The Medina Community Band

Marcus Neiman, conductor

John Connors, associate conductor & Matthew Hastings, assistant conductor

Mary Ann Grof-Neiman, clarinet; Lu Ann Gresh, trumpet; Rodney Hannah, trombone; & Kyle Snyder, tuba – Dixieland Ensemble

In Memory of Gary Ciulla

Ice Cream Social Host – Medina High School Band Parents Association

Friday Evening, July 12th, 2019

Medina Uptown Park Square Gazebo 8:30 p.m.

Anthem, Star Spangled Banner (1889/1917) ...... Francis Scott Key John Philip Sousa

Selection, Symphonic Marches (1984) ...... John Williams Paul Lavender

March, His Excellency (1909) ...... Henry Fillmore

Characteristic, Lassus Trombone (1915) ...... Henry Fillmore

March, March of the Resistance (from Star Wars the Force Awakens) (2015) ...... John Williams Paul Lavender

March, Americans We (1929) ...... Henry Fillmore

Dixieland, Americans We (1929) ...... Henry Fillmore

Mary Ann Grof-Neiman, clarinet; Lu Ann Gresh, trumpet; Rodney Hannah, trombone; & Kyle Snyder, tuba – Dixieland Ensemble

Folksong, Shenandoah (1883) ...... Frank Ticheli

March, Gifted Leadership (1927) ...... Henry Fillmore

John Connors, conducting

Dance, Libertango (1955/1975) ...... Astor Piazzolla Marco Somadossi

Salute, Across the Field (Medina High School Fight Song) (1980/2009) ...... William A. Dougherty

Salute, Medina High School Alma Mater ...... Unknown

National March, The Stars and Stripes Forever (1896) ...... John Philip Sousa

Patriotic Sing-A-Long, God Bless America (1917) ...... Irving Berlin Erik William Gustav Leidzén

Program subject to change

MCB Gazebo Concert – Friday, July 12th, 2019 – Program Notes – page 1

Selections by John Williams Williams, John

DOB: February 8th, 1932 (Queens, New York)

John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career that spans six decades, Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in Hollywood history, including: Star Wars, Superman, Home Alone, the first three Harry Potter movies, and all but two of Steven Spielberg’s feature films including the Indiana Jones series, Schindler’s List, E.T. the Extra- Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and Jaws. He also composed the soundtrack for the hit 1960s TV series Lost in Space. Williams has composed theme music for four Olympic Games, the NBC Nightly News, the inauguration of Barack Obama, and numerous television series and concert piece. He served as the principal conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1980 to 1993, and is now the orchestra’s laureate conductor. Williams is a five-time winner of the Academy Award. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards, seven SAFTA Awards, and 21 Grammy Awards. With 45 Academy Award nominations, Williams is together with composer Alfred Newman, the second most nominated individual after Walt Disney. He was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in 2000, and was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004.

Symphonic Marches.

John Higgins did the arrangement and Paul Lavender the orchestration, but the sound is unmistakably Williams all the way. The arrangement features Raiders March from the 1981 motion picture Raiders of the Lost Ark; The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s theme) from the 1980 motion picture Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back; and, Olympic Fanfare and Theme written in 1984 for the Olympic games in Los Angles, California. March of the Resistance (from Star Wars the Force Awakens) March of the Resistance is the musical track and theme, composed by John Williams, that represents the Resistance in the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. It first plays in the film when Poe Dameron and Resistance forces arrive on Takodana to fight the First Order at Maz Kanata's castle. The motif is continued in "Han and Leia" and "Scherzo for X- Wings."1 This rhythm is easier to hear if you produce it yourself. Try counting this pattern quickly, always emphasizing the “ones”: 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-3, and repeat.2

1 http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/March_of_the_Resistance 2 http://mashable.com/2015/12/31/star-wars-music-theory/#gyqdDhobF8qS

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Selections by Henry Fillmore

Henry Fillmore DOB: December 3rd, 1881 (Cincinnati, ) DOD: December 7th, 1956 (, )

Henry Fillmore was one of our most prolific composers with 256 compositions to his record and almost 800 arrangements. He published under various pseudonyms as well as his own name: Henry Fillmore -114; Gus Beans – 2; Harold Bennett – 65; Ray Hall – 3; Harry Hartley – 6; Al Hayes – 57; Will Huff – 8; and Henrietta Moore – 1.

According to Herb Block, Henry got into a conflict with his father (who composed and published liturgical music in Cincinnati) over the kind of music that Henry was composing. Henry liked march music and said, “I will huff and puff and I will write my own music.” Hence, the name Will Huff. Fillmore was a true free spirit. He was brought up by a conservative family in a conservative town. When he couldn’t do as he wished, he ran away with a circus and played trombone in the circus band. To top it all off, he married an exotic dancer.

Americans We (March). The march is dedicated To all of us and is considered one of his very finest marches. After resigning as director of the Syrian Temple Band, Henry formed his own professional band and one of its first engagements was at the Cincinnati Zoo. The appearance coincided with the annual “Pure Food and Health Show” and Henry is reported to have included this march on every program, sometimes announcing it as the “Purse Food and Health” march and at other times as the “Cincinnati Zoo” march. After it was broadcast on the radio, it became so popular he dedicated to publish it and then changed the title to “Americas We.”3 Gifted Leadership. Henry Fillmore was a well-known musical personality in Cincinnati when he wrote his march, Gifted Leadership, and dedicated it to a fellow Cincinnatian, Frank Simon in 1927. Fillmore was in his mid-forties, and had enjoyed a successful career conducting his popular Shrine Band, and he now was leading his own professional concert band which was enjoying a lot of success in Cincinnati. Frank Simon, also from Cincinnati, was a virtuoso cornetist. He had joined the great Sousa Band, and had become the band’s solo cornetist, following in the footsteps of the legendary soloist, Herbert L. Clarke. Simon left he Sousa Band, and he returned to Cincinnati to form and lead a new concert band sponsored by the Armco Company, a steel mill in nearby Middletown, Ohio. He proved to be a gifted leader, building the Armco band into one of the finest concert bands in America. The band gained national fame after the began a semi-weekly radio broadcasts that were heard throughout the county. Fillmore wrote Gifted Leadership, dedicated To Frank Simon, Director of the Armco Band, Middletown, Ohio.4 Lassus Trombone (Characteristic). Henry Fillmore, the great bandmaster and band composer, has been dubbed the “father of the trombone smear.” Trombone smears are a mix of ragtime and march styles, and Fillmore, who played the trombone, wrote 15 of them. His best-known smear is “Lassus Trombone,” a legendary circus favorite published in 1915. “Lassus” is short for “molasses,” and with that linguistic understanding comes at least a hint of musical understanding about the nature of the playful, but slow and lazy composition.5

3 Program notes – The Begian Years Vol. IV. 4 Music jacket, Carl Fischer, publication 5 Studwell, William, Conrad, Charles, and Schueneman. Circus songs. Haworth Press (New York), p19.

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State Street Strut Red McLeod

State Street Strut (Dixieland) by Rod “Red” McLeod. Minnesota born and educated, his career included a rich diversity of activities. Red’s 19-year tenure as musical director and arranger for The Golden Strings serves as an invaluable reference in his preparation of editions for student performers. In addition, he has written hundreds of arrangements for radio programs, touring acts, ice shows and more, and was entertainment director for the Minnesota Vikings football team for 25 years. Featured in this Dixieland selection will be Mary Ann Grof-Neiman, clarinet; Marcia Nelson-Kline, trumpet; Rod Hannah, trombone; and, Kyle Snyder, tuba.

Dixieland Soloists Mary Ann Grof-Neiman, clarinet, received her bachelor of science in music education degree from the Bowling Green State University. Ms. Grof-Neiman has served as principal clarinetist with the Sounds of Sousa Band and as clarinetist for the Blossom Festival Band, the Cleveland Winds, Lakeland Civic Band, Lakeside Symphony Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony, Chagrin Falls Studio Orchestra and Erie Philharmonic. She currently performs with the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, Lakewood Home Town Band, Akron Symphonic Winds and Medina Community Band, where she serves as band librarian. She maintains private studios at Baldwin Wallace University Community Music School as well as her home in Medina. She has served the Ohio Music Education Association as a Woodwind Adjudicator for over 30 years and is a member of AFM Local 4. She resides in Medina with her husband Marcus and their cat Dmitri.

Lu Ann Gresh is a retired elementary music specialist with 36 years of experience. She has both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in music education from The University of Akron. She has taught for the Revere City Schools, Highland Local Schools, Clark County Schools in Las Vegas, Nevada, and most recently Wadsworth City Schools. She taught preschool music and adult beginning piano classes at The University of Akron. Lu Ann and her husband, Paul, reside in Wadsworth, Ohio. She has two children, Jonathan and Kelsey. She has been a member of the Medina Community Band since 1997. She also plays in the Sounds of Sousa Band, and is a member of the Brass Band of the Western Reserve. Lu Ann currently serves as the trumpet section leader. She is president of the Medina Community Band Association.

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Rodney Hannah, trombone, attended the Norton City Schools and graduated from Norton High School. He is a retired math and physics teacher at Norton High School. Married for 47 years (as of 2018) with two adult children and two grandchildren, he resides with his wife Carolyn in Medina (Ohio). Looking back, he reminisced that he has always had a love for music and was voted ‘most musical’ student in his high school senior class. Marches have always inspired him and he especially liked the counter-melodies in the low brass parts, which encouraged him to switch from cornet to trombone.

Kyle Snyder, tuba, is a retired claims adjuster. He currently is a part time school bus driver for Lake Ridge Academy in North Ridgeville. He has been a member in the Tuba Section of the Medina Community Band for 32 years. The genre he enjoys playing most though, is “Dixieland” music. He currently performs with the River City Jazz Band, Honey Creek Jazz Band, and the Hymns of Dixie. He also plays tuba in the Deutscher Musikverein German Band. When not playing his tuba, Kyle enjoys riding his Harley Davidson Triglide with other band members and friends. In his down time he enjoys sharing the couch with his wife Jan, their dog Henry, and cat Harry while watching television or listening to music.

Shenandoah Arranged by Frank Ticheli

Frank Ticheli Born January 21, 1958, Monroe, Louisiana Frank Ticheli has composed works for a variety of media, including band, wind ensemble, orchestra, chamber, and theater- music. Numerous ensembles throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan have performed his works. His music has been described as 'lean and muscular and above all, active, in motion' (New York Times), 'showing an unabashed self-assuredness arising from a great foundation of orchestra technique' (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), and expressing 'direct emotion, creating dramatic visceral impact' (Orange County Register). He has won many prizes for his music including the prestigious Goddard Lieberson fellowship and Charles Ives Scholarship (both from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters); the 1989 Walter Beeler Memorial Composition Prize sponsored by Ithaca College; the Ross Lee Finney Award; a residency at the MacDowell Colony; first prize from the Texas Sesquicentennial Orchestral Composition Contest; and first prize in the eleventh annual "Symposium for New Band Music" in Virginia.

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He has received many commissions and grants, including one from the Murchison Middle School Concert Band for Cajun Folk Songs for concert band. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts and Masters Degrees in Composition from the University of Michigan, and his Bachelor of Music in Composition from Southern Methodist. He is Associate Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California, and for several years (1991-1998) was the Composer-in-Residence of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. He previously was an Assistant Professor of Music at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where he served on the board of directors of the Texas Composers Forum, and on the advisory committee for the San Antonio Symphony's "Music of the Americas" project. Shenandoah was a shanty used with the windlass, capstan, and winches for loading cargo. The word shanty, or "chanty", is probably derived from the French word "chanter" - to sing. Shanties were originally shouted out, with emphasis on a syllable or word as sailors performed their work. Shanties developed separate rhythms for the various chores at sea - for raising the anchor (which was done by marching around the capstan), hauling ropes, etc. The origin of Shenandoah is not known. Some believe it originated among the early American river men or Canadian voyageurs. Others believe it was a land song before it went to sea. Most agree that it incorporates both Irish and African-American elements. Shenandoah was tremendously popular both on land and sea and was known by countless names, including: Shennydore, The Wide Missouri, The Wild Mizzourye, The World Of Misery-Solid Fas (a West Indian rowing shanty that may be older than other versions), The Oceanida and Rolling River. W. J. Alden published two verses of the song in Harper's Magazine in 1882. R. Abrams collected a version of Solid Fas in England in 1909. The shanty is believed to date at least to the 1820s. Shenandoah was an Indian chief who lived on the Missouri River. Ticheli has developed one of America's most beloved folk songs into a gorgeous concert band setting. A shimmering beauty prevails throughout the transparent sonorities that mark the overall design of the piece, yet the mood easily shifts into moments of power and grandeur- intense and uplifting moments that capture the noble American spirit inherent in the song.

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Libertango Astor Piazzolla / Marco Somadossi

Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music. A virtuoso bandoneonist, he regularly performed his own compositions with a variety of ensembles. In 1992, American music critic Stephen Holden described Piazzolla as "the world's foremost composer of tango music".

Libertango is a composition by tango composer Astor Piazzolla, recorded and published in 1974 in Milan. The title is a portmanteau merging "Libertad" (Spanish for liberty) and "Tango", symbolizing Piazzolla's break from Classical Tango to Tango Nuevo.6 By the 1970s Piazzolla was living in Rome, managed by the Italian agent Aldo Pagani, and exploring a leaner, more fluid musical style drawing on more jazz influence, and with simpler, more continuous forms. Pieces that exemplify this new direction include Libertango and most of the Suite Troileana, written in memory of Aníbal Troilo.

6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertango

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Across the Field William A. Dougherty For over 80 years, those words have helped push Ohio teams on to victory. In 1915, OSU student William A. Dougherty, Jr., set out to write the perfect fight song for his alma mater. While Carmen Ohio was already firmly in place as OSU's school song, Dougherty felt that something more exciting was needed for pep rallies and football games. And so Fight the Team Across the Field was born. Introduced at a pep rally for the 1915 Illinois game, Fight the Team Across the Field made its Ohio Field debut at the same game. Though the lyrics are geared to the football field, it has become a rallying song for all Buckeye teams. Its strains are instantly recognized as representing the best of Ohio State, whether played in a TV commercial, a tailgate party, or a women's basketball game. While it has been arranged in many different ways and used for many purposes, its most popular appearance is at Buckeye football games. During tough drives, TBDBITL plays Fight the Team to urge the players on to victory. The players conclude every game day by singing it in the locker room at the end of it all. Dougherty's Fight the Team Across the Field has been a symbol of the pride and excitement of The Ohio State University for more than 80 years, and it will continue to stand as a great part of this great university. Fight The Team Across The Field won the President's Cup for the Best University song in the 1916 Ohio State Alumni Association Song Contest.

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The Stars and Stripes Forever John Philip Sousa

DOB: November 6th, 1854 (Washington, DC) DOD: March 6th, 1932 (Reading, PA) John Philip Sousa wrote the most famous American military marches of all time, including "Stars and Stripes Forever," earning him the nickname "the March King"; he was also known as a great bandleader, and organized the famed concert and military group, Sousa's Band. Born in Washington, D.C., on November 6, 1854, Sousa followed in the footsteps of his father, a musician in the U.S. Marine Corps, and enlisted by the age of 14. Before this, Sousa had studied violin with John Esputa. While active in the Marines, he composed his first march, "Salutation." Around the age of 16, Sousa began studying harmony with G.F. Benkert, then worked as a pit orchestra conductor at a local theater, followed by jobs as first chair violinist at the Ford Opera House, the Philadelphia Chestnut Street Theater, and later led the U.S. Marine Corps Band (1880-1992). Although most famous for his marches, Sousa composed in other styles as well, including a waltz, "Moonlight on the Potomac"; a gallop, "The Cuckoo" (both in 1869); the oratorio "Messiah of the Nations" (1914); and scores for Broadway musicals The Smugglers (1879), Desiree (1884), The Glass Blowers (1893), El Capitan (1896; which was his first real scoring success), American Maid (1913), and more. Sousa formed his sternly organized marching band in 1892, leading them through numerous U.S. and European tours, a world tour, and an appearance in the 1915 Broadway show Hip-Hip-Hooray. Sousa's Band also recorded many sides for the Victor label up through the early '30s. His most famous marches include "The Stars and Stripes Forever" (1897), "U.S. Field Artillery March," "Semper Fidelis" (written in 1888, it became the Marine Corps anthem), "Washington Post March" (1889), "King Cotton" (1895), "El Capitan" (1896), and many more. In addition to writing music, Sousa also wrote books, including the best-seller Fifth String and his autobiography, Marching Along. Actor Clifton Webb portrayed Sousa in the movie about his life entitled Stars and Stripes Forever. The instrument the sousaphone was named after this famous composer and bandleader. ~ Joslyn Layne, All Music Guide

The Stars and Stripes Forever (March) is considered the finest march ever written, and at the same time one of the most patriotic ever conceived. As reported in the Philadelphia Public Ledger (May 15, 1897) “ ... It is stirring enough to rouse the American eagle from his crag, and set him to shriek exultantly while he hurls his arrows at the aurora borealis.” (referring to the concert the Sousa Band gave the previous day at the Academy of Music).7 The march was not quite so well received though and actually got an over average rating for a new Sousa march. Yet, its popularity grew as Mr. Sousa used it during the Spanish-American War as a concert closer. Coupled with his Trooping of the Colors, the march quickly gained a vigorous response from audiences and critics alike. In fact, audiences rose from their chairs when the march was played. Mr. Sousa added to the entertainment value of the march by having the piccolo(s) line up in front of the band for the final trio, and then added the trumpets and trombones join them on the final repeat of the strain.

7 Research done by Elizabeth Hartman, head of the music department, Free Library of Philadelphia. Taken from John Philip Sousa, Descriptive Catalog of His Works (Paul E. Bierley, University of Illinois Press, 1973, page 71)

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The march was performed on almost all of Mr. Sousa’s concerts and always drew tears to the eyes of the audience. The author has noted the same emotional response of audiences to the march today. The march has been named as the national march of The United States. There are two commentaries of how the march was inspired. The first came as the result of an interview on Mr. Sousa’s patriotism. According to Mr. Sousa, the march was written with the inspiration of God. “I was in Europe and I got a cablegram that my manager was dead. I was in Italy and I wished to get home as soon as possible, I rushed to Genoa, then to Paris and to England and sailed for America. On board the steamer as I walked miles up and down the deck, back and forth, a mental band was playing ‘Stars and Stripes Forever.’ Day after day as I walked it persisted in crashing into my very soul. I wrote it on Christmas Day, 1896.”8 The second, and more probable inspiration for the march, came from Mr. Sousa’s own homesickness. He had been away from his homeland for some time on tour, and told an interviewer: “In a kind of dreamy way, I used to think over old days at Washington when I was leader of the Marine Band ... when we played at all public functions, and I could see the Stars and Stripes flying from the flagstaff in the grounds of the White House just as plainly as if I were back there again.” “Then I began to think of all the countries I had visited, of the foreign people I had met, of the vast differences between America and American people and other countries and other peoples, and that flag our ours became glorified ... and to my imagination it seemed to be the biggest, grandest, flag in the world, and I could not get back under it quick enough.” “It was in this impatient, fretful state of mind that the inspiration to compose ‘The Stars and Stripes Forever’ came to me.”9

8 Taken from program notes for the week beginning August 19th, 1923. Bierley, John Philip Sousa, page 71. 9 Ibid., page 72

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