Hunt Valley Wind Ensemble
Fall 2018 Concert
October 6, 2018, 7pm
Dulaney High School
Overture for Winds
Charles Carter
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Particularly familiar amongst young musicians and band performers, Charles Carter is
the embodiment of a classic composer of modern concert band music. After earning his Bachelor’s Degree from Ohio State University and a Master’s Degree from the Eastman School of Music within the University of Rochester, Carter went on to arrange music for Ohio State’s Marching Band before arranging for the Florida State University Bands in 1953. Carter’s musical arrangements have since become predominantly recognized as vibrant and fresh for his ability to incorporate a mix of harmonic and melodic techniques in such a way that even the most youthful musicians can perform his art with ease. Despite his passing in 1999, Carter’s compositions continue to be played and have been seen as sort of a standard by many concert and high school bands alike.
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Overture for Winds, written in 1959, is a model example of Carter’s inevitable expertise in marrying quick, intricate melodies with poetic, lyrical phrases spread throughout the piece. Originally split into three different parts, Carter opens the scene with an almost rhythmic atmosphere followed by a significantly slower second part, and concluding with a similar style to the first part. This classic arrangement makes it appealing to one’s ears as it explores the depth in which Carter truly demonstrates his musical ability and influence. Overture for Winds easily makes it Carter’s most renowned pieces for bands all over.
Four Dances from West Side Story
Leonard Bernstein, Arr. Ian Polster
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Leonard Bernstein(1918-1990) was an erudite, passionate musician whose exceptional talents and expressive gifts earned him a special place in the hearts of New Yorkers. His rose to instant national fame in 1943, at age 25, when he filled in for the suddenly ill Bruno Walter as conductor of a nationally televised New York Philharmonic performance. He went on to become the Philharmonic’s music director until 1969, and remained a frequent guest conductor there until his death. With the Philharmonic, he presented a series of 53 educational Young People’s Concerts which were broadcast on CBS, making him a familiar face around the nation. He also composed music, crossing from academic classical music into Broadway musicals, including West Side Story, On the Town, and Candide.
The Broadway musical West Side Story first came into being in 1957 as a collaboration between Bernstein (as composer), choreographer Jerome Robbins, writer Arthur Laurents, and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. Its story is based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Set in the 1950s on Manhattan’s West Side, it tells the tragic tale of Tony and Maria, whose rival gangs doom their young love. The musical became a film in 1961, winning 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture. Bernstein’s music was often a character itself, giving the film psychological direction in many long dance sequences.
Four Dances from West Side Story features some of the highlights of these dance sequences transcribed for band. The “Scherzo” is a light-hearted, care-free movement that comes from the Dream Ballet of the musical, in which Tony imagines a world of peace and harmony to which he can take Maria. The “Mambo” comes from the gym scene where the Jets and the Sharks meet and dance while trying to suppress their hostility towards each other. The “Mambo” fades into the “Cha-Cha” as Tony and Maria notice each other for the first time and dance together, transfixed. The anxiety-ridden “Fugue” is based on material from the song “Cool”, in which the Jets are convincing each other to bottle up their overwhelming emotions. The fugue’s subject is a 12-tone row, lending a worrisome and tense feeling to the movement. Each new statement of the theme adds more layers until the texture explodes into a percussion-heavy statement of the main theme from “Cool”.
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Furioso Polka
Johann Strauss II
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The title page illustration on the first piano edition of Johann’s Furioso-Polka (quasi Galopp) perfectly captures the mood of this fiendishly exacting novelty with its rapid modulations, alternating between major and minor keys: two demons are pictured stretching a rope across a dance floor, intent on tripping up the frantically whirling couples.
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Although Johann Strauss the Elder wrote a Furioso-Galopp (1839), based largely on Liszt’s Grand Galop Chromatique, Johann II’s thrilling Furioso-Polka is an entirely original composition. Strauss conducted it for the first time at a benefit concert for his orchestra on 14 September 1861 (= 2 September, Russian calendar) during that year’s concert season in Pavlovsk, although the work appears to have excited no particular attention there. The Viennese première of the piece followed on 17 November 1861 in the Sofienbad-Saal, after the composer’s return from Russia.
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Johann Strauss II, the most famous and enduringly successful of 19th-century light music composers, was born in Vienna on 25 October 1825. Building upon the firm musical foundations laid by his father, Johann Strauss I (1804–1849) and Joseph Lanner (1801–1843), the younger Johann (along with his brothers, Joseph and Eduard) achieved so high a development of the classical Viennese waltz that it became as much a feature of the concert hall as of the ballroom. For more than half a century Johann Il captivated not only Vienna but also the whole of Europe and America with his abundantly tuneful waltzes, polkas, quadrilles and marches. The thrice-married “Waltz King” later turned his attention to the composition of operetta, and completed 16 stage works besides more than 500 orchestral compositions—including the most famous of all waltzes, The Blue Danube (1867). Johann Strauss Il died in Vienna on 3 June 1899.
Bravura
C.E. Duble, Arr. John Edmonson
Charles Edward Duble (September 13, 1884– August 1960) was an American trombonist, band musician, and composer. Born at Jeffersonville, IN, on September 13, 1884, he played for 23 years in circus bands. His career started as trombonist with Sun Bros. Circus in 1909, and he played in others such as Gentry Bros. Dog and Pony Show, H. W. Campbell’s United Shows, John Robinson’s Big Ten Shows, Barnum and Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth (for which he composed the Barnum and Bailey Royal Pageant march in 1917), Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, Sells-Floto Circus, Sparks, Robbins Brothers, the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show, Russell Bros. Circus, Downie Bros., and finally under the baton of Merle Evans, with Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. His most famous march was Bravura, composed in 1918 and still in the standard repertoire of bands throughout the U. S.
Bravurais the most famous of Charles Edward Duble’s thirty-one marches. As the title announces, it declares the show of daring, exceptional ability, and technical skill that is displayed by circus performers and musicians. Written in 1918 while Duble was playing trombone with the Sells-Floto Circus, it is a much enjoyed circus “screamer” that was suitable for the opening parade of performers, a wild animal act, or or for aerialists swing- ing under the great white tents. Listen for the important passages that he wrote for the brass sections.
The Lion King
John Higgins
John Higginsis Managing Producer/Editor for Hal Leonard Corporation, the nation's largest publisher of printed music. He began in the music field as the student arranger for the University of Michigan Band under Dr. William D. Revelli, and gained invaluable experience as a public-school music teacher in suburban Chicago. John served as Illinois president of the American String Teachers Association, and his school concerts featured renowned soloists and conductors such as Skitch Henderson, Charlie Byrd, and Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops. A co-author in the Essential Elements series of methods, John is best known for his many compositions and arrangements for choirs, bands and orchestras.
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From Walt Disney Pictures’ The Lion King, this John Higgins arrangement includes a medley of: Circle of Life, I Just Can’t Wait to be King, Be Prepared, Hakuna Matata, Can You Feel the Love Tonight, and King of Pride Rock. The music is by Sir Elton John, lyrics are by Tim Rice, and the original score was composed by Hans Zimmer.
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Super Mario Brothers
Koji Kondo, Arr. Takashi Hoshide
Koji Kondois a legendary Japanese sound director and video game composer. He is most famous for having composed the scores to the ‘Super Mario’ and ‘The Legend of Zelda’ Series. Kondo was born in Nagoya, Japan, on August 13, 1961. He began taking lessons in the electronic organ from the age of five. He improved his skills in the instrument in a cover band that played jazz and rock music. Kondo studied at the Art Planning Department of Osaka University of Arts, but was never classically trained or particularly dedicated to music. However, he gained some experience in composing and arranging pieces, using both the piano and a computer to assist him.
Super Mario Brothers originally was released as an arcade game in 1983 and later on the Nintendo Entertainment System, a video game console in 1985. The brothers Mario and Luigi live in the Mushroom Kingdom, where they must rescue Princess Toadstool (later called Princess Peach) from Bowser. The game consists of eight worlds, each with four sub-levels. Though the worlds differ in themes, the fourth sub-level is always a fortress or castle that ends with a fight against Bowser (or one of his minions disguised as him.) The game was successful, and is one of the best selling video game of all time. This medley includes themes from many of the worlds and sound effects through the game.
Hornpipe
G.F. Handel
Handel's Water Music consists of 22 pieces divided into 3 suites which Handel wrote for King George I for a Royal Concert on the River Thames, and the Water Music has been played at many other Royal occasions since then. This particular piece is one of the most famous, and is one of two Hornpipes in the Water Music. It is the 12th movement overall and included in the 2nd Suite in D major. The Hornpipe is joyous in nature with some sections sounding like fanfares, so it is well suited for happy celebratory occasions such as sporting events, shows, weddings and other church services. This Hornpipe is also a good example of the use of syncopation by a Baroque composer.
Killer Tango
Sonny Kampanek
Sonny Kompanek has orchestrated more than 70 feature films and had compositions played by the major orchestras of New York, Boston, Montreal, Milwaukee, Rochester, Atlanta, and Portland, among others. He has written for a wide variety of artists ranging from Wynton Marsalis to Soul Asylum, Boyz II Men to the Canadian Brass.
Hava Nagila (Let Us Rejoice)
Arranged By Walter Barnes
is a Jewish folk song traditionally sung at Jewish celebrations. It is perhaps the first modern Israeli folk song in the Hebrew language that has become a staple of band performers at Jewish weddings and bar/bat mitzvah celebrations. The melody is based on a Hassidic Nigun (slow, melodious chant). It was composed in 1915 when Hebrew was being revived as a spoken language after falling into disuse in this form for approximately 1,700 years, following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE and the Bar Kokhba revolt in 132–136 CE. For the first time, Jews were being encouraged to speak Hebrew as a common language, instead of Yiddish, Arabic, Ladino, or other regional Jewish languages.
Amparito Roca
Johann Strauss II
Jaime Texidor was a composer, conductor and publisher who lived most of his life in Northern Spain. In 1927, he became the conductor of the Baracaldo Municipal band, a position that he retained until 1936. Over this period he composed so much band music that he decided to establish his own publishing company. In addition to his enormous contribution to band music, Texidor wrote many pieces in the Paso Doble style, which are lively march-like dances.
Texidor is credited with the composition of Amparito Roca, which is one of the most well-known Paso Dobles in the band repertoire. There is, however, some mystery attached to the composition of this piece, which was reportedly written by British Bandmaster Reginald Ridewood (1907-1942). Texidor arranged for the publication in Madrid, but the piece had already been performed in England prior to the copyright date. It is assumed that Ridewood wrote the music, but failed to apply for copyright before Texidor rearranged it and had it published as his own. Nevertheless, it is still one of the most well-known Paso Dobles in modern band literature.
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The Sandpaper Ballet
Leroy Anderson
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Famous for his “concert music with a pop quality,” Leroy Anderson (1908-1975) was particularly successful in creating descriptive pieces that are firmly entrenched in American culture. He gained both experience and esteem when he began arranging music for Harvard University while there in graduate school. Soon his catchy arrangements attracted the attention of the Boston Pops orchestra and conductor Arthur Fiedler. Constantly on the alert for ideas, Anderson found inspiration in unusual places and brought his meticulous artistry to the lightest of novelties. He is best known for Sleigh Ride,The Syncopated Clock, The Typewriter, and The Sandpaper Ballet that suggests a dance in the local home improvement store.
Sandpaper Ballet, composed in 1954, explores the sounds of three different textures of sandpaper with delightful supporting melodic themes, and is reminiscent of the vaudeville era, when soft-shoe dancers would spread sand on the stage.
Russian Sailor’s Dance
Johann Strauss II
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Characteristic of Gliere’s romantic harmonies and Russian-flavored melodies is his most popular work, a ballet entitled The Red Poppy. Composed in 1927, the ballet utilizes a regulation Soviet plot involving a Russian ship captain and his love for a Chinese girl. She is killed while trying to escape to Russia aboard her lover’s ship. As she dies, she urges the Chinese people to fight for freedom, pointing to a red poppy as the symbol of their quest. Perhaps the best known excerpt from the ballet is this whirling Russian Sailor’s Dance. Building upon a rustic folk tune in the low strings, the work progresses to an exciting climax through several variations.
Reinhold Glière (1875 - 1956) was born in Kiev, the son of a wind instrument craftsman. He became proficient at the violin at an early age and was admitted to the Kiev school of Music at the age of 16. Three years later, he entered the Moscow Conservatory where his interest in composition flourished under Sergei Taneev and Michael Ippolitov-Ivanov. After graduation, he accepted a teaching post, later spending a year studying conducting in Berlin. As Director of the Kiev Conservatory (1913 - 20), Glière was motivated into a prolonged study of the folklore and music of Azerbaijan. He moved to Baku, where he composed several operas and collected background information for his popular ballet “The Red Poppy.” Following his return to Moscow, he composed symphonies, concerti, and marches in addition to operas and ballets. Much honored, he escaped the condemnation from the Russian government that many of his fellow composers endured.