Grace College Community Wind Ensemble Performs April 12
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Staff Report-
Just as a kaleidoscope operates on the principle of multiple reflections, the concert will feature multiple genres of instrumental selections.
When a kaleidoscopes tube is rotated it creates various shapes and colors. The 65 musicians in the concert band will provide their own variety of shapes and colors with harmonies, melodies and rhythms.
Opening the program will be “Festive Overture, Op. 96” by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. The composer set to work on the overture with great speed, completing it in three days, and it features a lively tempo and style of melody. He wrote the entire piece in just three days, which was astounding.
Moreover, when he wrote the music he was able to talk, make jokes and compose simultaneously, like the legendary Mozart. There is not a trace of haste or carelessness in the “Festive Overture.” Shostakovich always composed at a fast pace, writing down the notes with superhuman facility.
“We will never know whether or not he employed musical ideas, which were already lurking in his imagination, or whether the entire work was simply an instantaneous flash of inspiration. It is amusing, however, to think of Shostakovich ‘laughing and chuckling’ as he composed, for it is easy to imagine the pervasiveness of the composer’s good humor driving this energetic, truly festive work,” according to Director Martin Becker.
Second on the program will be a new composition that will be a complete opposite of that of “Festive Overture.”
John Mackey’s “Sheltering Sky” is a serene and simple presentation and is a throwback of sorts – a nostalgic portrait of time suspended. The work itself has a folksong-like quality – intended by the composer – and through this an immediate sense of familiarity emerges.
Next on the program features the music of a “bullfight”. El Relicario is a paso doble, a Spanish dance popular in the 1920s that translates to “two-step.” It was typically played at bullfights at the entrance of the matadors.
The Grace College Wind ensembles clarinet section will be featured on the next selection written by Henry Mancini. Just from the title, “Pie in the Face Polka,” you can sense something enjoyable is about to happen, according to Becker. Henry Mancini wrote the music to the American slapstick comedy film “Great Race” in 1965. “The Great Race” incorporated a great many silent era visual gags, along with slapstick, double entendres, parodies and absurdities. The Technicolor pie fight scene in the royal bakery was filmed over five days. The entire 15-member clarinet section will perform the fast-paced melody from the movie scene.
Concluding the first half of the program, Becker has chosen one of John Philip Sousa’s lesser known marches. “The Charlatan March” was taken from his “Charlatan Operetta,” one of Sousa’s 15 operettas. Sousa composed in this style specifically to counter criticism that he could only write marches and other strongly rhythmic forms. “The Charlatan March,” just like his “El Capitan March,” is derived from the melodies from the Operetta.
Following a brief intermission, the wind ensemble will continue with its theme “Kaleidoscope of Sound” with the “Overture from Semiramide” by the great Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini. The opera “Semiramide” was first performed in Venice in February 1823. The overture is widely played and has become a staple part of instrumental repertoire. It also represents some of Rossini’s best writing, starting from the rhythmic opening, to the entrance of the horn choir taken directly from the score of the opera, to the joyously frenetic ending.
With the recent popularity and much acclaim of the movie “Les Miserables,” Becker couldn’t resist the opportunity to have the band perform “Selections from Les Miserables” arranged for band by Warren Barker.
The musical is based on the 1862 novel “Les Misérables” by Victor Hugo. Set in early to mid 19th century France, it follows the intertwining stories of a cast of characters as they struggle for redemption and revolution. Among the most famous songs of this award-winning musical are “Do You Hear the People Sing?,” “Master of the House” and “On My Own.” Becker states, “The audience will really enjoy the great medley songs from this musical.”
The next selection also offers a completely different mood. “Bayou Breakdown” is a Cajun version of a good-old fashioned hoedown. Composer Karrick describes the composition as "a bluegrass fugue with a Cajun twist."
“Bayou Breakdown” began as an attempt to write a fugue in the style of J.S. Bach. The main melody is introduced in a four-part fugue scored for woodwinds. A brief transition gives way to a second statement of the fugue by the brass.
“It is really hard to describe this enjoyable composition, the audience just needs to experience it for themselves,” stated Becker.
A band concert is not complete without a patriotic selection.
The Grace College Wind Ensemble will perform the patriotic fantasy “Sweet Land of Liberty,” which is a memorable salute to the spirit and heritage of our great nation.
Composer James Sochinski adds, “This tribute to America was written in honor of the memory of my paternal grandfather, an Ellis Island immigrant who settled in New York City to raise his family. He truly loved being an American, the Yankees, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, and everything about his sweet land of liberty.”
The encore of the evening, “The Roosters Lay Eggs in Kansas,” is a “tongue-in-cheek” ditty that the “March King” John Philip Sousa often used as an encore. With its delightful and catchy melody, no one can deny the charm of “Sousa’s Favorite Encore,” according to Becker.
The audience is in for a surprise as Becker has put his own twist on this fun encore selection.
The concert will be held at Rodeheaver Auditorium and is free and open to the public. Contact Becker at Grace College if you need additional information about the Grace College Community Wind Ensemble.[[In-content Ad]]
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Just as a kaleidoscope operates on the principle of multiple reflections, the concert will feature multiple genres of instrumental selections.
When a kaleidoscopes tube is rotated it creates various shapes and colors. The 65 musicians in the concert band will provide their own variety of shapes and colors with harmonies, melodies and rhythms.
Opening the program will be “Festive Overture, Op. 96” by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. The composer set to work on the overture with great speed, completing it in three days, and it features a lively tempo and style of melody. He wrote the entire piece in just three days, which was astounding.
Moreover, when he wrote the music he was able to talk, make jokes and compose simultaneously, like the legendary Mozart. There is not a trace of haste or carelessness in the “Festive Overture.” Shostakovich always composed at a fast pace, writing down the notes with superhuman facility.
“We will never know whether or not he employed musical ideas, which were already lurking in his imagination, or whether the entire work was simply an instantaneous flash of inspiration. It is amusing, however, to think of Shostakovich ‘laughing and chuckling’ as he composed, for it is easy to imagine the pervasiveness of the composer’s good humor driving this energetic, truly festive work,” according to Director Martin Becker.
Second on the program will be a new composition that will be a complete opposite of that of “Festive Overture.”
John Mackey’s “Sheltering Sky” is a serene and simple presentation and is a throwback of sorts – a nostalgic portrait of time suspended. The work itself has a folksong-like quality – intended by the composer – and through this an immediate sense of familiarity emerges.
Next on the program features the music of a “bullfight”. El Relicario is a paso doble, a Spanish dance popular in the 1920s that translates to “two-step.” It was typically played at bullfights at the entrance of the matadors.
The Grace College Wind ensembles clarinet section will be featured on the next selection written by Henry Mancini. Just from the title, “Pie in the Face Polka,” you can sense something enjoyable is about to happen, according to Becker. Henry Mancini wrote the music to the American slapstick comedy film “Great Race” in 1965. “The Great Race” incorporated a great many silent era visual gags, along with slapstick, double entendres, parodies and absurdities. The Technicolor pie fight scene in the royal bakery was filmed over five days. The entire 15-member clarinet section will perform the fast-paced melody from the movie scene.
Concluding the first half of the program, Becker has chosen one of John Philip Sousa’s lesser known marches. “The Charlatan March” was taken from his “Charlatan Operetta,” one of Sousa’s 15 operettas. Sousa composed in this style specifically to counter criticism that he could only write marches and other strongly rhythmic forms. “The Charlatan March,” just like his “El Capitan March,” is derived from the melodies from the Operetta.
Following a brief intermission, the wind ensemble will continue with its theme “Kaleidoscope of Sound” with the “Overture from Semiramide” by the great Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini. The opera “Semiramide” was first performed in Venice in February 1823. The overture is widely played and has become a staple part of instrumental repertoire. It also represents some of Rossini’s best writing, starting from the rhythmic opening, to the entrance of the horn choir taken directly from the score of the opera, to the joyously frenetic ending.
With the recent popularity and much acclaim of the movie “Les Miserables,” Becker couldn’t resist the opportunity to have the band perform “Selections from Les Miserables” arranged for band by Warren Barker.
The musical is based on the 1862 novel “Les Misérables” by Victor Hugo. Set in early to mid 19th century France, it follows the intertwining stories of a cast of characters as they struggle for redemption and revolution. Among the most famous songs of this award-winning musical are “Do You Hear the People Sing?,” “Master of the House” and “On My Own.” Becker states, “The audience will really enjoy the great medley songs from this musical.”
The next selection also offers a completely different mood. “Bayou Breakdown” is a Cajun version of a good-old fashioned hoedown. Composer Karrick describes the composition as "a bluegrass fugue with a Cajun twist."
“Bayou Breakdown” began as an attempt to write a fugue in the style of J.S. Bach. The main melody is introduced in a four-part fugue scored for woodwinds. A brief transition gives way to a second statement of the fugue by the brass.
“It is really hard to describe this enjoyable composition, the audience just needs to experience it for themselves,” stated Becker.
A band concert is not complete without a patriotic selection.
The Grace College Wind Ensemble will perform the patriotic fantasy “Sweet Land of Liberty,” which is a memorable salute to the spirit and heritage of our great nation.
Composer James Sochinski adds, “This tribute to America was written in honor of the memory of my paternal grandfather, an Ellis Island immigrant who settled in New York City to raise his family. He truly loved being an American, the Yankees, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, and everything about his sweet land of liberty.”
The encore of the evening, “The Roosters Lay Eggs in Kansas,” is a “tongue-in-cheek” ditty that the “March King” John Philip Sousa often used as an encore. With its delightful and catchy melody, no one can deny the charm of “Sousa’s Favorite Encore,” according to Becker.
The audience is in for a surprise as Becker has put his own twist on this fun encore selection.
The concert will be held at Rodeheaver Auditorium and is free and open to the public. Contact Becker at Grace College if you need additional information about the Grace College Community Wind Ensemble.[[In-content Ad]]
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