Symphonic Band’s Promise of Star Wars

If the blockbuster movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens got you nostalgic (or curious) about the Star Wars that started it all, you’re in luck. The HSU Symphonic Band performs the original Star Wars Suite, plus a world premiere by HSU composer Brian Post, Copland’s “Promise of Living” and a trombone piece featuring student Craig Hull, on Friday April 29 in Fulkerson Recital Hall.

Symphonic Band played two movements from John Williams’ Star Wars Suite in December, before “The Force Awakens” was released. Now old and new fans can enjoy the entire suite, based on music from the first trilogy.

 “This is not your average high school band Star Wars arrangement,” said Symphonic Band director Paul Cummings. “This suite is at least 20 minutes of substantial music, and the hardest by far for band. It calls for a number of unusual instruments. But when you hear music from the suite, you appreciate the genius of composer John Williams in a way that the movie soundtracks don’t quite deliver.”

The concert also includes the world premiere of Textures, a two-movement work by HSU composition professor Brian Post, and the first movement of the Trombone Concerto by Danish composer Launy Grondahl that features HSU student trombonist Craig Hull as soloist. “This is an excellent piece,” said Cummings, “and one of the best in the repertoire for trombone.” 

 On the program is “The Promise of Living” by Aaron Copland, taken from his only full-length opera, The Tender Land. “It’s beautiful music that’s not known very well because Copland is just not known for opera. Though this is tuneful, it’s not typical Copland—it’s a slow, reflective piece, beautifully scored for band, including some very nice passages for the English horn.” 

 The Symphonic Band also performs several movements from the Suite Francais by Darius Milhaud and Lincolnshire Posy by Percy Grainger. 

The HSU Symphonic Band performs on Friday April 29 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8, $5 seniors and children, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door.  Directed by Paul Cummings, produced by HSU Music department.

Three Ensembles Evoke the 19th Century in “Alcatraz Brass Plus” 

 Two brass quintets play 19th century works on period instruments, and join in a grand finale performing a Eureka-made march with the Humboldt Bay Brass Band in the “Alcatraz Brass Plus” concert on Saturday April 23 at Fulkerson Recital Hall. 

 A quintet from Sacramento, the 5th California Volunteer Infantry Regiment Band, specializes in 19th century brass band music. At Alcatraz Island, they recently reenacted a performance of a military band based in San Francisco in the 1800s. As guest performers for this concert, they play 19th century works with a California flavor, including “Crossing the Grand Sierras,” “Pacific Rail Road Polka” and “Banks of the Sacramento.” 

 The brass project for HSU students this semester is the 19th Century Quintet, which also performs on period instruments. This group plays works by 19th century German composer Ludwig Maurer and Russian composer Victor Ewald. “This music is ‘symphonic’ in tones, and chamber music in setting,” said HSU brass professor Gilbert Cline.

 The two quintets combine for two famous 19th century works, Stephen Foster’s “Maggie By My Side” and “Hail, Columbia” which for much of the 19th century functioned as the American national anthem. 

 They are joined by the entire Humboldt Bay Brass Band for a Humboldt County finale: “Sequoia Carnival March,” composed in 1895 for a summer festival in Eureka. “This one is part John Philip Sousa, and part Scott Joplin,” Cline said.

 “Alcatraz Brass Plus” is performed on Saturday April 23 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8, $5 seniors and children, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. Produced by HSU Music department.

Alcatraz Brass Plus: The Program

5th California Volunteer Infantry Regiment Band

Banks of the Sacramento based on Stephen Foster
 Arranged by Conrad Ray Hicks and John Moore Jr.

 Banner Of the Sea by G. Hewitt
 Crossing the Grand Sierra’s by Henry Clay Work
 Adapted by John Moore Jr.

Pacific Rail Road Polka arranged by Ken Brungess
 Edited by John Moore Jr.

Santa Anna’s Retreat from Buena Vista by Stephen C Foster (1848)
 Edited by John Moore Jr.

 Overture to “Patience” (or “Bunthorne’s Bride”) Sir Arthur Sullivan 1881 Arranged by John Moore Jr.

HSU 19th Century Quintet 

 Suite (1881) by  Ludwig Maurer (1789-1878)

 Quintet by Viktor Ewald (1860-1935)

 The HSU 19th Century Quintet is using historic brass instruments (all from the Cline collection) : ca. 1865 E-flat rotary valve soprano cornet (US) ca. 1895 B-flat rotary valve mezzo cornet (Germany) ca. 1885 E-flat rotary valve alto horn (US) ca. 1895 B-flat piston valve baritone horn (France) ca. 1896 E-flat piston valve bass horn (England) (and also, for the Ewald, a B-flat rotary valve mezzo cornet of my own construction, affectionately called "The FrankenCline Trumpet" because of all the parts I took from older, out-of-service trumpets ! )

Both Quintets

"Maggie By My Side" by Stephen Foster
"Hail, Columbia": music by Philip Phile, lyrics by Joseph Hopkinson

Both Quintets with Humboldt Bay Brass Band

Sequoia Carnival March

HSU Composition Studio at Morris Graves

As part of the Constellation Series, students and faculty of the HSU Composition Studio will perform on Saturday April 23 at 8 p.m. at the Morris Graves Museum.

They will perform original minimalist works as well as the classic minimalist composition "In C" by Terry Riley.

 "At times performers will be located in different parts of the museum while performing at the same time. Four of the pieces performed will be collaborative compositions written by everyone in the studio. Improvisation will be an important element of all of the pieces being given throughout the evening. The goal of each piece will be to spontaneously create a musical and electronic soundscape through the use of pre-composed and improvised material."

For more information, follow this link to Humboldt State Now.

Percussion Rhythms from Bali, Africa and Cuba at HSU

 Three HSU percussion groups lead a rhythmic tour from Bali to West Africa and the Cuban Carnival in their shared concert on Sunday April 17 in Fulkerson Recital Hall. 

 The Percussion Ensemble performs “Ketjak,” a contemporary work by Japanese composer Akira Nishimura, based on the Balinese Monkey Chant that traditionally accompanies enactment of the Sanskrit epic story, the Ramayana. Seven percussionists play multiple instruments, including two sets of tubular bells.

 “This virtuosic piece captures the deep emotion of the Monkey Chant in a dramatic percussive orchestration that pushes the seven-player ensemble to the limits of their technique and musicality,” said Ensemble director Eugene Novotney. 

 Then the HSU West African Ensemble performs a suite of traditional Mandeng drumming using all indigenous instruments, including djembe, dundun and balafon.

 Finally, the World Percussion Group presents the driving beat of “Conga Mozambique,” an arrangement of Afro-Cuban Comparsa music. A horn section playing traditional melodies adds to the authentic Cuban Carnival sound.

 The HSU Percussion Ensemble, West African Ensemble and World Percussion Group perform on Sunday April 17 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8, $5 seniors and children, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door.  Directed by Eugene Novotney, Howard Kaufman and Joe Bishop. Produced by HSU Music department.

Jazz Combos: From Winter in Arcata to the Sunny Side of the Street 

Four bands playing jazz classics, newer jazz and HSU originals perform in the HSU Jazz Combos concert on Friday April 8 in Fulkerson Recital Hall. 

The band Trumpet Pancake features two of the more renowned HSU horn players, Andrew Henderson (trumpet) and Craig Hull (trombone), plus David Semon (guitar), Eric Simpson (bass) and Jacob Partida (drums.) They play tunes by Portland-born jazz star Esperanza Spalding and the fusion band Snarky Puppy as well as a David Semon original entitled “Winter in Arcata.” 

 A medley about sunshine that includes the classic “Sunny Side of the Street” highlights the 2:00 Band set. Their other tunes are “Nature Boy,” the 1940s standard by hippie pioneer Eden Ahbez, and “So Beautiful” by singer-songwriter Musiq Soulchild. Alan Spencer plays tenor sax, Leo Plummer plays guitar, Jared Margen is on bass and Eric Tolfa on drums. 

 Old Hat performs originals by its bassist Ryan Woempner and HSU student Aaron Katz as well as Chick Corea’s “Spain” and a tune composed in 1917 by big band progenitor Art Hickman. Besides Woempner, the band features Kyle McInnis on saxophones, Jake Burns on guitar and Wes Singleton on drums.

 Hindsight Bias plays “Peace” by Horace Silver, “One Finger Snap” by Herbie Hancock and “Captain Marvel” by Chick Corea. The band is Max Marlowe (piano,) Abraham Loaiza (tenor sax,) Ricardo Cueva (bass) and Felipe Pezzoli (drums.) Skyler McCormick sings one number each with Hindsight Bias and the 2:00 Band.

 HSU Jazz Combos perform on Friday April 8 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8, $5 seniors and children, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. Directed by Dan Aldag, produced by HSU Music department.

Media: Mad River Union, Times-Standard Urge, North Coast Journal The Set List, HSU Now.

Photo above: Jacob Partida, David Semon, Eric Simpson, Andrew Henderson and Craig Hull are Trumpet Pancake, one of four bands performing in the HSU Jazz Combos concert on Friday April 8.

Jazz Combos: The Program

Trumpet Pancake

"Mela" by Esperanza Spalding
 "Winter In Arcata" by David Semon
 "Binky" from the group Snarky Puppy (composed by Michael League)










Old Hat

"Skyhook" by Ryan Woempner
 "Spain" by Chick Corea
 "Rose Room" by Art Hickman
"Waltz For Lily" by Aaron Katz (HSU student and former Jazz Combos member.)

The 2:00 Band

"Nature Boy" by Eden Ahbez
 a Sun Medley ("Everybody Loves The Sunshine", "Sunny", and "On The Sunny Side Of The Street") by Roy Ayers, Bobby Hebb, and Jimmy McHugh/Dorothy Fields, respectively (although the last may have actually been written by Fats Waller, who sold the rights.)

So Beautiful by Musiq Soulchild (composed by JR Hutson and Soulchild)


Hindsight Bias

"Peace" by Horace Silver
 "One Finger Snap" by Herbie Hancock
 "Captain Marvel" by Chick Corea

Romantic Stories in Music with the Humboldt Symphony

A queen’s romance, a gypsy’s passion, a show of force, and the legend of a cathedral emerging from the sea are all evoked in music performed by the Humboldt Symphony in an afternoon concert on Sunday April 3. 

 British composer Benjamin Britten wrote the opera Gloriana about the romance of Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of Essex for the coronation of her namesake, the current Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Humboldt Symphony plays its most familiar instrumental section, “Courtly Dances.”

 French composer Camille Saint-Saens commemorated his visit to Algeria with a suite that includes a military march, in honor of the French garrison there. “As with most military marches of the 19th century, the trumpet is treated as an heroic fanfare instrument, so the trumpets have a prominent role in this one, especially at the end,” conductor Paul Cummings noted.

 In the 20th century another French composer, Claude Debussy, became fascinated with the legend of a lost city off the French coast, and its submerged cathedral that was said to rise above sea level once a century. Its bells would ring before it slipped back into the ocean depths.

 Debussy’s piece The Engulfed Cathedral is a popular piano prelude, but the orchestral version, Cummings said, is hardly ever performed. Humboldt Symphony provides the rare opportunity to hear the fullness of its mysterious beginning and especially its ecstatic middle, before the sea covers the cathedral again. 

 The orchestra also plays instrumental highlights from a suite Bizet based on his opera about the tempestuous gypsy Carmen—a preview of a fuller treatment ahead in the Humboldt Symphony’s May concert. 

The Humboldt Symphony performs for one afternoon only at the earlier time of 2 p.m. on Sunday April 3 in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8, $5 seniors and children, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door.  Directed by Paul Cummings, produced by HSU Music department.

Media: Times-Standard Urge, Humboldt State Now.

Humboldt Symphony: Conductor's Notes

Notes edited from an interview with conductor Paul Cummings:

March Militaire Francaise by Camille Saint-Saëns

This is the military march from Saint-Saëns' Suite Algerian. As with most military marches of the 19th century, the trumpet is treated as an heroic fanfare instrument, proclaiming the battle is about to begin, or victory is won. So the trumpets have a very prominent role, especially at the end of the piece.

Courtly Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten
This is from the opera that Britten wrote about England’s Queen Elizabeth I, for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Because of its connection with the first Elizabeth, it uses musical structures from her time in the 17th century. So the music sounds like late Renaissance in style, and in keeping with that, Britten uses consorts of instruments. So you’ll hear a string sound, then a brass sound, then a woodwind sound, in the way Renaissance composers use recorders, then Sackbuts, then viols.

The Engulfed Cathedral by Claude Debussy. 

Debussy wrote this piece for piano, in a book of preludes. Though the piano piece is one of Debussy’s most popular and most played, the orchestral version is hardly ever done.

 It’s very slow, and as close to program music as Debussy ever gets. It follows the legend about a cathedral submerged in the sea that once a century emerges out of the water and comes to life when the church bells are heard again. So the music is calm and sort of mysterious at the beginning, then it depicts the cathedral slowly rising, building to the climax when we hear the bells, and then the cathedral sinks back into the water. So musically it has a classic arc shape, a rise to a climax and then a fall back to the beginning point—beginning and ending softly but with a huge climax in the middle.

Movements from Carmen Suite #2 by Georges Bizet

Bizet wrote two orchestral suites culled from his opera Carmen. This was a common practice of getting the music into the concert hall without the elaborate and expensive staging of an entire opera.  This suite has some of the opera's most familiar melodies, such as the Habanera and the Toreador Song.  We'll do some of this second suite for this concert, and the entire suite in our concert in May.

Satie to Arcata with HSU Guitar Ensemble

HSU Guitar Ensemble proceeds from 20th century France to contemporary Arcata and five pieces by student composers, in its spring concert on Saturday April 2 in Fulkerson Recital Hall. 

 Erik Satie’s signature Gymnopedie No. 1 for solo piano is given a unique ensemble treatment by 10 guitarists and a bassist. Guitarists Andrew Heavelin and Leo Plummer combine on the Debussy favorite, “Claire de Lune,” and are joined by Adrien Bouissou, Kenneth Bozanich and bassist Ryan Woempner for “Golliwog’s Cakewalk” from Debussy Children’s Corner suite. 

 The concert’s second half is devoted to work born in Arcata from a collaboration of guitarists and student composers.

 “Many of the composition students have not written for guitar before, or they had limited experience,” said Guitar Ensemble director Nicholas Lambson, “and the guitar students had not worked with non-guitarist composers before. Working together this semester, we have five brand new, and very different, works for guitar.” 

 The composers are Kenneth Bozanich, Sabrina Fisher, Charlie McClung, Kyle McInnis and Aidan Sanborn-Petterson.

 Guitarists performing in this concert are Adrien Boussiou, Kenneth Bozanich, Evan Dowdakin, Sabrina Fisher, Andrew Heavelin, Jonathan Hernandez, Sean Laughlin, Rodrigo Nunez, Leo Plummer, Sador Rangel and Hawk Silverdragon. 

The HSU Guitar Ensemble performs on Saturday April 2 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8, $5 seniors and children, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. Directed by Nicholas Lambson, produced by HSU Music department.

Media: Times-Standard Urge, North Coast Journal The Set List, Humboldt State Now.

Guitar Ensemble: The Program

Gymnopedie No.1 by Erik Satie 
 Adrien Boussiou and Sabrina Fisher - Guitar 1
 Andrew Heavelin, Rodrigo Nunez, Hawk Silverdragon, - Guitar 2
Evan Dowdakin, Sean Laughlin Leo Plummer - Guitar 3
Jonathan Hernandez, Sador Rangel - Guitar 4
Kenneth Bozanich - Bass



Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy

 Andrew Heavelin and Leo Plummer

From Twelve Preludes, Op.11 by Alexander Scriabin
 No.4 performed by Sador Rangel and Evan Dowdakin
 No.17 by Kenneth Bozanich, Evan Dowdakin

Pavane pour une infante défunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess) by Maurice Ravel 
 Andrew Heavelin, Kenneth Bozanich, Adrien Bouissou, Leo Plummer

Golliwogg’s Cakewalk by Claude Debussy
Adrien Bouissou, Andrew Heavelin, Leo Plummer, Kenneth Bozanich. Ryan Woempner, bass

Intermission

Verisimilitude by Charlie McClung
 Adrien Bouissou, Hawk SilverDragon, Andrew Heavelin

 Nowhere Rock by Sabrina Fisher
 Sabrina Fisher, Kenneth Bozanich

Suite for Jazz Trio by Kyle McInnis
 Andrew Henderson, trumpet Leo Plummer, guitar Ryan Woempner, bass

Small Feeling by Aidan Sanborn-Petterson
 Sador Rangel, Evan Dowdakin, Jonathan Hernandez

 The Jester by Kenneth Bozanich 
 Leo Plummer, Andrew Heavelin, Kenneth Bozanich, Adrien Bouissou, guitars. Ryan Woempner, bass

Composers include Kyle McInnis, Kenneth Bozanich, Michael Barrett Donovan, Aiden Sanborn-Petterson and Sabrina Fisher.

Get It Fresh at HSU Composers Concert

A piece for full orchestra evoking a lost Aztec city, and variations for symphonic band based on hip hop tunes highlight the spring HSU Composers Concert of new works on Friday April 1 in Fulkerson Recital Hall. 

 An orchestra of student and faculty players conducted by Rachel Samet performs Confluence by the Lake of the Moon by Kenneth Bozanich, inspired by descriptions of Tenochtitlán, a vast Aztec city linked by lakes in ancient Mexico. Kyle McInnis used contemporary hip-hop within a structure based on variations by 20th century composer John Barnes Chance for his concert band work, Variations on a Theme by the Wu-Tang Clan. 

Charlie McClung was inspired by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki’s Thenody for the Victims of Hiroshima to write Requiem for A Lost Forest for string quartet, commemorating a wildfire that destroyed part of Stanislaus National Forest near his childhood home. 

 Sabrina Fisher, Aidan Sanborn-Petterson and McClung wrote pieces for multiple guitars, while Sandee Castaneda wrote for solo cello and Fisher for marimba. Sanborn-Petterson’s Everyday Pondering Song Suite is a piece for voice and piano about the mysteries of ordinary life. The evening ends with a work of “slight morbid humor” by Michael Barrett Donovan called Home on the Range.

 Graduating seniors Kenneth Bozanich, Michael Donovan and Kyle McInnis are participating in their last HSU Composers Concert. 

The Composers Concert is performed on Friday April 1 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8, $5 seniors and children, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door.  Directed by Brian Post, produced by HSU Music department.

Media: Times-Standard Urge, North Coast Journal, Humboldt State Now.

Composers Concert: Program and Composers' Notes

Descriptions of each piece is by its composer.

Variations on a Theme by the Wu-Tang Clan by  Kyle McInnis
I – Tiger Style
II – Shaolin Style
 III – Wu-Tang Style

Performed by symphonic band

"The inspiration for this piece comes from a multitude of musical influences both old and new. The form upon which the piece is constructed is hundreds of years old, but the thematic material is far more modern. It all started as a crazy idea back in October, when I was searching for a new large ensemble composition to start. I had quickly settled on a Symphonic Band instrumentation, and knew that I wanted to create something in the same style as Variations on a Korean Folk Song by John Barnes Chance, but with more accessible source material. After racking my brain for a while, I realized that I had all the source material I needed in my hip hop records. Months of frenzied transcribing, sketching, and orchestrating has all culminated in this set of continuous variations."

 Confluence by the Lake of the Moon by K.C. Bozanich

Performed by orchestra conducted by Rachel Samet

"The title of the piece was inspired by a Native American Studies course that I'm currently enrolled in. In the opening chapters of assigned reading, the book: American Holocaust, David E. Stannard describes the beauty of what once was the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán:

"It's gone now, drained and desiccated in the aftermath of the Spanish conquest, but once there was an interconnected complex of lakes high up in the valley of Mexico that was as long and as wide as the city of London is today. Surrounding these waters, known collectively as the Lake of the Moon, were scores of towns and cities whose population, combined with that of the outlying communities of central Mexico, totaled about 25,000,000 men, women, and children. Tenochititlán overflowed with gorgeous gardens, arboretums, and aviaries. On any given day as many as 200,000 small boats moved back and forth on the Lake of the Moon, pursuing the interests of commerce, political intrigue, and simple pleasure...” 

 With that in mind, imagine yourself as an outsider for the first time laying eyes upon the majestic city of Tenochtitlán. Perhaps on the hillside somewhere by the Lake of the Moon, overlooking the boats of commerce travel from one side to the other. This is a spectacle that the human eye can no longer see. It is now a place that can only be constructed by music and the human imagination." 

Nowhere Rock by Sabrina Fisher 
Performed by Kenneth Bozanich, Guitar
 Sabrina Fisher, Guitar

 "Nowhere Rock" was inspired by a series of films I watched last December. It is intended to elaborate on the feeling of an unfamiliar new world, while presenting familiar ideas in contrasting ways. It represents the cycle of feelings experienced when settling in a new place: hesitancy, excitement, fear and acceptance."

Small Feeling by Aidan Sanborn-Petterson
Performed by Jonathan Hernandez, Guitar
Evan Dowdakin, Guitar
Sador Rangel, Guitar

"A vacation cannot always be taken when a vacation is needed. Small Feeling was written with this statement in mind, and served as the best compromise I could surmise. At times a shift from the dense, and intellectual to the visceral is all that is needed to embody the very spirit of this so needed vacation. This piece is exactly that; deceptively simple, and thoroughly relaxing. It is a break from complexity and the burden of thought, a dream destination in a few minutes of music."

Verisimilitude by  Charlie McClung
Performed by  Adrien Bouissou, Guitar I
 Hawk SilverDragon, Guitar II
 Andrew Heavelin, Guitar III

"Verisimilitude: the quality of seaming real; or a fancy way of saying legit. When I was told that we needed to write a piece featuring guitar, I was a little hesitant because I knew nothing of guitar, and I wasn’t sure how to even start writing a piece for one. So I wrote a piece for three guitars. The idea for this piece came from a minimalist piece for piano called Piano Phase by Steve Reich. I really liked his approach so I used it as a building block. I took an Amaj7 #11 chord flipped it upside down, and just phased that arpeggio in the guitars, with the second guitar playing a simple single line melody over top the oscillating sixteenths."

Requiem for a Lost Forest by Charlie McClung 
Performed by Michael Donovan, Violin
 Thomas Starkey-Owens, Violin
Hanah Rolf, Viola
 Gabrielle Wood, Cello

"In 2013 a wildfire tore through my hometown and decimated over 300,000 acres of the Stanislaus National Forest. The fire destroyed several groves that I have grown up hiking through and camping in. This piece is for all of the lost memories caused by that fire. The way that I wrote it was inspired by the music of Penderecki, and his Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. Requiem for a Lost Forest is comprised of three sections, the Sunrise in the Mountains, the Conquest, and Threnody. Each representing a stage of the fire with each section featuring some interpretive graphic notation, giving the performers the freedom to play what they feel is right for the moment."

Untitled by Sandee Castaneda 
Performed by Santiago-Cello

"The stylistic techniques used were inspired by Bright Sheng’s "Seven tunes heard in China". In this piece I tried to avoid tonality, by simply not thinking about what key I was in and what pitches I could or couldn't use. I listened to Bach's cello suites and tried to emulate some of the intervallic movement that Bach so perfectly used. This piece is my attempt to begin understanding cello and how to compose for the instrument."

The Paper King by Sabrina Fisher
Performed by Michael Fabian, Marimba

 "The Paper King was composed as a score to the beginning of a cute animated short film. It reflects the film's overall whimsical and light humor, while subtle dissonant chords represent occasional conflict. It is centered around a brief ascending theme that relates to one of the main characters in the short film. The unmetered section in the middle of the piece outlines the confusion felt by the character, but resolves back to familiarity with the restatement of the theme."

Everyday Pondering Song Suite by Aidan Sanborn-Petterson
Song of Sky and Cosmos
Song of Ground
Song of Higher Ground
Song of Home

Performed by Skyler McCormick, Alto
John Chernoff, Piano

"This piece says it all in the name. The lyrics are about the simple things that I do in my life, in regards to the people and the world around me. A 12 tone row is used in every song (most clearly stated at the very beginning of the first song), sometimes sparingly and sometimes heavily, yet playing a massively different role in each. This row in a sense symbolizes myself; a constant. No matter what happens, or how I feel, I cannot escape being Aidan. However being oneself does not always feel the same day by day. The music itself embodies this change in emotion, and the way we perceive almost anything. The Lyrics on the other hand represent the flipside. Despite these drastic revolutions of mind and soul, we still go about many of the same things we would have before. We still eat the things we eat, enjoy the things we enjoy, carry the weight we carry, and love the people we love. Down to it’s very core the E.P. Suite is about being human."

Home on the Range-The Short and Tragic Tale of #E445 by Michael Barrett Donovan 
Performed by Alberto Rodrigues, Tenor - #E445
and other performers

"Tonight the audience shall witness a reduced arrangement of a short piece for jazz orchestra, tenor, and stage (In a complete performance, Alberto will be in character and interact with props) - prepare yourself for mild morbid humor and a severely ruined appetite."

Opera Workshop's Frantic Musical Chairs for Lovers in “Speed Dating Tonight!”

 Steampunk Girl, Panic Attack, Lives at Home and Love Me, Love My Cats! are a few of the characters enacting a frantic contemporary mating ritual in the comic opera Speed Dating Tonight! performed by the HSU Opera Workshop for four performances beginning Thursday March 24 in Gist Hall Theatre. 

 It’s musical chairs for lovers as 15 hopefuls in a bar introduce themselves (some truthfully, some not) with a five minute time limit, and the plot thickens along with the comedy. “Laughing together is a wonderful way to explore the culture of the modern dating world,” said director Elisabeth Harrington. 

 This is the California premiere (and 25th production) of this one-hour opera by American composer Michael Ching, who allows directors flexibility in various aspects of the show. “So no two productions will be the same,” Harrington said. “The characters are fresh and modern, and very diverse. I think audiences will respond to the humanity of the piece--humanity in all its awkwardness as we seek a suitable match!” 

 The Opera Workshop performs Speed Dating Tonight! Thursday through Saturday, March 24-26 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday March 27 at 2 p.m. in Gist Hall Theatre at HSU. Tickets are $10 general, $5 seniors and children, $3 HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. Directed by Elisabeth Harrington, produced by HSU Music Department.

Media: Mad River Union, Times-Standard Urge, North Coast Journal, HSU Now. 

Speed Dating Tonight: Notes and Bio

Notes by director Elisabeth Harrington:

"I chose Speed Dating Tonight! because it is very modern and relevant--the text expresses fears and feelings many people seem to have about the "dating game." Also, it is a comedy! Laughing together is a wonderful way to explore the culture and "isms" of the modern dating world.

Opera Workshop rehearsal

The action takes place in a bar where all 15 daters have gathered to interact with one another (5 minutes at time!) on speed dates. As each character introduces themselves through a brief aria, we gain an understanding of the many ways we present ourselves to the world. Some are truthful and accurate, and some are not.

 I think most people will recognize a character trait that they possess themselves, at least to some extent. Some of the "daters" are: Steampunk Girl, Lives at Home, Feeling Awkward, Talkative Girl, Love me, love my Cats!, Combat Photographer, I like this bar! and Panic Attack.

 There are 19 cast members: 15 daters, 3 people who work in the bar (Bartender, Waitress and Busboy) and Kaylee, the coordinator for the Speed Dating event. All but one of the performers are current HSU students;one is a community member. Some sing more than others, but almost everyone is stage the entire time.

 The characters are fresh and modern, and very diverse. Directors have (almost) complete discretion to place the daters' interactions in whatever order bet fits the casts' strengths. This flexibility is crucial , and also ensures that no two productions will be the same. (Just like no two people are the same!)

HSU student Noah Sims at Opera Workshop rehearsal

Since the premiere in 2013, there have been 24 different productions of "Speed Dating Tonight!" largely on university campuses. This will be the California premiere!

 I think audiences will respond to the humanity of the piece--humanity in all its awkwardness as we seek a suitable match! It's something almost everyone can relate to on some level. The casual atmosphere of the show will also appeal to younger audiences.

It is definitely an ensemble show, and features several large ensemble numbers. Each cast member also has one or more extended solo moments (also making the show a good choice for developing the skills of young singer-actors-a definite requirement when I'm choosing repertoire.).The whole show takes place in just around an hour. This, too, is crucial, since we have 9 short weeks of rehearsal each spring semester before the performances (with only 4 hours weekly, unlike the bigger musicals like "Kiss Me Kate!" which rehearsed every night.)"


Composer Michael Ching

Michael Ching is a composer, conductor and arts administrator.  In addition to Speed Dating Tonight!, his opera compositions include an a cappella version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Corps of Discovery, King of the Clouds and Buosco's Ghost.  His most recent opera, which just premiered, is Alice Ryley.

A performance of Ching's piano concerto is included in the 25th anniversary commemorative recording of the San Jose Chamber Orchestra.  Ching was Artistic Director of Opera Memphis from 1992 to 2010, and is now Music Director of Nickel City Opera, the regional opera of Buffalo and western New York.  He currently lives in Ames, Iowa.

More detailed biographies are here and here.  Here is Michael Ching's blog.

Speed Dating Tonight! is currently his most popular opera.  It premiered at the Janiec Opera of the Brevard Music Center in 2013, conceived by director Dean Anthony, with lyrics and music by Michael Ching.

"With traditional opening and closing numbers, the middle section of the opera is a group of one-to-two-minute “dater arias” which can be put together according to the number of singers available. The order, key, and, in many cases even the gender, of the daters is flexible.

"Some are moving, some are funny. Some are caricatures, some are sincere. There are twenty-five dater arias and duets from which every producer will choose the ones they want to include."

Guest Cellist Reveals Powerful, Prolific and Unknown Composer

 Cellist Elizabeth Grunin performs two works by 20th century composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg in an intimate Guest Artist lecture and recital on Saturday March 26 in Fulkerson Recital Hall. 

 “Mieczyslaw Weinberg is a name hardly known in the classical music world. However his works and life story certainly demand recognition,” said Dr. Grunin. “We will be become acquainted with this incredible composer and his life as well as explore his abilities at combining the traditions of classical and baroque composers with modern, 20th century harmony, exhibited in his works for unaccompanied cello.” 

 Elizabeth Grunin was last heard at HSU almost exactly a year ago, when she performed with the Lancaster Trio. She is a founding member of that ensemble. Born in Ukraine, she grew up in Sacramento, performing there and in the Bay Area. She currently teaches at several Midwestern universities.

 Composer Weinberg, writes music journalist Martin Anderson, “was one of the 20th century’s most powerful and prolific composers, and one of its least well known, certainly outside of his adoptive Russia.” After fleeing the Nazi invasion of Poland, Weinberg became close friends with the famous Russian composer Shostakovich, who called Weinberg “one of the most outstanding composers of the present day.” 

 Dr. Grunin will perform Weinberg’s Sonata No. 1 for Violoncello and Prelude 21 for Cello. The audience for this lecture-recital will be seated on the Fulkerson Recital Hall stage with Dr. Grunin for a more intimate musical experience. 

Cellist Elizabeth Grunin performs on Saturday March 26 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $10 general/$5 seniors, children and students, from the HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door.This Guest Artist Series concert is produced by the HSU Music Department.

Media: Mad River Union, Times-Standard Urge, North Coast Journal, HSU Now.

Elizabeth Grunin Lecture Recital: Notes and Program

Mieczyslaw Weinberg is a name hardly known in the classical music world. However his works and life story certainly demand recognition. Weinberg escaped Nazi-invaded Poland, became best friends with one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, and never stopped composing even when all that was required from him was cartoon music. We will be become acquainted with this incredible composer and his life as well as explore his abilities at combining the traditions of classical and baroque composers with modern, 20th century harmony, exhibited in his works for unaccompanied cello.”--Elizabeth Grunin 

More information about the composer:
Weinberg site by Anton Uzunov (contains additional links)
Martin Anderson at Classical.net

Program

 Prelude 21 of 24 Preludes for Solo Cello

Sonata No. 1 for Violoncello Solo Op. 72
Adagio
Allegretto
Allegro

Guest Artist Biography

Dr. Elizabeth Grunin began studying cello at the Special Music School in Kharkov, Ukraine. In 1992, her family moved to Sacramento, California where she continued her musical studies. Elizabeth was an active member of the musical community in Sacramento, performing in numerous orchestras including the Camellia Symphony, the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, Merced Symphony Orchestra, and North Bay Opera. In 2008, Elizabeth entered the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she completed both her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in the studio of Jennifer Culp.

Dr. Grunin has participated in such summer music programs as the Zephyr Chamber Festival in Italy, the Classical Music Festival in Austria, and the Kornberg Music Festival in Germany. She moved to Lincoln, Nebraska to pursue her Doctorate degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in the studio of Dr. Karen Becker which she completed in 2015.

Currently, Dr. Grunin is adjunct faculty at Nebraska-Wesleyan University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and, Wayne State College and is a coach at the Navarro River String Camp in California. She holds a full-time position with the Lincoln Symphony and is a founding member of the Lancaster Trio.

Premieres and Classics with HSU Symphonic Band & Jazz Orchestra 

New work—including an overture by composer and North Coast resident Michael Kibbe—plus band classics and an anniversary tribute characterize the shared concert of the HSU Symphonic Band and the Jazz Orchestra on Saturday February 27 in Fulkerson Recital Hall. 

 Composer and musician Michael Kibbe relocated from Los Angeles to the North Coast a few years ago, and has become a prominent member of the local music scene. He wrote The Poseidon Overture specifically for the HSU Symphonic Band, and will perform on oboe for the world premiere of this piece. 

 Symphonic Band also performs Chester by American composer William Schuman, and several movements of Lincolnshire Posy by Percy Grainger. Both pieces are high on any list of wind band classics, said director Paul Cummings. Chester evokes the American Revolution, and Lincolnshire Posy is based on authentic folk melodies from Yorkshire, England. 

 The Band plays the final movement of Aaron Copland’s lyrical The Promise of Living, also based on folk music sources. Xerxes by contemporary composer John Mackey is a concert march that exemplifies Mackey’s signature use of rock music and jazz fusion as well as classical styles. “The instrumentation favors percussion,” Cummings said. 

 For their half of the program, the Jazz Orchestra performs several originals by current and recent HSU students: “Positive Sweat” by student Kyle McInnis, “Jibber Jabber” by alum Ryan Woempner, and “Omar” by alum Dan Fair.

 The Orchestra also honors the 50th anniversary of the New York based Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band with a Thad Jones tune, “Big Dipper.” 

 This band “played its first Monday night at the Village Vanguard in February of 1966,” said Jazz Orchestra director Dan Aldag. “It’s been playing there every Monday night ever since.”

 HSU Symphonic Band and HSU Jazz Orchestra perform on Saturday February 27 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8, $5 seniors and children, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door.  Directed by Paul Cummings and Dan Aldag, produced by HSU Music Department.

Media: Times-Standard Urge, North Coast Journal, HSU Now.

Jazz Orchestra & Symphonic Band Concert Notes

 Jazz Orchestra

On the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band, from the current band’s web site (which also has information on events celebrating the band’s 50th anniversary of performing Monday nights at the Village Vanguard in Greenwich Village, New York City):

"Thad Jones, who was featured in the Count Basie Orchestra, and Los Angeles based drummer Mel Lewis from the Stan Kenton Orchestra, started the band in 1966 with some of the top studio musicians in New York City. The beautiful melodies and unique arrangements of Thad Jones enchanted audiences worldwide.

The mixture of the music from diverse backgrounds created their innovative sound and the band was quickly recognized as a world-class big band. In 1978, Thad Jones moved to Denmark but the band continued as Mel Lewis and The Jazz Orchestra. In addition to the masterpieces by Thad, they actively employed new and original compositions and arrangements by Bob Brookmeyer, Jim McNeely and others. Those new arrangements were complex and avant-garde, but they stayed true to their fundamental band sound and swing. Their excellent artistry sustained and grew their high reputation.

 By changing its name to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the orchestra created its own identity after losing both of its leaders. The ensemble cultivated its rich history while commissioning new music that made them the prototype of innovative big band music. 2016 marks 50 years of continued performances of Monday Night Live at the world’s premiere jazz club, The Village Vanguard."



Symphonic Band

The Poseidon Overture by Michael Kibbe. World Premiere Performance.

"The Poseidon Overture was written one year ago specifically for the HSU Concert Band. It is playable by either a small or a large group. This will be the premiere performance, and I will be joining the group on oboe." --Michael Kibbe

Michael Kibbe, composer, has a total creative output is over 240 concert works, including two string quartets, 13 wind quintets, a large variety of mixed chamber music for winds, strings, brass, harp, keyboardsand percussion. His catalogue includes works for band, orchestra and concertos.  Kibbeʼs compositions have been performed throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe, Israel and China.

 He plays most of the standard woodwind instruments, and has done live performing and recording work for over 40 years, in addition to having been active as a music copyist for film, TV and live performance. For 17 years he was oboist and arranger with the Los Angeles based North Wind Quintet, which did hundreds of school programs and toured Mexico 3 times. He currently resides in far northern California, and plays in the Eureka Symphony, a wind quintet and other groups. MK February 11, 2015.  Michael Kibbe.com


The following notes on the rest of the concert are from an interview with Symphonic Band Director Paul Cummings.

The Promise of Living by Aaron Copland

 This is the final movement of a suite extracted from Copland’s opera The Tender Land. When composers write a big piece—an opera or ballet or a Mass—in a genre with epic dimensions, it can be hard to get performances. They would frequently extract a suite from it, as Copland did in 1958. He originally wrote “The Promise of Living” for orchestra, and Kenneth Singleton transcribed it for band.

 This is a very slow and lyrical, with a melody that gets moved around to various instrumental groupings. It has a very simple, sparse opening and gradually gets bigger, so the overall effect is of growing out of nothing. It keeps getting bigger until the climax near the end, but in the last few bars it kind of unwinds again.

Xerxes: A Concert March by John Mackey

 John Mackey is a young composer—in his early 40s—who is known for combining elements of rock with symphonic music. So you can detect a heavy metal type of sound at times, and at other times he’ll write a very tuneful melody, reminiscent of another kind of rock, like the Eagles or Paul McCartney. Other times it will be a fusion, with elements of jazz, rock and classical. This piece very much exemplifies that quality of John Mackey.  The instrumentation favors percussion, so it’s a lot of fun for drummers to play this music in a symphonic band setting.

Lincolnshire Posy by Percy Grainger

 Each movement of this piece is based on a folk song that Grainger gathered in the field in the early 20th century as an ethnomusicologist. I don’t know if he ever accepted that title but he really was a pioneer among composers interested in folk music. Grainger tried to record the most authentic version of these songs, even if the singer he found was more of a storyteller than a singer. He makes a point of trying to preserve that authenticity in his composition, so the music had to conform to the original song’s unusual parameters such as mixed meter, and dramatic changes that are sudden and almost alarming to the modern ear, all in the interest of telling a story.

 This would be in the top five of any list of the greatest music ever written for wind band—this is one of the classics. If listeners are not aware of it, it’s not because it’s not a great piece. It’s because it is very hard to play, and so it is not done very often. We’re doing three movements of this six movement work in this February concert, and we will attempt to do more in our next concert in April.

Chester: Overture for Band by William Schuman 

 This is another classic for wind band—near the top of any list. It evokes the period of the American Revolution by means of a famous patriotic hymn of the period, called “Chester.” Schuman was an American composer who wrote this in the mid 1950s.

 It opens with this very beautiful hymn, which Schuman presents in alternating brass and woodwinds. This very slow, rather solemn setting, but just as we think all is peace and beauty it suddenly erupts with musket fire, by percussion instruments mainly, and we move into a set of variations on the “Chester” hymn but at a much faster tempo. Things really get exciting. Schuman continues to play the woodwinds against the brass—that’s one of his signature traits.

 This music was fairly avant-garde for the 1950s—it uses bitonality and quite a bit of dissonance. For example the opening musket shots after the hymn are a tone cluster—all 12 notes of the chromatic scale sounded at once. So it’s as if you went up and sat on a piano keyboard—that’s the sort of sonority that we get at the beginning of the fast section. It’s a beautifully constructed piece by a master craftsman—it stands right up there with his best works for band.

 It’s also significant as one of the first pieces that a major composer wrote for wind band. At this point in the 1950s, well-respected composers were writing for orchestra or piano or chamber music but not for band. Bands were playing mostly transcriptions of pieces written for orchestra or other ensembles or solo instruments. Most of the original music for bands was limited to marches.

 So some conductors and professors of music began joining a chorus of voices calling for band music by prominent composers. They approached a number of composers, including Schuman, usually with a commission of some sort. When they responded with new compositions, suddenly the repertoire became a lot more diverse, a lot more interesting, a lot more challenging. And while it’s never going to be the equal of the repertoire for orchestra, it got a whole lot better—beginning in the 1950s.

 More on Schuman and this piece.

Marimbas, African Drums and More in HSU Percussion Showcase 

Three HSU ensembles bring the sounds of drums and marimbas to Fulkerson Recital Hall—along with gongs, tin cans and random radio music—in a Percussion Showcase on Sunday February 21. 

 The HSU Percussion Ensemble plays these unconventional instruments in Credo in US, a mind-expanding modern work by experimental composer John Cage. He wrote it in New York in 1942, shortly after his western sojourn during which he befriended North Coast artist Morris Graves. 

This piece also calls for an electronic doorbell buzzer, pre-recorded music and a piano, prefiguring what came to be known as the Cage style. “This is a highly influential work,” notes Percussion Ensemble director Eugene Novotney, “both in its scope and its imaginative nature.” 

 The Showcase moves from the futuristic directly to the deeply traditional with the next two ensembles, the HSU Marimba Band and West African Drumming Ensemble. 

 The Marimba Band performs two works inspired by traditional tribal music from Ghana, and a third piece adapted from a Zimbabwe melody. A marimba quartet performs “Omphalo Centric Lecture” by Australian composer Nigel Westlake. “This virtuosic piece is both captivating and mesmerizing, and it explores the beauty of the sound of the marimba in its full range and capacity,” Notvotney said.

The West African Drumming Ensemble performs a suite of the complex and highly rhythmic traditional drumming from that region, using only indigenous instruments. Joe Bishop, an HSU alum who has studied this music in West Africa, is the main drummer and directs the group. 

 Proceeds from this concert benefit the Humboldt Stage Calypso Band steelpan renovation and tuning project, a fund dedicated to refurbishing equipment for the future. 

 “The Calypso Band’s steelpans are in desperate need of tuning, painting, repair and refinishing,” said director Eugene Nototney. To enable this work this fund was created in the band’s 25th anniversary year and has made “significant progress towards our goal. But in this, the 30th anniversary year, “there is still much work to be done.” 

 HSU Percussion Showcase is presented on Sunday February 21 at 8 p.m. in Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus. Tickets are $8, $5 seniors and children, free to HSU students with ID, from HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door. Directed by Eugene Novotney and Joe Bishop, produced by HSU Music Department.

Media: Mad River Union, North Coast Journal The Set List, Times-Standard Urge, HSU Now.