The Program and Performer's Notes

Palmetto Suite (2004) by Eric Ewazen (b. 1954)
I. Wild Dunes
II. Lowcountry Sweetgrass
III. Isle of Palms

Sonata for Trombone and Piano (1986) by David Ott (b. 1947)
I. Allegro
II. Quarter note =76
III. Andante cantabile
IV. Driving, relentless

INTERMISSION

Sonata for Trombone and Piano by Alec Wilder (1907-1980)
I. Moderato
II. Andante cantabile
III. Allegro guisto
IV. Allegro comodo
V. Grandioso

Chamber Music III (1972) by Robert Suderburg (b. 1936)
I. cry, man
II. it’s been a long, long time
III. brother Devil


Notes

Eric Ewazen offers the following about Palmetto Suite:

"Palmetto Suite is gratefully dedicated to my friend Ronald Barron (Principal Trombone, Boston Symphony) whom I have known for several years. He has recorded, conducted and performed various pieces of mine-so it was with great enthusiasm that I accepted his commission for a new piece for alto trombone-the first work I have written expressly for this instrument.

The alto trombone, with its wonderfully rich colors is an instrument that composers can write for with great expressivity. This piece was inspired by a visit I made to the coastal region of Charleston, South Carolina in the spring of 2004. A long time friend of mine, Ann Stephens, was holding a celebration for her mother's 80th birthday and she gathered together friends who were living throughout the United States to come to this very special area. We were all amazed by the beauty, gracefulness, and charm of the Lowcountry of South Carolina, with its dramatic seashore, its historical architecture and its spectacular flora. Palmetto Suite is a description of this very beautiful part of the country. One windy night, walking along the coast's sand dunes, I walked right up to the ocean, and was so taken with inexorable pounding of the waves. It was energetic, almost rhythmic, and somewhat exhilarating.

The first movement, "Wild Dunes" describes this wonderful scene. The second movement, "Lowcountry Sweetgrass" is influenced by the centuries-old African-American art form of the woven sweeetgrass baskets that one sees throughout the islands near Charleston. They are sold outside at these very picturesque markets- and the fragrant smell of the sweet grass-gentle, aromatic- becomes almost intoxicating. This movement has the sound of an old time blues harmony and rhythm to convey this image of traditional Americana. The final movement, "The Isle of Palms," depicts the large, graceful, and impressive Palmetto trees, standing majestically with the clear blue sky as a backdrop. The music is full and rich-describing the sensation one feels when one sees such impressive trees. A final reflection of the nearby coastal waves brings the piece to a close."

David Ott is one of America's most sought-after and critically acclaimed symphonic composers. He earned graduate degrees from the University of Indiana and the University of Kentucky, and has served on the faculties of Houghton College, Pfeiffer College, and DePauw University. In 1991 he was named Composer-in-Residence of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, a position he held until 1997. His catalog includes four symphonies, fifteen concerti, numerous overtures, fanfares and ceremonial music, film scores, and a host of chamber pieces.

David Manson, instructor of trombone at Indiana State University during the 1980’s, commissioned David Ott’s Sonata for Trombone and Piano. The piano is an equal partner to the trombone in Ott’s sonata. The four movements range in style from agitated to melancholy, while the second movement employs the use of sympathetic vibrations inside the piano.

Alec Wilder, a Rochester, New York native, studied briefly at the Eastman School of Music, but was largely self-taught as a composer. His primary residence during his adulthood was the Algonquin Hotel in New York City, though he traveled extensively during his lifetime. Aside from his many compositions for obscure instruments such as the euphonium and marimba, Wilder is primarily remembered for his contributions to American popular song. The following excerpts from Alec Wilder-An Introduction to the Man and His Music, published by Margun Music, perhaps best describe Alec Wilder's music:

"Alec Wilder's music is a unique blend of American musical traditions-among them, jazz and the American popular song-the basic 'classical' European forms and techniques. As such it fiercely resists all labeling. Although it often pained Alec that his music was not more widely accepted by either jazz or classical performers, undeterred he wrote a great deal of music of remarkable originality in many forms: sonatas, suites, concertos, operas, ballets, art songs, woodwind quintets, brass quintets, jazz suites- and hundreds of popular songs…"

"Wilder, at his best, represents a fascinating amalgam of three quite different composer-archetypes, here all rolled into one: Gershwin, Poulenc, Villa-Lobos. In its baldest outlines, Wilder's oeuvre is unusually diverse and characteristically American, a synthesis of the brilliant song writer (Gershwin); the not-too-intellectual, traditional and determinedly conservative composer of easily accessible American-style Gebrauchsmusik, making use of popular and jazz elements as a matter of course (Poulenc); and a sometimes uncritical, too-casual writer who writes too much too easily-like Shakespeare's old bromide about loving too well but not wisely. (Villa-Lobos)….

"…What those who knew him well respected in Alec Wilder was his absolute independence and incorruptible aesthetic integrity as an artist. For years Alec wrote music of taste and quality with that personal melodic touch that was all his own, unaffected by musical fashion or fads, and never accepting any form of remuneration…It was almost a mission in Alec's life to assuage the thirst for good music for the so-called underdog instruments: bass, tuba, euphonium horn, marimba, etc. Alec was truly the musician's friend-an American original."

Alec Wilder's Sonata for Trombone and Piano was written for John Swallow, a founding member of the New York Brass Quintet, longtime faculty member of the Yale School of Music, and an important figure in the contemporary music scene of New York City for many years. This work made up the entire first side of Swallow's solo trombone long play recording from the 1950's, the first such trombone recording of its kind.

Night Set for Trombone and Piano was commissioned by the trombonist Stuart Dempster and premiered by Dempster and Robert Suderburg in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1972. The work is dedicated to the composer's jazz-trombonist father with the following note:

"Being the son of a jazz and club trombonist, one recalls a childhood filled with the coming and going of all types of musicians at all varieties of hour. Most of all, however, it guaranteed that the instrument itself and the way R.A. Suderburg played it would produce sound and sight images never to be forgotten. Thus, when commissioned by Stuart Dempster for a Night Set for trombone, the musical occasion was offered to let out those hot-licks and sliding-styles which were the jazz trombonist's stock and trade during the thirties and forties as he wandered from indoor dance hall to outdoor bandstand and from club date to stage show. Hopefully, nurtured by Dempster's unique performance art, these styles and scenes can live again in NIGHT SET, fusing memory with bit-of-the-devil and sweetness with satire. Thus the work is dedicated to my father who-along with Stuart Dempster-should take a bow, at least for those portions of the work which may please or amuse."


Performer biographies

Jay Crone, associate professor of music, is in his fourteenth year as professor of low brass at Virginia Tech. Originally from California, Crone received degrees from the University of Southern California, the Yale School of Music, and California State University at Fresno. In addition to his duties as professor of trombone, euphonium and tuba, Crone was the assistant director of Virginia Tech's marching band, the Marching Virginians for ten years. Currently, Mr. Crone is the Head of the Department of Music at Virginia Tech.

Mr. Crone has performed on trombone and euphonium with many symphony orchestras and bands throughout the United States, including the Fresno Philharmonic, the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and Opera Roanoke. During the summers he performs with the orchestras of the Wintergreen Performing Arts Festival and the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival.

As a trombone and euphonium soloist Crone has appeared with the University of Southern California Symphonic Winds, CSU Fresno Wind Ensemble, the Virginia Wind Symphony, Virginia Tech Symphonic Wind Ensemble, CSU Humboldt Wind Ensemble, Virginia Tech Wind Symphony, and the West Georgia State University Wind Ensemble. Crone also performs with Virginia Tech's Faculty Brass Trio, and is a founding member of the Appalachian Trombone Quartet. In June of 2006 he premiered Dr. James Sochinski’s Fantasie-Variations on a Dowland Ayre for trombone and band with the CSU Fresno Alumni Wind Ensemble during their tour of England under the direction of Dr. Lawrence Sutherland.

A unique aspect of Mr. Crone's musical career has been his dual role as both trombonist and pianist. He has been a collaborative pianist in voice and instrumental recitals throughout the United States, most recently performing Eric Ewazen’s Palmetto Suite for Alto Trombone and Piano with Ronald Barron of the Boston Symphony. Before coming to Virginia Tech Crone was a visiting assistant professor of music at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California.

Tracy Cowden joined the music department faculty at Virginia Tech as Assistant Professor of Piano and Vocal Coach in 2004. She received the D.M.A. and M.M. degrees in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music, and a B.M. degree in Piano Performance from Western Michigan University.

As a collaborative pianist, Tracy has performed with the Cavani Quartet, the Audubon Quartet, and the Marble Cliff Chamber Players, and in recitals with principal musicians from the Montreal, Vancouver, Boston, and Columbus symphony orchestras. She has been featured as a concerto soloist with the Central Ohio Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Southwest Virginia, the Ohio Wesleyan University Chamber Orchestra, and the Virginia Tech Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

Tracy has presented lectures on the art of collaborative piano in Ohio, Michigan, and Virginia, and she was selected to present at the College Music Society National Conference in Québec City and at the Music Teachers National Association National Conferences in Seattle, Washington (2005) and Austin, Texas (2006).

In collaboration with Dr. Nancy Gamso from Ohio Wesleyan University, Tracy released a CD entitled “With Blackwood and Silver,” which features modern duo repertoire for flute with piano and clarinet with piano. She also can be heard with the Eastman Wind Ensemble in its 50th anniversary recording, released in 2002.

Tracy has previously served as a faculty member at Ohio Wesleyan University, and as an adjunct faculty member at Kalamazoo College and Hope College in western Michigan. Her principal teachers have included Jean Barr, Douglas Humpherys, Fernando Laires, Phyllis Rappeport, and Marilyn Sluka.