorded Morton Gould's arrangement for harmonica & string orchestra. On October 29, 1967, Lullaby was at last performed publicly as Gershwin had written it. The Juilliard String Quartet played it as part of a concert at the Library of Congress. When Lullaby was published the following year, Ira Gershwin wrote of it, “It may not be the Gershwin of Rhapsody in Blue, Concerto in F, & his other concert works, but I find it charming & kind.” The arrangement for concert band is by Robert Pouliot, music director of the City of Fairfax Band. (Adapted from a program note by Walter Rimler at RedRoom.com )

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Porgy & Bess Selection (concert band arrangement by Robert Russell Bennett, 1894-1981). Robert Russell Bennett was home-schooled by his musically talented parents. He started harmony & counterpoint studies at age 15. Seven years later, he was leading army bands, arranging music, & composing. In 1926, he began a period of European study that included 4 years of work with renowned teacher of composition Nadia Boulanger. Bennett is best known for his orchestrations of famous Broadway & Hollywood musicals by top composers like Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, & Richard Rodgers. In arranging & orchestrating Gershwin's Broadway music, Bennett typically started with annotated short piano scores containing general suggestions for which instruments should play what. Bennett worked closely with Gershwin as the composer's assistant while Gershwin composed his score for the 1937 Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers film Shall We Dance, often spending late nights with Gershwin while they rushed to complete scores on deadline. After Gershwin's death, Bennett was called upon to create the definitive orchestrations of some of Gershwin's music, resulting in Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture and an orchestral medley titled Gershwin in Hollywood. Bennett spent the better part of 1942 arranging portions of Porgy & Bess at the request of Fritz Reiner, music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at the time. Reiner's plan, which Bennett followed, was for an independent musical portrait rather than a straight rendering of the opera’s story line. In Robert Russell Bennet's Porgy and Bess Selection for concert band, “Summertime” and “A Woman Is a Sometime Thing” stand out for their prominent cornet solos, followed by a spirited euphonium lead in “I Got Plenty of Nothing.” Alto saxophone, alto clarinet, cornet, euphonium, & oboe solos are featured in “Bess, You Is My Woman,” followed by a cornet-trombone dialogue in “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” “Picnic Parade” makes a splashy introduction to the medley’s grand finale, “Oh Lawd, I’m on my Way.”

-- xXx --​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

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Gershwin, By George! At The Association Of Concert Bands Convention.

The City Of Fairfax Band performed (by invitation) at this year's convention of the Association Of Concert Bands in Allentown PA.

The convention performance was last Friday night, March 28, 2014. It featured the same numbers that the band played in Fairfax at its March 22 concert, minus Rhapsody In Blue and Porgy & Bess Selections.

Fairfax Band was introduced at the Allentown convention by Jerry Brubaker,a member of the board of directors of the Association Of Concert Bands, who not only composed Fairfax Band's musical opener but also arranged the concert band version of American In Paris that Fairfax Band played at the concert & at the convention.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

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Springtime Pops 2014.

Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band presents its Springtime Pops concert, featuring the winner of Fairfax Band's 2014 Young Artist Competition.

Time & date: 8PM, Saturday, May 17, 2014.
Place: WT Woodson High School
9525 Main Street
Fairfax VA
Conductor: Robert Pouliot, music director
Guest Artist: Alison Dettmer, flute
2014 Young Artist Competition Winner
Host: Rich Kleinfeldt​

Tickets are on sale now. ( Click here. )

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La Belle Hélène Overture (Jacques Offenbach, 1819-1880). Jacques Offenbach (originally, Jakob Wiener) grew up in a musical family, the son of a synagogue cantor in Cologne, Germany. He moved to Paris in 1833 to study cello, earning a living on the instrument by playing in the orchestra of the Opera Comique. He thrived in light opera, became conductor of the Theatre Français in 1850, and got to be well known as a composer of light, bright music & witty operettas. In 1855 he started his own theatrical company, the Bouffes-Parisiens, which put on many of his shows. He became a French citizen in 1860. Offenbach wrote close to 100 works for the stage, & his music was popular just about everywhere. He went on tour in the USA and Britain. Offenbach’s 1st success was Orpheus in the Underworld (1858). His biggest hits are from in the 1860s, notably La Belle Hélène (1864), La Vie Parisienne (1866), La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein (1867), and La Perichole (1868). If Offenbach’s music is humorous, his story lines can be downright comic. In La Belle Hélène, Helen, the air-headed wife of the King of Sparta, hears of a divine beauty contest that’s fixed. When the bribe offered is the most beautiful woman in the world, the judge allows himself to be bribed. Helen, knowing that she is the most beautiful woman in the world, realizes she is going to be tangled up in the outcome. The contest judge who shows up in Sparta turns out to be Paris, son of the king of Troy. Over the mighty objection of Helen’s husband the king, Paris & Helen become so powerfully attracted to each other that they contrive to sail away together bound for Troy, where they aim to live happily ever after. The band arrangement of the opera overture is by Lawrence Odom.

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Overture to Candide (Leonard Bernstein, 1918-1990). Bernstein’s Candide has 1 of the most glorious scores ever heard on Broadway. Despite that, the original 1956 production never reached a large audience & the show closed in February 1957. Fortunately, an original cast album was commercially released. Record sales grew, the music thrived, & Bernstein’s score gained a cult following. Revisions, revivals, & new productions of Candide were staged in London (1959, 1989, 2013), Los Angeles (1966, 1971), Brooklyn (1973), New York (1982, 1997, 2004, 2013), Glasgow (1988), Chicago (1994), Paris (2006), Seattle (2010), & London (2013), suggesting that Candide, like its hero, may never find a single perfect form & function. If so, that outcome could prove philosophically appropriate. Somewhere, Voltaire’s ghost is smiling. The overture to Candide was transcribed for concert band by Walter Beeler (1908-1973).

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Fantaisie Pastorale Hongroise, Op. 26 (Albert Franz Doppler, 1821-1883). Doppler was born in a section of Poland that is now part of Ukraine. He learned flute from his father, Joseph Doppler, who played oboe. Franz & his younger brother Karl toured Europe as a flute duo. The pair joined the orchestra of the German Theater, Budapest, in 1838, & moved to the Hungarian National Theater in 1841. Franz & Karl, while continuing their European concert tours, helped establish the Hungarian Philharmonic Orchestra in 1853. At age 18, Franz was 1st flutist at the opera in Budapest. He went on to be 1st flutist & stand-in conductor, & eventually chief conductor, of the Vienna Court Opera, as well as becoming Professor Of Flute at the Vienna Conservatory (1864-1867). As composer, Franz Doppler wrote operas that were staged in Budapest. Beside those, he composed music mainly for flute, creating concertos, showpieces, & duets that he performed with his brother Karl. Franz Doppler was regarded as a brilliant orchestrator. His 7 operas and 15 ballets were popular in their time. Doppler's tour de force showpiece Fantaisie Pastorale Hongroise, Op. 26, was arranged for soloist with concert band by Col. John R. Bourgeois (USMC, ret.), who from 1979 to 1996 was director of the United States Marine Band (“The President's Own”). (Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )

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The Gallant Seventh March (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932). Sousa wrote The Gallant Seventh for the New York National Guard's 7th Regiment, 107th Infantry, whose band at the time was 1 of the most famous in New York City. The 1922 premiere performance of The Gallant Seventh was played by members of the 7th Regiment's band combined with members of Sousa's own band at the New York Hippodrome (future site of Radio City Music Hall). The Seventh Regiment band's conductor, Francis Sutherland, had been a cornet player in Sousa's band after Sousa completed service with the United States Marine Band (“The President's Own"). The Gallant Seventh score was edited by Frederick Fennell (1914-2004).

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The Hounds Of Spring (Alfred Reed, 1921-2005). Reed was born in New York City. He started learning trumpet at age 10. In his teens he played in hotel combos in the Catskills. At the onset of WW2, he joined the 529th Army Air Corps Band, where during 3½ years of service he produced nearly 100 compositions & arrangements for band. After military discharge, he studied composition with Vittorio Giannini at Juilliard. In 1953, he enrolled at Baylor University, serving as symphony orchestra conductor while earning bachelor's (1955) and master's degrees (1956) in music. He was executive editor of Hansen Publishing (1955-1966), then become professor of music at the University of Miami, where he served until retirement in 1993. He continued composing & guest-conducting as a post-retirement career. Reed's concert overture for winds titled The Hounds Of Spring, composed in 1980, takes inspiration from verses written by English poet Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909).

When the hounds of spring are on winter’s traces,
The mother of months in meadow or plain

Fills the shadows & windy places
With lisp of leaves & ripple of rain

And soft as lips that laugh & hide
The laughing leaves of the trees divide,

And screen from seeing & leave in sight
The god pursuing, the maiden hid.​

As hounds follow a trail, spring follows winter's path. The trees, barren in winter, in springtime regrow their covering canopy of beauty. The Hounds Of Spring expresses the exuberance of youth through a spirited & driving opening section. The lyric & melodic section that follows conveys the sweetness of tender love. A fugue-like conclusion juxtaposes the 2 earlier themes. The City of Fairfax Band 1st performed the piece in 1996, both in concert at home & again at the National Band Association convention in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Note adapted from windband.org, web site of the Foothill Symphonic Winds, Los Altos, California.)

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Pique Dame Overture (Franz von Suppé, 1819-1895). The Fortune Teller, an 1862 operetta in 1 act by Franz von Suppé, is based loosely on a story of the supernatural by Alexander Puskin. Unfortunately for the composer, The Fortune Teller was a flop. Undeterred, von Suppé went back into his studio to rework his material. He elaborated the story, which involves a ghost a & enchantment & sudden death & betting on card games. He lengthened the operetta, expanding it into 2 acts. He scrapped the old title, naming the new operetta Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades). Its 1864 premiere in Graz (Austria's 2nd-largest city), supervised by von Suppé himself, not only went well but led to an 1865 opening in Vienna. Although Pique Dame went on to reasonable success in its day, the operetta is practically never performed today. Not so its overture, which was published separately in 1867 & is still popular in concert halls & on recordings. Pique Dame Overture has been arranged for 2- & 4-hand piano performance, & was also adapted for mechanical organ by the Aeolian Company, which included a description of the piece in their 1919 catalog: At the beginning there is heard a mysterious theme, several times repeated, and this theme then turns out to be simply the accompaniment for a lyric melody which is now voiced above it and which proves to be an important musical factor in the overture, culminating in a big climax. After this a merry theme makes its appearance, its brisk, happy character supplying ideal contrast to the foregoing music. Another fine lyric theme and a gay melody are added, and a rushing brilliant coda brings the overture to a happy conclusion. Pique Dame Overture was played often in movie theaters during the silent film era, when deluxe screenings included an overture or other concert piece played by a live orchestra before the movie started. The film music director & composer Hugo Riesenfeld ranked Pique Dame Overture as one of the 10 most frequently performed pieces of music in the silent film era. Pique Dame Overture was arranged for concert band by Theodore M. Tobani (1855-1933), & rearranged for modern bands by H.R. Kent. (Adapted from Wikipedia.org )

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Promenade (Leroy Anderson, 1908-1975). Leroy Anderson studied composition at Harvard with Walter Piston & Georges Enescu. After receiving a Master of Arts in Music degree in 1930, Anderson stayed at Harvard, working toward a PhD in German & Scandinavian languages. At the time he was working as organist & choir director at the East Milton Congregational Church, leading the Harvard University Band, & conducting & arranging for dance bands around Boston. In 1936 his arrangements came to the attention of Arthur Fiedler, who asked for any original compositions by Leroy Anderson. Anderson's 1st composition was Jazz Pizzicato (1938). At just over 90 seconds, the piece was too short for a 3-minute 78-rpm single record. Fiedler suggested writing a companion piece, so Anderson wrote Jazz Legato later that same year. The combined recording went on to become one of Anderson's signature tunes. In 1942 Leroy Anderson joined the U.S. Army, & was assigned to Iceland as a counterintelligence translator & interpreter. In 1945 he was reassigned to the Pentagon, where his duties did not prevent him from composing. In 1945 he wrote The Syncopated Clock and Promenade. In 1951 Anderson wrote his 1st big hit, Blue Tango, which became a Gold Record and reached No. 1 on Billboard. Leroy Anderson's many 3-minute gems were huge commercial successes. Blue Tango was the 1st instrumental record to sell a million copies. His most famous tunes -- Sleigh Ride, for example, and The Syncopated Clock -- are instantly recognizable to millions. For his contribution to the recording industry, Leroy Anderson has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1988, & his music continues to be a staple of pops repertoire. In 1995 Harvard University Band's new headquarters was named the Anderson Band Center in honor of Leroy Anderson. (Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )

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The Silver Quill (Sammy Nestico, 1924- & Dale L. Harpham, 1917-1993). Samuel Louis Nestico came from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he played trombone in his high school band. He received a music education degree from Duquesne University in 1946. For 15 years, he was a staff arranger for the United States Air Force Band. Later he was a staff arranger for 5 years with the United States Marine Band (“The President's Own”). He toured with Woody Herman’s & Tommy Dorsey’s big bands & appeared in performance with the Boston Pops. Tunes he wrote or arranged have been on at least 60 television shows, including M*A*S*H and The Love Boat. Dale Harpham was a cellest & trombonist with the Marine Band & was its director, 1972-74. Together, Sammy Nestico & Dale Harpham collaborated to create the crisp & lively concert march, The Silver Quill, published in 1967.

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Pop & Rock Legends: Music of the Beatles (arranged by Michael Sweeney, 1952 - ). Michael Sweeney is Director of Band Publications for Hal Leonard Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is a 1977 graduate of Indiana University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in music education & studied composition with Bernard Heiden, John Eaton, & Donald Erb. Before joining Hal Leonard Corp., he was a band director in Ohio & Indiana. A winner of several ASCAP awards, Michael Sweeney has received commissions ranging from middle & high school bands to the Eastman Wind Ensemble & the Canadian Brass. His music appears on numerous state band contest lists & is regularly performed throughout the world. He is in demand as a clinician & conductor for honor bands & music festivals. In Rock & Pop Legends: Music of the Beatles, Micheal Sweeney re-imagines a dozen of the Fab Four's tunes in symphonic big band style: “All My Loving,” “Ticket to Ride,” Hard Day's Night,” “Yesterday,” “Got to Get You Into My Life,” Norwegian Wood,” Here, There & Everywhere,” The Fool on the Hill,” Maxwell's Silver Hammer,” “Something,” “Penny Lane,” and “Lady Madonna.”

-- xXx --​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

I Will Miss The Concert Owing To A (Timeshare) Schedule Conflict. (So It Goes.)

Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band presents its Springtime Pops concert, featuring the winner of Fairfax Band's 2014 Young Artist Competition.

Time & date: 8PM, Saturday, May 17, 2014.

I knew when I signed on as a member of the Owner Advisory Committee at Cypress Pointe Resort that there would be schedule conflicts affecting rehearsals & performances back home. Even so, I made the commitment as a committee member to be there for everything I'm spozed to attend, schedule conflicts mox nix.

So on May 17, 2014, when my Fairfax Band colleagues are gathering on stage tuning up & getting ready to perform, & audience members are settling into their seats for Springtime Pops, I will be at the resort with my game face on, ready to be of service to the owners in any way that I can within the limitations of an Owner Advisory Committee member.

With the recent death of our esteemed friend & HOA-BOD president John Chase, what the future holds for the committee, and for the resort, is more of a question-mark than it was before. Possibly the situation will gain clarity following the events of May 17 (HOA special meeting & BOD meetings). We'll see, eh?

Meanwhile, the Cathedral Brass of Vienna VA has an outstanding Russian Masterworks program coming up May 11, 2014, featuring guest piano soloist Raffi Kasparian in a unique brass & piano rendition of Pictures At An Exhibition. Fortunately for me, I will be in town for that.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

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Heroes, Villains, & Legends -- Concert By The City Of Fairfax Band, November 1, 2014.

Heroes, Villains, & Legends -- that's the theme of the 2014-15 season-opening concert by Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band, set for 7:30 PM November 1, 2014.

Tickets are on sale now. (Click here.)

Music Director: Robert Pouliot

Host: Rich Kleinfeldt

Location: Fairfax High School
3501 Rebel Run
Fairfax, Virginia​

Music has often been used to depict characters from legend, lore, & literature. The concert presents musical portrayals of Heroes, Villains, & Legends which have populated stories, poems, movies, and adventures over the ages. (Children are invited to participate in a costume contest and trick-or-treating before the concert.)

Overture to the Flying Dutchman (Richard Wagner, 1813-1883). Money problems dogged Wagner virtually all his life, mainly because of his extravagant lifestyle. In 1839, he was so deep in debt that to get away from creditors & bill collectors, he fled his opera director position in Riga, Latvia (then part of the Russian Empire). Headed to London by ship, he ran into stormy seas that he later said helped inspire Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman). In nautical folklore, the Flying Dutchman is a ghost ship that can never make port, condemned to sail the oceans forever. Claimed sightings through the ages report the doomed ship as glowing with ghostly light. According to legend, if another ship hails the Flying Dutchman, its ghost crew will try to send messages to land, or across the great beyond to persons long dead. In maritime tradition, the sight of the phantom ship is a sign of impending doom. “The voyage through the Norwegian reefs made a wonderful impression on my imagination,” Wagner wrote, and “the legend of the Flying Dutchman, which the sailors verified, took on a distinctive, strange coloring that only my sea adventures could have given it.” Wagner went to Paris in September 1839 & stayed there until 1842, eking out a living writing articles & arranging other composers' operas for a music publisher. During that period he managed to complete his 3rd opera (Rienzi) and his 4th (The Flying Dutchman). Wagner based the story on a satirical tale in which the narrator attends a performance of a stage play on the theme of a sea captain cursed to sail forever for blasphemy. In Wagner's adaptation, the eternally wandering captain can be redeemed only by the love of a faithful woman. In 1852, Wagner saw The Flying Dutchman as a new artistic beginning for himself. "From here begins my career as poet, and my farewell to the mere concoctor of opera-texts," he wrote to friends. Ever since, The Flying Dutchman has been generally regarded as the start of Wagner's mature output. The opera's overture, with its dramatic representation of swelling seas & crashing waves, was the part Wagner completed last, finishing the orchestration in November 1841. The Flying Dutchman was staged in Dresden in 1843, with Wagner conducting. The overture was transcribed for concert band by Mark H. Hindsley. (Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )

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Superman March (John Williams, 1932 - ). The superhero genre in popular culture pretty much started with Superman. The character was dreamed up in 1933 by Jerry Siegel (writer) & Joe Shuster (artist), high school students in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1938 they sold him to Detective Comics. Superman's pulp debut was in Action Comics #1 (June 1938), and the rest is history -- radio & TV serials, more comic books, movies, a musical, newspaper comic strips, Halloween costumes, lunch boxes, T-shirts, video games, back packs, & just about everything. John Williams's involvement with Superman started after schedule conflicts led Hollywood composer Jerry Goldsmith to drop out of the 1977-78 project for Superman: The Movie. Williams wrote the Oscar-nominated Superman score & conducted the London Symphony Orchestra's recording of the soundtrack music. In the movie, Superman March is heard over the opening title sequence & the end credits. The interlude between sections of the march is a portion of "Can You Read My Mind," the love theme heard during extended flying scenes with Superman & Lois Lane and when Lois & Clark Kent are alone together. The concert band transcription is by Paul Lavender.

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The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) by John Williams, 1932 - . In 1978, John Williams collected 3 Grammies & an Oscar for the music he wrote for Star Wars. When Williams took on the project, all he had to go by was a temporary music track which film director George Lucas had been using that included works by Gustav Holst & William Walton, plus Miklos Rozsa’s score from Ben-Hur. With those pieces telling Williams all he needed to know about the kind of score Lucas wanted, Williams promptly created deeply romantic musical visions of his own for the Hutts, Ewoks, Sand People, Jedi Knights, Darth Vader, & Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Imperial March is best known as the musical theme representing Darth Vader, the movie character ranked by the American Film Institute as the 3rd greatest screen villain in 100 years of cinema, right up there with Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Norman Bates in Psycho (1960). The march accompanies Darth Vader's appearances in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Premiere performance of The Imperial March was April 29, 1980, at the 1st concert conducted by John Williams as the Boston Pops Orchestra's official conductor-in-residence, 3 weeks ahead of the official film debut of The Empire Strikes Back. The Imperial March was arranged for concert band by Donald Hunsberger (1932 - ).

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Casey At The Bat (Randol Alan Bass, 1953 - ). Randol Alan Bass grew up in Midland, Texas. He studied piano, worked in community theater, played a number of instruments, & sang with community ensembles, including the Midland-Odessa Symphony. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1976 from the University of Texas at Austin, a master of music degree in choral conducting in 1980 from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, & pursued doctoral studies in choral & wind conducting at both Ohio State University’s Robert Shaw Institute & the University of Texas at Austin. Bass works actively to further the non-professional musician's understanding & appreciation for the musical arts. He has led a number of civic performing groups, helping provide others with opportunities like those he enjoyed as a young performer in amateur musical & theater groups. He founded the Austin Symphonic Band in 1982. Active as an arranger since the late 1970s, Bass is now concentrating on original composition because of growing demand for his music. Casey at the Bat was commissioned in 2001 by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as a part of their Americana concert series. The work is a colorful & highly descriptive narrative setting of the famous 1885 poem Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. The tune from the chorus of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," written in 1908 by Jack Norworth & Albert Von Tilzer, is woven into the fabric of Casey At The Bat.

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Tam O'Shanter Overture (Malcolm Arnold, 1921-2006). Malcolm Arnold completed this work in March 1955 & dedicated it to Michael Diack, one of his publishers. Esteeming Robert Burns as one of the greatest of poets, Arnold expressed the hope that his own enjoyment of the work of the remarkable Scotsman, as reflected in this music, will encourage others to read Burns's potery also. The overture has a well-defined program, though one’s response to it is by no means wholly dependent on its literary background. Tam O’Shanter, commonly accepted as one of Burns’s finest works, is the grimly humorous legend of a hard drinker who ignores his wife’s warning that he will one day be “catch’d wi’ warlocks” for his misdeeds. Late one momentous night, in tempest & roaring thunder, Tam sets out recklessly from the inn & drives his mare, Meg, on the homeward road. When they reach the haunted kirk, they witness a wild orgy of witches & warlocks, with many ghastly trimmings that Burns describes in detail:

Wi’ mair o’ horrible and awfu’
Which ev’n to name wad be unlawfu’​

One dancer, wearing a garment “in longitude tho’ sorely scanty” (a short shirt, called cutty-sark in the native Doric), pleases Tam so well that he cries out “Weel done, cutty-sark!” In an instant all is dark, & the hellish legion chases him. If Tam reaches the bridge he is safe, for the fiends cannot cross running water. He escapes narrowly -- but his gallant mare loses her tail, which had been grasped by a witch. The moral, embodied in the last lines of the poem is that one should remember Tam O’Shanter when tempted by thought of drink and cutty-sarks:

Now wha this tale o’truth shall read,
Ilk man and mother’s son tak heed
Whene’er to drink you are inclin’d,
Or cutty-sarks run in your mind,
Think ye may buy the joys o’er dear,
Remember Tam O’ Shanter’s mare. ​

The overture's slow beginning forms background for characteristic woodwind & brass quips that establish the atmosphere. Clarinets put in a bagpipey drone fifth; piccolo whistles a fragment of melody with a Scottish flavor; bassoons amble along with inebriated rhythm & copious “Scotch snap;” muted brass slither in glissandi (a recurring device). Soon, with growing velocity, Tam is on his wild ride into the storm. Lightening flashes & thunder roars, with gong, cymbals, & drums much in evidence. Tam gallops harder and harder, cracking his whip. Brass & drums suddenly lead to shivering treble tremolos, as Tam watches the impious dance. Burns tells us that this is no new cotillion from France, “but hornpipes, jigs, strathspeys and reels.” The Scottish character of the music is evident. “Weel done, Cutty-sark!” cries Tam, via a trombone solo that all but articulates the words -- and the devilish hunt is up. It comes to a sudden end & there is a short scud of woodwind solos (as Tam disappears in the distance) ending in a high trilling notes. Flutes & clarinets, perhaps sarcastically, point the moral of the story & with a terrific flurry, the overture ends. Tam O’Shanter was 1st performed at a Henry Wood Promenade Concert in August 1955, with Malcolm Arnold conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was received with tremendous enthusiasm, and was, without doubt, the most popular novelty during the 1955 season of Promenade Concerts. The concert band arrangement of the overture is by John P. Paynter (1928-1996). (Note adapted from www.musicsalesclassical.com )

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Fairest of the Fair (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932). John Philip Sousa was born in Washington DC in a section known at the time as the Navy Yard. As he put it, his home was “in the shadow of the Capitol dome.” He enlisted as an apprentice in the U.S. Marine Band at age 13 and ended up spending 19 years in military service. He had a passionate love of the USA & took every opportunity to let the world know. If someone asked him about his occupation, he typically answered, “I’m a salesman of Americanism.” His true colors shine through in his patriotic titles: “America First,” “Hail to the Spirit of Liberty,” “The Invincible Eagle,” “The Messiah of Nations,” “Liberty Bell” and, of course, the most famous of all Sousa compositions, “The Stars & Stripes Forever.” But not all Sousa compositions, including his marches, were patriotic and military-flavored. The March King also wrote what he considered concert marches, and he liked the ladies. Women were a favorite subject and "The Fairest of the Fair" fits into both categories -- a melodic concert march inspired by a woman. Sousa wrote “Fairest of the Fair” in 1908 for the Boston Food Fair, and it is claimed that the memory of a pretty girl he had seen at an earlier fair inspired the composition. “Fairest of the Fair” was popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Music publisher John Church Co. sold sheet music of “Fairest of the Fair” not only for bands & orchestras, but also in arrangements for piano (2 hands, 4 hands, even 6 hands), and (solo & duet) for zither, mandolin, banjo, violin, plus other instrumental combinations.

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Hymn to the Fallen (John Williams, 1932 - ). With Saving Private Ryan, John Williams has written a memorial for all the soldiers who sacrificed themselves on the altar of freedom in the Normandy Invasion of June 6, 1944. Pay particular attention to the cue titled Hymn to the Fallen, which never appears anywhere in the main text of the film, only at the end credit roll. It’s a piece of music and a testament to John Williams’s sensitivity and brilliance that, in my opinion, will stand the test of time and honor forever the fallen of this war and possibly all wars. In all of our 16 collaborations, Saving Private Ryan probably contains the least amount of score. Restraint was John Williams’s primary objective. He did not want to sentimentalize or create emotion from what already existed in raw form. Saving Private Ryan is furious and relentless, as are all wars, but where there is music, it is exactly where John Williams intends for us the chance to breathe and remember. (From the soundtrack album note by producer-director Steven Spielberg.)

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Hercules Soundtrack Highlights (Alan Menken, 1949 - ). Much of the artistic & commercial success of the great Disney animated features comes from the wonderfully fitting music that energizes the air while the cartoon characters animate the screen. While taking liberties with the story of Heracles from Greek & Roman mythology, Disney's Hercules (1997) gets a big energy boost from its musical accompaniment in rock & jazz style. The composer is Alan Menkin, winner over the years of 8 Academy Awards. Lyrics for the Hercules songs are by David Zippel (1954 - ). Selections from the soundtrack music include “The Gospel Truth,” “One Last Hope,” “Go The Distance,” and “Zero To Hero.” The Hercules Soundtrack Highlights were arranged for concert band by Calvin Custer.

-- xXx --​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Fairfax Band Concert Emblem -- Heroes, Villains, & Legends.

​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Passepartout]

Nice program, Alan. Too bad we were there last week, not next week. DW has played all of them, I think. I have a hard time with "Hymn to the Fallen", a bit like visiting the Viet Nam wall town the road a bit.

Jim

 

[AwayWeGo]

Local Coverage Of Fairfax Band's 45th Anniversary.

City of Fairfax Band Turns 45
The band kicks off their 45th season on Nov. 1.
( Click here. )


-- hotlinked --

Note: My son, on bass clarinet, is the man visible in the center of the picture, below the maestro's extended sleeve.​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Cathedral Brass Christmas Performance -- December 6 & 7, 2014 -- Fairfax VA

Full Disclosure: I will be playing 3rd horn -- also, narrating 'Twas the night before Christmas & all through the house . . . .

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Disaster Averted.

The flyer for today's Cathedral Brass perfornance gave the address wrong -- Lee Highway, when the location is actually on Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway.

I had given a flyer to somebody who wanted to attend. Unfortunately I didn't notice the address mix-up till I showed up at the Lee Highway address, which was not the right place. I figured out right away where I should have gone instead of where I went, having lived in the area long enough to know that Lee Highway (Rt. 29) is not the same road as Lee-Jackson Highway (Rt. 50), that Ox Road has nothing to do with West Ox Road, Sully Road has nothing whatever to do with Sudley Road, & that there are several different & unconnected sections of Old Lee Highway, etc. Makes sense to us locals. Baffles nearly everybody else.

Even so, I felt some anxiety over whether the person who got the flyer from me would get lost, or would figure it out as I had done. It was a big relief when I saw him enter the seating area about 20 minutes before the show started.

Meanwhile, 1 of the other horn players left me a telephone message (which I did not receive till I got back home after the performance) asking if I had a spare mouthpiece because he discovered only when he got to the performance venue that there was no mouthpiece in his horn case. When I showed up, 1st thing he did was tell me I could disregard that message, because he was able to borrow a mouthpiece from somebody else.

All's well that ends well.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Christmas In Fairfax [VA] -- Fairfax Band Concert December 20, 2014.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Give Our Regards To Broadway.

Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band (Robert Pouliot, music director) goes Broadway with hits of yesterday & today, presenting classic medleys from the Golden Age of Broadway & featuring George Mason University's Mason Cabaret as guest artists.

The show starts 7:30 PM on Saturday, March 28, 2015. Tickets are on sale now. (Click here for tickets.)

Location = Fairfax High School, 3501 Rebel Run, Fairfax, Virginia.

-- oOo --​

Candide Suite (Leonard Bernstein, 1918-1990). Bernstein’s Candide has one of the most glorious scores ever to hit Broadway. But a musical show based on an 18th century French satire, portraying Candide's slow, painful disillusionment as he sees & suffers great hardships, did not make for big box office. “Too serious,” according to a New York Times critic. The original 1956 Broadway production never reached a large audience & the show closed in February 1957. Fortunately, an original cast album was commercially released. Record sales grew, the music's popularity thrived, & Bernstein’s score gained a cult following. Candide has gone on since to achieve enormous popularity. It is specially popular at conservatories & music schools because of the quality of its music & the opportunities it presents to student singers. Revisions, revivals, & new productions of Candide were staged in London (1959, 1989, 2013), Los Angeles (1966, 1971), Brooklyn (1973), New York (1982, 1997, 2004, 2013), Glasgow (1988), Chicago (1994), Paris (2006), Seattle (2010), and London (2013), suggesting that Candide, like its protagonist, may never find a single perfect form & function. If so, that outcome could prove philosophically appropriate. Somewhere, Voltaire’s ghost is smiling. The Candide Suite was adapted for concert band by Clare Grundman (1913-1996).

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Broadway Journey (arranged by James Christensen, 1935 - ). Arranger Jim Christensen takes us on a whirlwind tour of 25 years of classic numbers from Broadway's golden age. Beginning in 1934 with “Anything Goes” (by Cole Porter), the excursion takes us all the way to 1959 with “Let Me Entertain You” (by Jule Styne, from Gypsy). Along the way are “It Ain’t Necessarily So” (1935, from George Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess), “It’s De-Lovely” (1936, Cole Porter, Red Hot & Blue), “My Funny Valentine” (1937, from Babes in Arms, by Richard Rodgers), “Oklahoma!” (Rodgers, 1943), “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” (by Burton Lane, 1947, from Finian's Rainbow), “Another Opening, Another Show” (1948, from Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate), “Some Enchanted Evening” (from South Pacific, 1949, by Richard Rodgers), “Getting To Know You” (Rodgers, 1951, from The King & I), “Stranger In Paradise” (1953, from Kismet by Robert Wright & George Forrest, based on a theme by Alexander Borodin), and “On the Street Where You Live” (1959, from My Fair Lady, by Frederick Loewe). Jim Christensen, meanwhile, is a member of the American Bandmasters Association & serves on the advisory board of the Association Of Concert Bands. During his 37+ years with Walt Disney Productions, Jim served as music director for both Disneyland & Walt Disney World, & conducted the All-American Marching Band at the grand opening of Euro-Disneyland in Paris on April 12, 1992. Jim has guest conducted the City Of Fairfax Band & also appeared as guest conductor with the symphonic orchestras of Houston, San Diego, Winnipeg Honolulu, New Orleans Pops, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, & the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, among others. His musical arrangements are heard at theme parks around the world -- all the Disney parks, plus Knott’s Berry Farm, Canada’s Wonderland, Hershey Park, Lotte World (Korea), Everland, & Movie World (Germany). He has arranged & orchestrated music for the Boston Pops, the London Philharmonic, several Super Bowls, & the Music Educators National Conference’s World Largest Concert. Jim continues to guest conduct for high school, college, & community bands and has conducted the Community Band of America (Band at Sea) since 1994.

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Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (arranged by Warren Barker, 1923-2006). This selection features smash tunes from the Broadway musical theater, each of them associated with Jerome Robbins, his staging & choreography. The medley features “Comedy Tonight” (from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Stephen Sondheim, 1962), “Somewhere,” (from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, 1957) “New York, New York” (Bernstein, On The Town, 1944), “Sunrise, Sunset” (from Jerry Bock’s Fiddler On The Roof, 1964), and “America” (from West Side Story).

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Crazy For You Overture (Music by George Gershwin, 1898-1937. Arranged by Jerry Brubaker). Crazy For You is a “new” musical (1992) using old Gershwin songs. It evolved because of producer Roger Horchow’s love for Gershwin’s music, a love that started when Horchow, at age 5, heard Gershwin himself playing on the family piano in 1934. After Horchow grew up, he did a production of Girl Crazy and, along with co-producer Elizabeth Williams, hired playwright Ken Ludwig (known for Lend Me A Tenor) to write a new script using old Gershwin songs. The result was Crazy For You. Horchow's passion paid off bigtime when Crazy For You won a Tony award for best musical. (The London production of the show won the Laurence Olivier Award for best musical.) The musical ingredients of the Overture are “Shall We Dance,” “Someone To Watch Over Me,” “Stiff Upper Lip,” “I Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You,” and “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise.”

-- oOo --​

“The Song That Goes Like This” (from Spamalot, music by Eric Idle & John Du Prez, lyrics by Eric Idle). Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy that not only takes off on the 1975 movie Monty Python & The Holy Grail (a King Arthur parody), but also sends up the Broadway theatre in the process -- a Broadway show that mocks Broadway shows. The original 2005 production of Spamalot, directed by Mike Nichols, won 3 Tony awards, including Best Musical of 2004-2005. “The Song That Goes Like This” is sung by Sir Dennis Galahad and The Lady Of The Lake.

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Selections From Wicked (Stephen Schwartz, 1948 - ). Wicked: The Untold Story Of The Witches Of Oz is a musical with music & lyrics by Stephen Schwartz & a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life & Times Of the Wicked Witch Of The West, an alternative telling of The Wizard of Oz. The musical unfolds from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz, starting before Dorothy & Toto get there from Kansas. The story follows 2 unlikely friends with completely different destinies -- Elphaba (Wicked Witch of the West) & Glinda the Good. With contrasting personalities & opposing viewpoints, they compete over the same love-interest, they struggle against the Wizard's rule, & ultimately they confront Elphaba's public fall from grace. For his concert band arrangement of Selections From Wicked, Jay Bocock (1953 - ) included “No One Mourns the Wicked,” “Dancing Through Life,” “No Good Deed,” “For Good,” & “Defying Gravity.”

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“On My Own” (from Les Misèrables, music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer). After successful Paris & London productions, Les Misèrables opened in New York on March 12, 1987. The show got 12 Tony award nominations and 8 wins, including Best Musical & Best Original Score. Les Miz ran through May 18, 2003, closing after 6,680 Broadway performances -- the 3rd-longest-running Broadway show in history. “On My Own” is the opening number of Act II.

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“Aquarius / Let the Sun Shine In,” from Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical (music by Galt MacDermot, 1928 - ). Galt MacDermot was born in Montreal & educated at Upper Canada College & Bishop's University (Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada). He received a Bachelor Of Music degree from Cape Town University, South Africa, & specialized in the study of African music. MacDermot won his 1st Grammy Award for the Cannonball Adderley recording of his song "African Waltz" in 1960. Galt moved to New York City in 1964 where he wrote the music for the hit musical Hair. The show's Broadway cast album won a Grammy Award in 1969. “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" is a medley of 2 songs from Hair that were released as a single by The 5th Dimension. In the spring of 1969, the tune peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, & stayed there for 6 weeks. It's listed at No. 66 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time list. More recently, the medley was featured at the City Of Fairfax Band's Bravo Broadway concert in 2010.

-- oOo --​

“As Long As You're Mine” (from Wicked, music & lyrics by Stephen Schwartz). Wicked is the story of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch Of The West, & her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch Of The North, in a setting that takes place mostly before Dorothy arrives in Oz from Kansas. The show makes references to scenes & dialogue in the The Wizard Of Oz movie (1939). Wicked opened on Broadway October 30, 2003, and is still running. It received mixed reviews & was panned by The New York Times, but became a favorite of theater-goers. Wicked's success on Broadway led to productions in Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Melbourne, & Stuttgart, along with 2 North American touring shows that have played more than 30 U.S. & Canadian cities. Wicked got 10 Tony nominations & won in 3 categories (scenic design, costume design, & best actress). “As Long As You're Mine” is from Act II of Wicked, a duet between Elphaba & Fiyero Tiggular, lovers who are both involved in a resistance movement against the Wizard of Oz. Elphaba saves Fiyero from harm by casting a spell that transforms him into the Scarecrow. The concert band vocal arrangement is by Jerry Brubaker.

-- oOo --​

Fly, Fly Away (Marc Shaiman, 1959 - ). Catch Me If You Can, a Broadway musical with theatrical score by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman, follows the story of con artist Frank Abagnale, Jr. The story line comes from the 2002 non-musical film of the same name, based on Abagnale's 1980 autobiography. After opening on Broadway in 2011, Catch Me If You Can received 4 Tony Awards nominations, including Best Musical. “Fly, Fly Away,” is sung near the end of Act 2 by Brenda Strong, a hospital nurse Frank is in love with. (Frank tells Brenda that he has seen the 7 Wonders Of The World, but none of them can compare to her beauty.) The concert band arrangement of “Fly, Fly Away” is by Jerry Brubaker. (Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )

-- oOo --​

Lost & Found (Cy Coleman, 1929-2004). After opening on Broadway in 1989, the musical show City Of Angels ran for 879 performances. Set in Hollywood in the late 1940s, it blends together 2 stories playing out at the same time -- a movie comedy & a private-eye detective drama, with live-action scenes in color & movie scenes in black & white. “Lost and Found” is sung in Act 1 by Mallory Kingsley. Mallory is the stepdaughter of socialite Alaura Kingsley. Alaura hires a tough-guy detective named Stone to find Mallory. (Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )

-- xXx --​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Song & Dance.

Concert presented by . . .
The City Of Fairfax Band
Robert Pouliot, music director
7:30 PM - Saturday - May 16, 2015
W.T. Woodson High School
9525 Main Street
Fairfax, Virginia

Tickets are on sale now. ( Click here. )​

On this program Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band features 2 modern musical collections: Robert Russell Bennett's Symphonic Songs, incorporating distinctly American song styles, and Ira Hearshen's Divertimento, a collection of dance styles ranging from march to mambo. The program also features the winner of the 2015 City of Fairfax Band Young Artist Competition, Hunter Lorelli, as guest (bassoon) soloist in performance with the band.

-- o0o --​

Symphonic Songs (Robert Russell Bennett, 1894-1981). Robert Russell Bennett was for most of his career the dean of American musical arrangers, creating what seemed like an endless stream of orchestrations for more than 200 Broadway shows. While studying composition with Carl Busch & Nadia Boulanger, he became acquainted with Aaron Copland & Roger Sessions. His most famous collaborations as arranger & orchestrator were with Richard Rodgers & Jerome Kern. On his own, he wrote film music, opera, symphonies, chamber music, & choral works. In 1957 he wrote Symphonic Songs for Band. Each of the movements (“songs”) reflects the era it seeks to project, and the titles of the movements (“Serenade,” “Spiritual,” & “Celebration”) indicate precise & appropriate moods. The piece was commissioned by Kappa Kappa Psi National Collegiate Honorary Band Fraternity & had its premiere performance at their 1957 national convention. The suite is featured on the City of Fairfax Band's 2002 CD recording titled Made In America.

-- o0o --​

Symphonic Dances From Fiddler On The Roof (arr. Ira Hearshen). Fiddler On The Roof was the 1st Broadway musical to reach the 3,000-performance mark. For 10 years Fiddler held the Broadway record for longest-running musical. Today it stands at 16th on the list. (By contrast, Oklahoma! is No. 30 and South Pacific is No. 33.) The show's title comes from a Marc Chagall painting of eastern European Jewish life picturing a fiddler, who symbolizes survival through tradition and joyfulness in a life of uncertainty and imbalance. The show's book is by Joseph Stein. The lyrics are by Sheldon Harnick. Jerry Bock wrote the music. The highly acclaimed production was nominated for 10 Tony Awards & won 9 -- including best musical, best score, best book, best direction, & best choreography (by Jerome Robbins). The music behind the show's ethnically styled dance numbers has been recast as a lively symphonic suite by arranger Ira Hearshen, featuring the Chava Sequence, Perchik and Hodel Dance, Dance To Life, Tradition, and the Wedding Dance #1 (the Bottle Dance).

-- o0o --​

Divertimento for Band (Ira Hearshen, 1948 - ). In creating his 5-movement Divertimento for Band, Ira Hearshen built upon traditional American compositional and harmonic ideas, but he did it with his own twist. He steeped his “Ragtime” & “Blues” movements in be-bop harmony. He got the band swinging via the rhythmic structure of “Mambo Loco.” He named “Susan's Song” for his wife, to whom the movement is dedicated. And in “March Of The Little People,” he borrowed a sing-song interval chanted by children all over the world -- something like nanny-nanny-boo-boo. The premiere of Divertimento for Band was performed by the United States Air Force Band in April 1998. (Note adapted from liner notes to American Premieres CD recording by the United States Air Force Band.)

-- o0o --​

Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932). Sousa became a Master Mason in 1881. He was knighted in the Columbia Commandery No. 2 of the Knights Templar, Washington DC, & became the honorary director of Washington’s Almas Temple Shrine Band. In 1923, he composed Nobles of the Mystic Shrine -- in “Turkish style” -- as a tribute to the Masonic Lodge.

-- o0o --​

Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, 1st mvt. (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756-1791). The exceptional mind of Mozart encompassed broad & deep understanding of all the instruments of the orchestra. The full range of their capabilities & characteristics -- how they sound, what they can do, the challenges facing their players -- is on display in the concertos he wrote for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, & horn, in addition to his Concerto for Flute & Harp and his Sinfonia Concertante for violin & viola. Mozart composed his 1st concerto for a wind instrument at age 18 -- his Concerto in B-flat major for bassoon, completed in 1774. (Scholars believe that Mozart possibly wrote 3 bassoon concertos, but only the 1st survived.) As engaging as the concerto is, it is also serious business for bassoon players. No other piece of bassoon music is performed & studied more often. Just about every professional bassoonist's performing career will include this concerto at some stage, & practically every orchestral bassoon audition calls for major excerpts from the first 2 movements. Concert band accompaniment for the 1st movement was transcribed by Charles T. Yeago. (Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )

-- o0o --​

Chorale & Shaker Dance (John P. Zdechlik, 1937 - ). John Zdechlik is a Minnesota native from Minneapolis. His degrees in music education, composition, & theory (Ph.D.,1970) are from the University of Minnesota. He has written music extensively for high school & college concert bands, & has conducted in 35 states as well as in Japan, England, & Scotland. He belongs to the American Bandmasters Association. Chorale & Shaker Dance (1971) is Zdechlik's most famous composition, which he himself has guest-conducted at least 500 times. Featuring variations on the hymn-tune “Simple Gifts,” the piece uses the compositional technique of augmentation & diminution, as well as examples of call-&-response between instrumental groups, all based on 1 simple Shaker melody. Chorale & Shaker Dance was commissioned by the Jefferson High School Band of Bloomington, Minnesota, in honor of their conductor, Earl Benson. (Note adapted from Foothill Symphonic Winds, Los Altos CA, and from Wikipedia.org )

-- o0o --​

Country Dance (Frank Ticheli, 1958 - ). The composer is from northern Louisiana. He received his Bachelor Of Music degree in composition
from Southern Methodist University, & advanced degrees from the University Of Michigan (Masters in composition; Doctorate of Musical Arts). Ticheli is Associate Professor Of Music at the University of Southern California & Composer-in-Residence of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Santa Ana, California. He has written for band, wind ensemble, orchestra, chamber ensemble, & the theatre, winning prestigious awards such as the Goddard Lieberson fellowship & Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy & Institute of Arts & Letters; the 1989 Walter Beeler memorial Composition Prize; the Ross Lee Finney Award; & 1st prize in the 11th annual Symposium For New Band Music in Virginia. Country Dance is from Ticheli's second setting of Cajun folksongs, published in 2012. The music evokes the energy & style of a Cajun 2-step from the dance halls of southern Louisiana. It has stylistic kinship with Scottish folk dances & the American hoedown. Country Dance celebrates the birth of the composer’s nephew, Ryan Paul Ticheli, in 1996. (Note adapted from Foothill Symphonic Winds, Los Altos, California.)

-- xXx --​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​