Studio Series: The PLU Percussion and Steel Pan Ensembles

Friday, November 21, 2014 at 8pm Lagerquist Concert Hall, Mary Baker Russell Music Center Pacific Lutheran University School of Arts and Communication / Department of Music present

Studio Series: The PLU Percussion and Steel Pan Ensembles

Dr. Miho Takekawa, Director

Friday, November 21, 2014 at 8pm Lagerquist Concert Hall, Mary Baker Russell Music Center

Welcome to Lagerquist Concert Hall. Please disable the audible signal on all watches, pagers and cellular phones for the duration of the concert. Use of cameras, recording equipment and all digital devices is not permitted in the concert hall.

Program PLU Steel Pan Ensemble

Calypso Music ...... David Rudder Arr. Matt Duback

“Moonlight Sonata” Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia Mvt.1, Op.27, No.2 ...... Ludwig van Beethoven Arr. Adam Grise

Island Song ...... Lord Creator Arr. Matt Duback

Blue Skies ...... Arr. Scott Ramsburg

Allison Burch, Shayla Chaykin, Emilio Gonzalez, Adam Smith, Christine Smith Community Member: Obe Quarless, Kaela Shoe, drummer

PLU Percussion Ensemble

Not Far From Here ...... Blake Tyson

Fractalia ...... Owen Clayton Condon

Gamelan ...... Leopold Godowsky Arr. Adam Smith

Say Something ...... Axel/Vaccarino/Campbell Arr. Nico Mendoza

Hip Hop Bop ...... Moses Howden

Shadow Chasers ...... Michael Burritt David Loughlin, Marimba solo

PLU Percussion Ensemble

Alison Burch, Shayla Chaykin, Luke DeDominces, Emilio Gonzalez,Tim Hager, Kelsey Kosin, David Loughlin, Kaela Shoe, Christine Smith, Bret Skipworth

Program Notes

Calypso Music composer David Rudder: “Almost overnight he became a national hero on the order of Marley in , Fela in Nigeria and Springsteen in New Jersey,” wrote Daisann McClane, American journalist and World Beat correspondent for Rolling Stone Magazine.

Rudder’s unprecedented rise to fame in 1986 has made him the subject of music critics around the world. From New York to London to Tokyo, where the Japanese have released a CD of Rudder’s greatest hits complete with lyrics translated into Japanese, Rudder has been described as modern calypso’s most innovative songwriter. Rudder was born in Belmont, Trinidad on May 6, 1953. One of 5 children born to his mother, he spent much of his early childhood with his grandmother, a spiritual Baptist. He grew up near a pan yard and a Shango yard in a neighborhood where boys dreamed of being entertainers.

Rudder began singing at the age of 11 with a group called The Solutions. In 1977, he joined a brass band called Charlie’s Roots and the rest is history. His musical tastes in the past have leaned towards jazz, blues, folk rock and the African sounds of Youssou N’Dour, Salif Keita, Mory Kante, and Alpha Bondy. Rudder, who also paints, sees himself more as an artist than an entertainer. His work has become legendary in .

The songwriting team of and had written the music for the Ziegfield show “Betsy”. Actress/vocalist Belle Baker, unhappy with the piece the two had written for her solo (“This Funny World”), contacted old friend Irving Berlin in hopes he might have something that would suit her needs. Berlin had, in fact, just put the finishing touches on a number dedicated as a Christmas gift to his newborn daughter, Mary Ellin. Baker liked the song, and it was inserted into the musical, much to the chagrin of Rodgers and Hart, who were not consulted and wouldn’t have allowed the change. The tune was the hit of the show, and Baker received 24 encores on opening night, December 28, 1926. Despite this, the show itself was a disaster and closed a month later.

The introduction of Blue Skies in “Betsy” brought the number a great deal of attention and resulted in its first recordings. But a technological landmark across the continent brought it to the attention of millions. The first feature-length motion picture with sound, “The Jazz Singer” starring vocalist Al Jolson, premiered on October 6, 1927, and Blue Skies was one of the nine tunes performed by Jolson. Not only was the film a huge success, but also it spelled the end of silent films. Soon Broadway musicals would be filmed for the silver screen, and songwriters Berlin, Cole Porter, the Gershwins and others would relocate to Hollywood or have bi-coastal careers. Blue Skies continued to be a hit in films. After The Jazz Singer it returned in Alexander’s Ragtime Band, a 1938 biopic loosely based on composer Berlin’s life; a 1946 film named after the tune and sung by Bing Crosby; and a 1954 reprise by Crosby (along with Danny Kaye) in the film White Christmas.

Not Far From Here was originally dedicated to Jesse Milam (a student of Ben Finley at ECU in Oklahoma). His mother had a number of battles with brain cancer, and after one particularly rough semester for Jesse, a friend of his emailed me asking if she could commission a short piece that could be presented to Jesse as a gift from his friends. I agreed, and asked her to get all the friends that wanted to commission the piece together, have them give what they could afford, and then find a local charity where a little money could go a long way. It went to a local food bank in Ada, Oklahoma. So, I wrote the piece for someone I barely knew, knowing that he probably wouldn't have his mother here with him much longer. I wanted to, in some way, communicate the idea that she would still be here, and that because of her love for him, she would live on in him. They tell me that Jesse was pretty happy when they gave him the piece (he played it on his recital last year). This past summer his mom couldn't fight the cancer anymore. I’ve gotten to know Jesse a little better since I wrote the piece; his mom raised a great son.

Our time here is limited. I've been okay with my mortality for a long time, but I find it difficult to be okay with everyone else's. I’ve come to deal with it by understanding that people live on in the lives they touched while they were here. It's the idea that my grandparents, parents, teachers, and friends are always with me because I wouldn't be who I am without them. If all goes well, they will be here in the lives I’ve touched, even after I'm gone. That's what the piece is about, for me.

When John Parks asked me to arrange the piece in memory Brandon Wood, I didn't want it to just be an arrangement of a pre-existing piece. I wanted to find a way for it to reflect Brandon and his life. The introduction and opening countermelodies are built from the letters of Brandon's name. The ‘Amen cadence’ at the end might seem cliché to some, but for me it is a reflection of Brandon's life. Brandon's faith in God was a defining part of his time here. Those two chords have come to represent so much to so many people. Among the things they represent to me are faith, hope and acceptance. By Blake Tyson

In his writing, the English author C.S. Lewis referred to our time on earth as the “Shadow-Lands”. Many implications can be drawn from this metaphor. I have always considered myself, and most people, to be someone who chases after the things of the Shadow Lands (a “Shadow Chaser”) rather than those of a higher calling. I too often look for rewards here instead of in my relationship with God. This is a battle I will constantly fight. By Michael Burritt

A Brief History of the Steel Pan

The steel pan or steel drum originated in the Caribbean Island of Trinidad. Historically, the African slaves were forbidden from playing any traditional instruments for fear that this would lead to an insurrection. However, from the banned skin drums and the outlawed tamboo bamboo bands, they continually searched for and found innovative ways of making music to accompany the people's songs and dances at carnival time. In the 1930’s the descendants of these African slaves started beating out rhythms and harmonies on pieces of metal to express the music sounding in their heads.

Each pan is constructed by hand, starting with the bottom of a 55-gallon oil barrel. The bottom is hammered out into a concave shape, and the different notes are marked on the surface of this "bowl." (There is currently no standardized arrangement of the notes; each tuner has their own preferred setup for the different ranges of pans.) The edges of these areas are then "grooved" into the surface, by hammering grooves into the surface of the pan using a hammer and a nail punch (or chisel). This isolates the different areas of the surface, allowing for the creation of distinct pitches on the drums. Common practice calls for the larger (lower-pitched) notes to be situated near the edge of the barrel, with smaller (higher) pitches towards the center.

What is Calypso?

Although the name “calypso” probably was coined in Trinidad, the roots of this music lie both in African song as well as in European folk traditions such as ballads; a combined heritage that manifests itself throughout the Caribbean. Calypso is performed at seasonal celebrations in the English-speaking islands, such as Carnival in Trinidad, Crop Over in , or Junkanoo in the Bahamas. With the advent of the recording industry in the early twentieth century, calypso also became a mediated “popular music,” and the Trinidadian version gained particular fame and influence in the Caribbean and internationally.

Typical steel pan layouts:

Lead (Tenor or Soprano) Pan Double Seconds:

Six Bass