Reminders
Please remember to silence your cell phone and keep it put away during the concert!
In accordance with official guidelines, please wear a mask covering your nose and mouth at all times.
Following the performance, please do not try to find your student backstage. You can meet them in the lobby or outside of the PAC.
Vocal Ensemble
Harvest Moon - arr. Cristi Cary Miller
Cristi Miller (b. 1959) is highly regarded across the United States as a master teacher, conductor and composer. After graduating from Oklahoma State University, she began her teaching career instructing grades 7-12. She eventually moved to the Putnam City School system in 1989 where she worked in the elementary classroom for 21 years. Mrs. Miller is frequently in demand as a clinician and director across the United States and Canada. She has numerous choral pieces and books in publication through the Hal Leonard Corporation and has also been the recipient of several ASCAP awards for her music.
Simple Gifts - arr. Jay Althouse
Jay Althouse (b. 1951) received a B.S. degree in Music Education and an M.Ed. degree in Music from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. For eight years he served as a rights and licenses administrator for a major educational music publisher. During that time he served a term on the Executive Board of the Music Publishers Association of America. As a composer of choral music, Jay has more than 700 works in print for choirs of all levels. His music is widely performed throughout the English-speaking world. He is a writer member of ASCAP and is a regular recipient of the ASCAP Special Award for his compositions in the area of standard music.
A Shaker song written in 1848, Simple Gifts rose to popularity when used by Aaron Copland as the melody for the score of Martha Graham's Ballet Appalachian Spring in 1944 and again in his set of Old American Songs for voice and piano.
String Orchestra
Firelight, Candlelight - Robert Sieving
Robert Sieving (b. 1942) is a Minneapolis-based composer and arranger following a career as a high school choral music educator. In addition to his choral pieces he is also active as a composer and arranger of works for string orchestra. He is a past recipient of the ACDA of Minnesota Conductor of the Year Award and the Plymouth Music Series (now VocalEssence) Award for Creative Programming.
While listening to this piece, imagine sleigh rides, apple cider, and cozy hearths. The melodic style and contemporary harmonies suggest a time when gatherings of friends and amilies are remembered with pleasure and a particular kind of nostalgia for days gone by.
Forever Joyful! - Brian Balmages
Brian Balmages (b. 1975) is an award-winning composer, conductor, producer, and performer with degrees from James Madison University and the University of Miami in Florida. He is currently the Director of Instrumental Publications for the FJH Music Company, Inc.
"The music for Forever Joyful! was written during a particularly wonderful stretch of experiences. We had recently adopted a puppy and it was wonderful to see how she changed our family and inspired my children to be more responsibile and caring. Rather than write a programatic piece [about the experience], I decided to develop a piece based on the emotion of joy itself. The music is uplifting and lighthearted, yet also includes moments of 'intense happiness' and euphoria. Basically, it seeks to explore the various aspects of joy (I think we can all agree that there are numerous levels of feeling 'joyful')."
Wind Ensemble
On A Catalonian Carol - arr. Randall D. Standridge
Randall Standridge (b. 1976) is one of the most highly sought-after composers for middle school and high school bands of our time. His music continues to gain recognition as great literature for concert festivals and performances across the United States and internationally.
On a Catalonian Carol is a setting of the traditional Catalan carol El Noi de la Mare (The Child of the Mother). The carol originates fromt he Catalonia region of Spain. This setting is not a direct transcription of the song, but rather uses the simple beauty of the melody as its basis.
Christmas Toons - arr. Julie Giroux
Julie Giroux (b. 1961) is best known as a composer for modern Wind Ensemble and Symphonic band music. Her television, film & video game credits date back to 1984 and continue to this day. Julie has received many prestigious awards over her career which includes Emmy Awards. She is an accomplished orchestrator, composer, arranger, clinician and guest conductor. Her music has been represented on hundreds of CDs and is played by concert bands the world over.
Christmas Toons is an unpublished work completed by Ms. Giroux in 2011. Since then, she made the work available for free via her social media accounts, and Mr. Guerrero was quick to capitalize on the opportunity! The piece cycles through seven iconic songs from animated Christmas movies all with different settings. These include "Welcome Christmas" and "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, "Frosty the Snowman," "The Chimpmunk Song," "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year," "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," and "Here Comes Santa Claus." Listen for lots of solos and extended instrumental techniques as well as plenty of examples of Ms. Giroux's masterful orchestration.
Credits:
Created with images by Aaron Burden - "untitled image" • AbsolutVision - "lightbulb concept cork" • freestocks-photos - "audio concert mic" • Pexels - "full moon night sky" • kristamonique - "snowfall winter snow" • zathris - "violin classic instrument" • congerdesign - "candles flame christmas" • TerriC - "poinsettia christmas christmas background" • JohannesW - "trombone trumpet close up" • mertxegranena - "aragonese pyrenees snow pyrenees" • Larisa-K - "christmas holiday decoration" • Pezibear - "winter plant branch" • Sorbyphoto - "winter conifers sunset"