The University of Southern Mississippi Concert Band A - The University of ...

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The University of Southern Mississippi
       College of Arts and Sciences
             School of Music
                  presents

 The University of
Southern Mississippi
  Concert Band A
     Dr. Travis K. Higa, conductor
  Kayla B. Moyers, graduate conductor

   Mannoni Performing Arts Center
      Monday, April 19, 2021
              8:00pm
         LIVE STREAM LINK
University Bands
The University of Southern Mississippi Band Program had its inception in 1920 with the founding
of the first aggregation of winds, mainly a brass ensemble for students who were training as
teachers. Its current enrollment of approximately 300 students includes members from every
possible area of study in the university. While it is primarily housed in the School of Music, the
Band Program truly is the University’s program.

There are six segments of the program that include the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Winds,
Concert Bands, University Band, the Basketball Pep Band, and “The Pride of Mississippi”
Marching Band with an enrollment of 300 students. Each of these organizations, while having its
own distinct history, stem from the success of the Marching Band that began in the 1950s with
the hiring of Dr. Raymond Mannoni.

Each of the Band Program’s concert ensembles has its place in the education of our music
majors; however, the ensembles have also provided an outlet for students throughout the
University during both the first and second semesters. Just as the Marching Band provides a
service for football experiences, these other ensembles provide academic, recruitment, and
community services. The Wind Ensemble and the Symphonic Winds have performed for the
Mississippi Bandmasters Association state convention six times. All of the groups have provided
enhancement to community projects that include numerous appearances for various citywide
events.

As a Mississippi product, the Wind Ensemble has been featured on numerous radio broadcasts
from Public Radio Mississippi and has been the only Mississippi group that can boast of having
been aired nationally on Public Radio International’s “Performance Today.” CD’s are produced
annually to feature the bands’ musicians and are provided to recruits and Mississippi band
programs as a service.
Concert Program
                                      Concert Band A

Discover the Wild (2008/2010)                                                          Kenneth Fuchs (b. 1956)

Chasing Sunlight (2017)                                                                Cait Nishimura (b. 1991)

                                   Kayla B. Moyers, graduate conductor*

Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company March (1924)                          John Philip Sousa (1854 - 1932)

This Cruel Moon (2017)                                                                     John Mackey (b. 1973)

Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light (1641)                          Johann Schop/J.S. Bach (1590-1667)

Luminescence (2009)                                                             David Biedenbender (b. 1984)

Danse Diabolique (1900/2003)                                              Joseph Hellmesberger (1855-1907)

                          *In partial fulfillment of the M.M. in conducting requirements
Concert Band A Personnel
Piccolo                                       French Horn
CC Raborn, B.M.E.; Tylertown, MS              Dakota Ray Andrews, B.M.E.; Richland, MS
                                              Benjamin Brunetz, B.A.; Madison, MS
Flute                                         Caleb Willis, B.M.; Napoleonville, LA
CC Raborn, B.M.E.; Tylertown, MS              Riley Bass, B.S.; Clinton, MS
Sophie Unson, B.S.B.A.; Gulfport, MS
Chloe Hennes, B.M.E.; Poplarville, MS         Trumpet
                                              Ray D. Rivero, B.M.E.; Poplarville, MS
Oboe                                          Maggie Frisancho, B.M.E.; Gulfport, MS
Nathaly Pagoaga, B.A.; Plant City, FL         Sarah Tackitt, B.M.E.; Ridgeland, MS
Erin Nolan, B.M.E.; Pace, FL                  Steven Warran, B.M.E.; Kiln, MS
Mary Case, B.A.; Fairhope, AL                 Jacob Delarosa, B.M.E.; Mobile, AL

English Horn                                  Trombone
Erin Nolan, B.M.E.; Pace, FL                  Jessica Coates, B.M.E.; Ocean Springs, MS
                                              Griffin Wilson, B.M.E.; Brandon, MS
Bassoon
Natalie Hodge, B.S.; Ocean Springs, MS        Bass Trombone
Grace Andersen, B.A.; Bloomfield, NM          Richard A. Salter, B.A.; Milton, FL

Bb Clarinet                                   Euphonium
Sarah Johnson, B.M.E.; Saltillo, MS           Damien Cooper, B.S.; Batesville, MS
Rebekah Russell, B.M.; Mandeville, LA         Hayden Barlow, B.A.; Hattiesburg, MS
Jasmine McDonald, B.M.E.; Union, MS
Sadie Pitre, B.M.; Poplarville, MS            Tuba
                                              Timothy A. Smith, B.A.; Hattiesburg, MS
Bass Clarinet                                 Corbin Bishop, B.M.E.; Bakersfield, CA
Ethan LaRoux, B.S.; Huntsville, AL
                                              Percussion
Alto Saxophone                                Spencer Davis, B.M.E.; Summit, MS
Emmanuel Carney, B.M.E.; Ripley, TN           Dalton Page, B.M.E.; Laurel, MS
Alex Jacobs, B.A.; Mobile, AL                 KJ Walker, B.M.E.; Shreveport, LA
                                              Meliza Reyes, B.M.; Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Tenor Saxophone                               Jeff Prosperie Jr., B.M.E.; West Point, NY
Ally Capone, B.M.E.; Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Baritone Saxophone
Grayson McGoogan, B.M.E.; Mobile, AL
Notes
(1) Kenneth Fuchs:
Discover the Wild

Bentley Shellahamer, distinguished music educator and professor at Florida State University, was
one of the most influential people in my formative years as a musician. As director of the band
program at Piper High School, in Sunrise, Florida, in the 1970s, he taught me music theory and
history and encouraged me to compose music. He performed all of the apprentice works I wrote
for the band. By the time I graduated from Piper High School in 1974, I was very well prepared to
pursue undergraduate studies in musical composition at the University of Miami School of Music.

Dr. Shellahamer asked that I reconcile my 2008 orchestral work Discover the Wild for wind
band, and he included it on a concert of my band music with Tallahassee Winds in October 2010.

Discover the Wild is cast in the form of a three-part overture. The principal musical elements of
the composition include a motive based upon the interval of the perfect fourth robustly stated in
unison at the outset by four French horns. A lyrical theme follows, characterized by the interval
of the perfect fifth. These musical elements are taken up in various melodic and harmonic
combinations by the entire band and form the basis for musical development throughout the
remainder of the composition.
                                                                       Note from Kenneth Fuchs

(2) Cait Nishimura:
Chasing Sunlight

Chasing Sunlight was inspired by the experience of driving west into the setting sun, as if trying
to keep up with the earth’s rotation to catch the last few rays of light before dusk. The steady
eighth note motif throughout the piece represents this sense of urgency, while the soaring, lyrical
themes depict the warmth and radiance of the sun low in the sky.

Just as the sun will aways set, humans must accept the impermanence of all things in life, and
make the most of every opportunity before it has passed. Chasing Sunlight also represents the
ongoing pursuit of these opportunities.

                                                                              Note from the score
Notes
(3) John Philip Sousa:
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company March

“I have always found a great deal of inspiration in these old songs…We cannot improve simple
straightforward melodies, but we can give them a more adequate, full-throated expression…”
Sousa made this statement to a newspaper reporter in discussing the new march he had just built
around “Auld Lang Syne.”

“Auld Lang Syne” happened to be the marching song of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery
Company of Boston, the oldest military organization in the United States. When the Sousa Band
visited Boston in 1023, a delegation from the "Ancients" requested that Sousa compose a march
incorporating the song so dear to them. He gave them his word. Formal solicitation by Governor
Cox of Massachusetts and the commander of the company, Capt. Clarence J. McKenzie, followed
shortly.

The Sousa Band’s strenuous thirty-second annual tour lay ahead of Sousa, but he wasted no time
in penning the new march when the tour ended, and it was promptly published. Ancient and
Honorable Artillery Company was the featured march of the next tour, and a formal
presentation was made to the “Ancients” at Symphony Hall in Boston on September 21, 1924.

                                                                           Note from the score
Notes
(4) John Mackey:
This Cruel Moon

This piece is an adaptation of the middle movement of “Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Band.”
The full symphony tells the tale of Odysseus and his journey home following his victory in the
Trojan War. But Odysseus’ journey would take as long as the war itself. Homer called the ocean
on which Odysseus sailed a wine-dark sea, and for the Greek king it was as murky and
disorienting as its name; he would not find his way across it without first losing himself.

This Cruel Moon is the song of the beautiful and immortal nymph Kalypso, who finds
Odysseus near death, washed up on the shore of the island where she lives all alone. She nurses
him back to health, and sings as she moves back and forth with a golden shuttle at her loom.
Odysseus shares her bed; seven years pass. The tapestry she began when she nursed him becomes
a record of their love.

But one day Odysseus remembers his home. He tells Kalypso he wants to leave her, to return to
his wife and son. He scoffs at all she has given him. Kalypso is heartbroken.

And yet, that night, Kalypso again paces at her loom. She unravels her tapestry and weaves it into
a sail for Odysseus. In the morning, she shows Odysseus a raft, equipped with the sail she has
made and stocked with bread and wine, and calls up a gentle and steady wind to carry him home.
Shattered, she watches him go; he does not look back.
                                                                             Note from the score
Notes
(5) Johann Schop/J.S. Bach:
Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light

Originally published in 1641, this melody was composed by Johann Schop (1590-1664). J.S. Bach
later harmonized the melody in several different settings, most famously in his Christmas Oratorio
(1737). The accompanying German text is listed below with English translation.

    Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht,            Break forth, O beauteous heav'nly light,
    Und laß den Himmel tagen!                   And usher in the morning;
    Du Hirtenvolk, erschrecke nicht             Ye shepherds, shrink not with affright,
    Weil dir die Engel sagen,                   But hear the angel's warning.
    Daß dieses schwache Knäbelein               This child, now weak in infancy,
    Soll unser Trost und Freude sein.           Our confidence and joy shall be,
    Dazu den Satin zwingen                      The power of Satan breaking,
    Und letzlich Frieden bringen.               Our peace eternal maling.

                                                                Note compiled from Kayla Moyers

(6) David Biedenbender:
Luminescence

Luminescence is based on fragments from the melody Ermuntre dich, main schwacher Geist (Rouse
thyself, my weak, spirit), which was written by Johann School and subsequently harmonized in
several settings by Johann Sebastian Bach. It’s commonly known as the Christian hymn, Break
Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light.

A wind arrangement of the original Bach harmonization is available upon request. It may enrich
the overall musical experience both for the ensemble and for the audience to hear the original
chorale before the piece is played.

                                                                               Note from the score
Notes
(7) Joseph Hellmesberger:
Danse Diabolique

Joseph Hellmesberger was born into a Viennese musical family. His grandfather was the first
concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic, and his father was a famous violinist as well as a
conductor and composer. Hellmesberger started out as a virtuoso violinist and later became a
well-known conductor; he was appointed musical director of the Vienna Philharmonic.

Hellmesberger wrote a variety of dances, including Danse Diabolique. This piece was beautifully
performed by the Vienna Philharmonic at the New Year’s Concert of 2002, conducted by Seiji
Ozawa. It is an exciting piece with an energetic waltz at its height. The Phrygian mode (D-Eb-F-
G-A-Bb-C) results in a diabolic atmosphere.

                                                                           Note from the score
Faculty/Staff
                                               School of Music
                                            Dr. Jay Dean, Director
                                     Dr. Douglas Rust, Associate Director
                                     Dr. Richard Perry, Associate Director

                                    University Bands
                         Dr. Catherine Rand, Director of Bands
Dr. Colin McKenzie, Associate Director of Bands; Director, The Pride of Mississippi
Dr. Travis Higa, Assistant Director of Bands, Associate Director, The Pride of Mississippi
                  Mr. Lawrence M. Panella, Director of Jazz Studies
                  Mrs. Michelle Chandler, Administrative Specialist

                                 Woodwind, Brass, and Percussion Division
                                        Dr. Danilo Mezzadri, flute
                                         Dr. Galit Kaunitz, oboe
                                       Dr. Jackie McIlwain, clarinet
                                        Dr. Kim Woolly, bassoon
                                    Dr. Dannel Espinoza, saxophone
                                       Dr. Timothy J. Tesh, trumpet
                                       Dr. Jacquelyn Adams, horn
                                       Dr. Ben McIlwain, trombone
                                   Dr. Richard Perry, euphonium/tuba
                                       Dr. John Wooton, percussion

                                     University Bands Graduate Assistants
                                           James Fair, D.M.A. Tuba
                                       Caleb Guilbeau, M.M. Trumpet
                                       Kayla Moyers, M.M. Conducting
                                    Lindsay Sandberg, D.M.A. Conducting
                                     Nathan Sanders, D.M.A. Percussion
                                        Adam Stallings, M.M. Clarinet
                                    Justin Swearinger, D.M.A. Conducting
 We hope that you will consider making a donation in support of The University of Southern Mississippi Bands. Each dollar you
donate will be used to support programs which will enrich student experiences in the University Bands. If this interests you, please
                                               contribute to the following fund:

                                     0046 - Pride of Mississippi and Dixie Darling Development Fund

                     Thank you for your continued support of The University of Southern Mississippi Bands!
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