Symphonic Band: Illuminating Wonders - 3/7/23

UCO Symphonic Band Dr. Brian Lamb, conductor Illuminating Wonders! Spring ’23 “Festival of Light” with special guests Dr. Ed Huckeby Guest Composer-in-Residence and The UCO Clarinet Choir Mrs. Jennifer Rucker, director PROGRAM On This Bright Morning (2013) David Maslanka (1943-2017) Symphony of Light: A Symphonic Suite (2021) Ed Huckeby (b. 1948) I. Daybreak II. Reflections III. Fireflies IV. Dark Side of the Moon V. Neon Illumination (2013) David Maslanka (1943-2017) PROGRAM NOTES David Maslanka was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1943. He attended the Oberlin College Conservatory where he studied composition with Joseph Wood. He spent a year at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and did masters and doctoral study in composition at Michigan State University where his principal teacher was H. Owen Reed. Maslanka’s music for winds has become especially well known. Among his more than 150 works are over 50 pieces for wind ensemble, including eight symphonies, seventeen concertos, a Mass, and many concert pieces. His chamber music includes four wind quintets, five saxophone quartets, and many works for solo instrument and piano. In addition, he has written a variety of orchestral and choral pieces. David Maslanka’s compositions are published by Maslanka Press, Carl Fischer, Kjos Music, Marimba Productions, and OU Percussion Press. They have been recorded on Albany, Reference Recordings, BIS (Sweden), Naxos, Cambria, CRI, Mark, Novisse, AUR, Cafua (Japan), Brain Music (Japan), Barking Dog, and Klavier labels. He served on the faculties of the State University of New York at Geneseo, Sarah Lawrence College, New York University, and Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York, and was a freelance composer in Missoula, Montana from 1990 until his death in 2017. On This Bright Morning: There are times of stability in life, and times of significant transition. Transitions can be upsetting, often provoked or accompanied by physical or emotional troubles. They are times of uncertainty and unknowing, but also the times of greatest creative change. On This Bright Morning acknowledges the struggle, and the feelings of pain and loss in times of transition, but embodies the pure joy of realizing the bigger life. On this bright morning, life is new, life is possible. The following is from a Bill Moyers interview with the poet, Jane Kenyon, who suffered chronic depression, and who died of leukemia at age 48: “Yes, there are things in life that we must endure that are all but unendurable, and yet I feel that there is a great goodness. Why, when there could have been nothing, is there something? How, when there could have been nothing, does it happen that there is love, kindness, beauty?” (program note by the composer) *********************** Ed Huckeby recently retired as Professor of Music and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Northeastern State University-Broken Arrow where he served as the chief academic administrator for the campus. Prior to that appointment, he was an arts administrator for Tulsa Ballet Theatre, Inc, directing the general operations of Oklahoma’s premier international ballet company. He also holds the title of emeritus professor of music at Northwestern Oklahoma State University where he served for over two decades as Music Department Chairman and Dean of the Graduate School. Prior to his appointment at Northwestern in 1976, Huckeby spent eight years teaching instrumental music in the public schools of Oklahoma where his marching, concert and jazz bands won state and regional acclaim. His success in the public schools led him into the college teaching ranks where he became internationally recognized as an outstanding music educator and composer of over 160 published works for concert and marching band. Ed’s ability to write interesting and accessible instrumental music can be attributed to his experience at a variety of musical levels. Huckeby’s performance background and experience is very eclectic, having been a member of a symphony orchestra (horn), a jazz band (trumpet), and a contemporary Christian quintet (bass guitar and vocals), as well as having served regularly as a church organist and pianist. His outstanding contributions to the concert and marching band literature have played an important role in the development of the contemporary band repertoire. Ed holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, a master’s degree in music education from the University of Oklahoma, and a doctorate in administration from Oklahoma State University with additional study at the University of North Texas. He has written music education articles for The Instrumentalist, The American Music Teacher, and The Journal of the International Horn Society, and has held memberships in Music Educators National Conference, Oklahoma Music Educators Association, Oklahoma Bandmasters Association, ASCAP, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Phi Beta Mu, where he served as a member of the national board of directors and state chapter president. Huckeby was selected as an “Outstanding Young Man in America,” is listed in the “International Who’s Who in Music,” and was inducted into the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association “Hall of Fame” in 1996. He has created over 45 commissioned works and regularly serves as a clinician, adjudicator and conductor for instrumental ensembles around the world. SYMPHONY OF LIGHT is a symphonic suite which celebrates the “Symphony of Light” which is present in our everyday surroundings…the brilliant and colorful rays of sunshine, the artificial glow of fluorescent and neon lights, the beautiful reflections of light on water, the effervescent flicker of the “lightening bug,” the subtle shades of the moon…all of which create a cacophony of light imagery in our minds. In this suite, the composer conveys, through various melodic, harmonic and thematic materials, the contrasting moods and images reflected in the titles of the composition’s five movements. I. DAYBREAK is a musical reflection of the light seen at the birth of each morning, capturing that moment when the sun rises over the eastern horizon…the initial serenity…followed by the ebb and flow of a typically chaotic morning mixed with hectic activity and moments of quiet repose. Quartal harmonies and exploration of the minor second and augmented fourth characterize the energetic “tension” of the A section, with a bit of aural relief found in the more traditional harmonies and melodic lines of the middle section of the piece. II. REFLECTIONS: FIRE IN THE SKY captures the incredibly colorful reflections of clouds on a beautiful body of water as the sun sets in the west…with trees and landscape images inverted on the water near the concentric circles created by fish and fowl. III. FIREFLIES are unique creatures which create a spectacular cacophony of stimulating visual imagery, typically in the early evening hours. Their energy and unique presence are musically represented in a somewhat light- hearted, humorous and “pointillistic” fashion intertwined with a Brubeck- like jazz waltz. IV. DARK SIDE OF THE MOON represents man’s mysterious fascination with the essence of darkness…cold…void. In reality, the “dark side of the moon” can be more accurately described as the “far side of the moon” because there actually IS a normal cycle of light and darkness which is just not visible from earth. This mysterious, hidden side of the moon, which was first photographed via space exploration in the 1960’s, provides a dramatic backdrop for the unique harmonic and melodic scheme presented. V. NEON is an energetic musical representation of the hustle and bustle of nightlife on a busy street in metropolis…with magnificent colors and unique shapes overpowering the streetscape as the city takes on a beautiful electric glow. *********************** Illumination – lighting up, bringing light. I am especially interested in composing music for young people that allows them a vibrant experience of their own creative energy. A powerful experience of this sort stays in the heart and mind as a channel for creative energy, no matter what the life path. Music shared in community brings this vital force to everyone. Illumination is an open and cheerful piece in a quick tempo, with a very direct A-B-A song form. (program note by the composer) SYMPHONIC BAND PERSONNEL FLUTES Kyla Christie Kayla Factor (piccolo) Kieran Sowerby OBOE Dr. Robin Sweeden# CLARINETS Barbara Atkinson* Hannah Donwell* Rachel Harris Lisa Kachouee* Ashlyn Karguth* Stephen Keck* Jessica Longley* Julie Pekrul* Corey Perron* Deanna Roark* Samuel Skinner-Noble Jalon Thomas Kellie Turner* Brasen Walker* Tasmin Williams* Karly Van Kley* Andrew Ybarra* Lukas Zupan* BASS CLARINETS Eli Hellstern (Eb Contra-alto)* Kristen Kirch* Gianna Lanno Bob Qualls* Tom Rye (Bb Contra-bass)* SAXOPHONES Teddy Eastman (alto) Devin Erwin-Acker (tenor) Jeron Fishburn (bari) Camryn Lagaly (alto) Trey Pomeroy (alto) Brandon Stewart (tenor) HORNS Jessie Blomgren Melissa DeLeon Julia Page Iriana Phipps Derek Stills TRUMPETS Clinton Carr Trevor Chandler Derrek Franklin Edgar Jimenez Tyson Lords TROMBONES Collin Garrett Ellen Kreeger Jose Melendez EUPHONIUMS Matthew Cardwell Hayden Turner TUBAS Will Cagle Caleb Coder James Higgins Cliff Muchunguzi STRING BASS Dr. Michael Geib# PERCUSSION Jonathan Haywood Jimmy Miller Trey Brabham Jessie Blomgren^ Camryn Lagaly^ Brandon Stewart^ PIANO Hwaju Lee# Nuoqi You+ * denotes UCO Clarinet Choir # denotes UCO Faculty/Guest Artist + denotes UCO Student/Guest Artist ^ SB Wind Player doubling Percussion CONDUCTOR BIO Brian Lamb has served as the Director of Bands at the University of Central Oklahoma since 2001. He conducts the Wind Symphony, The Symphonic Band, and the Marching Band, and teaches conducting and instrumental courses, and he guides all aspects of the UCO band program. Dr. Lamb made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2005, performing with UCO friend and colleague Tess Remy in the Weill Recital Hall. In 2006, Lamb and the UCO Wind Symphony performed for a full house in the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. The UCO Wind Symphony, with Lamb as conductor, has garnered international attention and acclaim from audiences, composers, and critics alike for outstanding and creative performances and for playing an active role in commissioning projects and consortiums, including work with Carter Pann, David Maslanka, Carolyn Bremer, Richard Danielpour, Michael Daugherty, Michael Colgrass, Samuel Magrill, and others. Lamb received his bachelor’s degree in music education from Baylor University, a master’s degree in trumpet performance and literature from the University of Notre Dame, and the doctor of musical arts degree in conducting from the University of North Texas. He has been fortunate to study with many outstanding musical mentors, including Eugene Corporon, Michael Haithcock, Gary Sousa, Larry Rachleff, Alan McMurray, Jack Stamp, Dennis Fisher, John Haynie, Barry Hopper, and William Scarlett. Prior to his UCO appointment, Dr. Lamb served as Director of Instrumental Studies at Southwest Baptist University and as director of bands and chairman of the fine arts department at James Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas. Still active as a trumpet performer, Dr. Lamb plays in the Redbud Brass Quintet, the UCO Faculty Brass Quintet. Dr. Lamb is active as a clinician and guest conductor all over the world, and his groups have received acclaim for performances at regional, state and national conventions. In his 22-year tenure at UCO, the Wind Symphony has been selected to perform at three College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Regional Conventions, and they have been the collegiate honor band at six Oklahoma Music Educators Association (OkMEA) conventions. Under Lamb’s baton, the UCO Wind Symphony has released 5 CDs on the prestigious Equilibrium label, which are available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, CDBaby, and all other relevant streaming services. He has contributed several published works to various journals and textbooks, and he is the author of “Music is Magic,” a children’s radio program that aired on KUCO-90.1 FM. He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society, the College Band Directors National Association, Oklahoma Music Educators Association, The National Association for Music Education, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He was honored as a Friend of the Arts by Sigma Alpha Iota, he is an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi, the national band service fraternity, and he was recently inducted into the Oklahoma chapter of Phi Beta Mu, the international band directors’ fraternity. Special Thanks to the Following: Mrs. Jenny Rucker and the UCO Clarinet Choir Winds and Percussion Applied Faculty Dr. Michael Geib, String Bass Hwaju Lee, piano Mr. Bill Repavich, Percussion Coordinator UCO Percussion Students, Equipment Move Dr. Rob Glaubitz, Director of the School of Music Scott Hale, Ange Olmstead, Lauren Burk, and the CFAD Marketing Team Mitchell Hall Theatre Staff Janna Montgomery and UCOSA/SAF Music Festival Support