The Hodgson Wind Ensemble Program Notes the First Work to Be Commissioned by the Big 12 Band Directors Association
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Hodgson Wind Ensemble Tempered Steel was “forged” in 1997 as The Hodgson Wind Ensemble Program Notes the first work to be commissioned by the Big 12 Band Directors Association. It was premiered by the Baylor University Wind Charles Rochester Young (Born 1965) Ensemble at the College Band Directors Tuesday National Association convention in Kansas Tempered Steel (1997) City, Missouri that year. November 14 2017 • 8:00 p.m. Charles Rochester Young has won high praises and honors for his work as a com- Mark Camphouse (Born 1954) poser. His original compositions have conductor Cynthia Johnston Turner been performed around the world, includ- A Movement for Rosa (1992) graduate conductor Matthew Sadowski ing in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Cen- ter. Young has received awards from the After earning undergraduate and graduate graduate conductor Jonathan Poquette ASCAP (annually since 1994), National degrees in music from Northwestern Uni- versity, where he studied with trumpet play- viola Flute Association, National Band Asso- Maggie Snyder ciation, National Association of Compos- ers Vincent Cichowicz and Adolph Herseth, ers, National Endowment for the Arts, Mark Camphouse has had a successful ca- PROGRAM Aaron Copland Foundation, and others. reer devoted to teaching and composing A graduate of Baylor University and the music at all levels. Currently, Camphouse is Professor and Associate Director of the (Born 1965) (1997) University of Michigan, his mentors were Charles Rochester Young Tempered Steel School of Music at George Mason Univer- Matthew Sadowski, Graduate Conductor Leslie Bassett, Donald Sinta, Marianne Ploger, Bud Beyer, and Keith Hill. sity where he conducts the wind sympho- ny and teaches courses in conducting and Mark Camphouse (Born 1954) A Movement for Rosa (1992) Young is Professor of Theory, Composition, composition. Jonathan Poquette, Graduate Conductor and Electronic Music at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. A tireless advo- Over the years, Camphouse has contributed cate for training musicians in composition much to the wind band profession. Most Craig Biondi (Born 1975) Basin Street Blue (2016) and improvisation, he was named Wiscon- notably, he has served as coordinator of the National Band Association Young Com- World Premiere Performance sin Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for the Ad- poser Mentor Project since 2000. As a com- vancement and Support of Education in poser, one of his most important contribu- James Syler (Born 1961) Love Among the Ruins (2017) 1999. The University of Wisconsin Board of tions to the wind band repertoire has been Maggie Snyder, Viola Regents named Young the recipient of the A Movement for Rosa. Teaching Excellence Award in 2000, their About this composition, the composer writes: highest honor. Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882-1961) (1937) Lincolnshire Posy On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks Frederick Fennell (Ed.) As we grow stronger and more resilient was arrested for refusing to give up through hardship, we become “tempered.” 1. Dublin Bay (Lisbon) her seat to a white man on a segre- Tempered Steel is a celebration of our tri- 2. Horkstow Grange (The Miser and His Man - a Local tragedy) gated city bus in Montgomery, AL. umph over these unavoidable hardships and Mrs. Parks earned the title ‘Mother to 3. Rufford Park Poachers (Poaching Song) obstacles that we regularly face. It rejoices in a Movement’ for her act of personal 4. The Brisk Young Sailor (who returned to wed his True Love) the tenacious and unrelenting resolve that is courage, sparking the Civil Rights 5. Lord Melbourne (War Song) part of us all. As the title implies, the metal- movement of the l950s. So significant lic sonorities of the wind band are continu- 6. The Lost Lady Found (Dance Song) and inspiring was her peaceful act ally explored and developed throughout the of defiance that the Rev. Dr. Martin Matthew Sadowski, Graduate Conductor work, while the “tempest” is a symmetric Luther King, Jr., inscribed the follow- hexachord that is exposed and developed ing words on the frontispiece of his through a variety of juxtaposed gestures book, Stride Toward Freedom, a copy and themes. of which he gave to Mrs. Parks: ‘To HODGSON CONCERT HALL Rosa Parks, whose creative witness 10 Performance UGA November 2017 January 2018 11 Hodgson Wind Ensemble was the great force that led to the decisions of the Supreme Court Craig Biondi (Born 1975) Musically speaking, the opening and modern stride toward freedom.’ that make it harder to prove a closing sections are a fantasia rooted pattern of racial discrimination Basin Street Blue (2016) in New Orleans street music. The Throughout the history of our great in employment and by the fact middle section is based on the well- nation, we have glorified (and rightly that the national government Craig Biondi’s music displays a wide range known folk tune, Rising Sun Blues, re- so) various heroes, most frequently does not seem very interested of styles and interests, hoping to engage counting the tale of a life gone wrong our presidents, military figures, and in pursuing violations of civil listeners with sounds both familiar and in New Orleans. As for the title, the athletes. But we must not forget he- rights. What troubles me is that foreign. Notable ensembles throughout the opening line of the piece’s namesake, roes who are perhaps less conspicu- so many young people, includ- United States and Europe, including the Basin Street Blues (with an s) reads: ous but every bit as significant. Rosa ing college students, have come Dallas Wind Symphony and the Yale Brass “Basin Street where all the white and Parks, who worked as a tailor’s assis- out for white supremacy and that Trio, have performed Biondi’s works. Biondi black folk meet.” tant in a men’s clothing store, became there have been more and more earned his Bachelor’s degree from the Uni- secretary of the Montgomery NAACP incidents of racism and racial versity of Texas at Austin and a Master’s de- In the end, I think it’s a piece about and the impetus to a major social violence on college campuses. It gree in composition from the Hartt School coming to grips with the complex re- movement. has not been widespread, but still at the University of Connecticut. alities of city life versus any romanti- cized expectations we may have. And it is troublesome. It seems like we About Basin Street Blue, the composer writes: America’s proud heritage and the still have a long way to go.” I do hope that it can foster civil con- accomplishments of its people have I’ve always loved New Orleans – a city versations about race in America so been and continue to be darkened A Movement for Rosa contains three con- known for its great jazz, diverse his- we can continue on this road to rec- by racial discrimination. This blight trasting sections. Section I evokes Rosa’s tory, and even more diverse people. onciliation and understanding. on our country takes many forms, early years, from her birth February 4, 1913, Ever since I bought my first recording whether subtle or more overt, as with in Tuskegee, AL, through her marriage in of Louis Armstrong as a kid, I think I cowardly acts of intimidation and 1932 to Raymond Parks in Pine Level, AL. always knew I’d write a piece based on (Born 1961) violence by various extremist hate James Syler Section II portrays years of racial strife in this city famous for letting the good groups. Mrs. Parks addresses this Montgomery and the quest for social equal- times roll. So in 2016, I finally set out Love Among the Ruins (2017) continuing problem in her 1992 book ity. The third section is one of quiet strength to compose the fun, happy-go-lucky entitled Rosa Parks: My Story. The fi- James Syler was born in Hyde Park, NY, and and serenity. The hymn, We Shall Overcome little piece about good ‘ol New Or- nal three paragraphs of that book: raised in New York and Florida. He received (foreshadowed in sections I and II by mo- leans I was always meant to write. tivic fragmentation), is heard in its entirety a Bachelor of Music degree from Northern I look back now and realize near the end. The work’s final measures But just a few weeks after I began Illinois University in 1983 and he earned a that since that evening on the serve as an ominous reminder of racism’s sketching, our nation found itself Master of Music degree from the University bus in Montgomery, Alabama, lingering presence in modem American so- in the middle of one of the most of Miami in 1988. In 1991, he continued his we have made a lot of progress ciety. I his book Stride Toward Freedom, Dr. racially-charged, eye-opening, and studies at the University of Texas at Austin. in some ways. King states: sorrowful summers I can remem- He has studied music composition privately ber. While most of the terrible news with Alfred Reed, Karl Korte, and Pulitzer All those laws against segrega- When the history books are prize winner Michael Colgrass. Equally tion have been passed, and all came cities like Ferguson, Dallas, and written in future generations, the Charlotte, I couldn’t help but associ- at ease with modern and traditional tech- that progress has been made. historians will have pause and niques, his compositions have been noted But a whole lot of white people’s ate many of the same issues with New say, ‘There lived a great people – Orleans, including the violence, pov- for their lyricism and drama. His compo- hearts have not been changed.