About the Artists

Steve Carmichael is a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts, Performance, with a minor in Jazz Studies at the University Of Wisconsin – Madison where he is a student of Les Thimmig.

Formerly he was Director of Jazz Studies at Carthage College, Kenosha,

Wisconsin. Having served 20 years as a saxophone and flute instrumentalist with the US Navy Bands, he has performed for audiences in over 40 countries, including France, Italy, China, Russia, , Germany, England, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Japan, Scotland, and many others. He has been awarded two Navy Achievement Medals and a Navy Commendation Medal for his leadership as Big Band and Saxophone Quartet director.

He has performed as section and solo saxophonist with the San Diego Steve Carmichael , Chattanooga Symphony, NHK Tokyo Symphony, Chicago’s Northshore Concert Band, Spectrum Saxophone Quartet, the San Diego Wind Ensemble, The Nelson Riddle , and with such artist as Bill Holman, DMA Saxophone Recital Louie Bellson, Bill Watrous, Kim Richmond, Pete Christleib, Dave Leibman, Clark

Terry, Mike Vax, Florence Henderson, Harry Connick Sr, and Nancy Wilson.

Pianist Joseph Ross is an experienced solo performer, chamber musician and accompanist. He has studied and appeared in concert in the United States, Assisted by Canada and Europe. Ross has held positions at , the University of Wisconsin – Madison and the Hungarian State . Joseph Ross,

Mr. Ross holds a MM from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary and a BM degree at Lawrence University. Mikko Utevsky, Viola

Mikko Utevsky is a violist and conductor studying at the UW-Madison. A Madison native, Utevsky founded the Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra. He was named the first recipient of WISC-TV and Heid Music’s “First Chair” award for his work with the ensemble in 2013, and performed at the Madison Area Music Awards.

Jerod Reetz is a D.M.A. candidate in music composition at the University of Wisconsin, minoring in music theory. He holds composition California Institute of the Arts and Cardinal Stritch University. In 2011, Reetz was awarded the Bro.

Rufino Zaragoza, OFM Music Composition Award, in , WI, for his Morphy Recital Hall sacred works. Saturday, April 11, 2015 UW-Madison School of Music - 455 N. Park Street, Madison, WI 53706 608-263-1900 www.music.wisc.edu 6:30 p.m.

To receive monthly news, send an email to: [email protected] PROGRAM Program Notes Ballade for Frank Martin

(1890-1974) Ballade for Alto Saxophone, Percussion and Piano by Frank Martin was composed Steve Carmichael, Alto Saxophone for the saxophonist Sigurd Rascher in 1938. Ballade is composed entirely free of Joseph Ross, Piano form, consisting of a number of episodes that merge without breaks. In this work

one can find a number of twelve-tone series that play a pure melodic role, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen Gustav Mahler meaning that they are the building material for a varied melody. In the early (1860-1911) thirties, Frank Martin studied Schoenberg’s twelve-tone theory and adopted only Steve Carmichael, Alto Saxophone the elements that were consistent with his own chromatic sound, thus his music Joseph Ross, Piano avoids becoming atonal. Ballade requires the saxophonist to perform a range of

almost four octaves. Guidance Jerod Reetz

(1989) Villa-Lobos’s Fantasia for was composed in Rio de Janeiro in Steve Carmichael, 1948 and dedicated it to saxophonist . Brazilian saxophonist

Waldemar Szilman was hired for the premier, but did not own a soprano sax. Songe de Coppélius, Op.30, No.11 Florent Schmitt Anxious to have this music performed, Villa-Lobos recast the Fantasia for tenor (1870-1958) sax, changing the key signature and the orchestration slightly to accommodate

Steve Carmichael, Szilman’s abilities. The original score has only recently been rediscovered.

Joseph Ross, Piano Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (I am lost to this world) for voice and Intermission orchestra is part of Gustav Mahler’s song cycle Rückert-Lieder based on the poems of Friedrich Rückert, composed in 1901. This transcription is by virtuoso From Nowhere to Nowhere Michael McGlynn saxophonist and UW-Madison Alumnus, Dr. .

Aisling (1964) Florent Schmitt was a prolific French composer with 138 opus numbers. His

music is difficult to categorized, and has been labeled conservative, neo- Steve Carmichael, Soprano Saxophone Romantic, Impressionistic, and revolutionary. Schmitt adopted aspects of Joseph Ross, Piano Debussy’s harmonic vocabulary, such as the use of extended chords and parallel

streams of chords. Songe de Coppélius, Op.30, No.11 combines impressionistic Lachrymae Tigran Mansurian and orientalist sensibilities. (1939)

Steve Carmichael, Soprano Saxophone Tigran Mansurian is a leading Armenian composer of and film Mikko Utevsky, Viola scores. He was born 1939 in Beirut. Tigran Mansurian’s work is always textured, colorful, and maintains an experimental approach to chamber-instrumental Fantasia for Soprano Saxophone Heitor Villa-Lobos music, vocal works, and concertos, as well as music for film, theatre, and ballet. Anime (1887-1959) Lachrymae, for soprano saxophone and viola was composed 1999 for Lentement saxophonist Jan Garbarek and violist Kim Kashkashian. Tres Anime Steve Carmichael, Soprano Saxophone Irish composer Michael McGlynn is recognized as one of the leading choral Joseph Ross, Piano composers of his generation. Recently he has become busy as a composer and arranger of instrumental music. From Nowhere to Nowhere and Aisling were

Please turn off all cell phones, pagers, and other electronic devices. commissioned by Saxophonist Gerard McChrystal. Unauthorized audio and video recordings are prohibited.