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University Band Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Tight Squeeze (2013)

Alex Shapiro (b. 1962)

Alex Shapiro is an American composer who began writing music at the age of nine. She attended the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School where she studied electronic music and composition.

Alex Shapiro writes regarding Tight Squeeze, “Imagine Arnold Schoenberg, Henry Mancini, and Charlie Parker walking into a dance club in Havana, and staying for three minutes. Tight Squeeze ventures into new territory as it explores chromaticism and syncopation against a prerecorded percussion groove. The result is the repertoire’s first electroacoustic twelve-tone techno Latin bebop band piece! Okay, maybe Schoenberg did all that first, but it never sounded quite like this!”

Tight Squeeze was written in 2013 as, according to Shapiro, “another humble attempt to broaden the scope of the repertoire.”

Old Churches (2002)

Michael Colgrass (1932-2019)

According to composer Michael Colgrass, Old Churches is one of the most challenging pieces he can remember writing. His goal was to create music that was interesting, expressive and challenging, yet playable by students in the early stages of performing on their instruments and who are also unfamiliar with modern music techniques.

His solution was to write a work based on Gregorian vocal chant with unison melodies. Playing in unison helps student musicians feel more confident, and allowed Colgrass to copiously double the melodic lines. The tempo is slow; the phrases are all in quarter and eighth notes, and the harmonies are simple. Some easy graphic notation and chance techniques are employed, such as pitches played without rhythm, and a murmuring effect that simulates the idea of voices echoing in monastic churches. Colgrass hopes that Old Churches is a piece that conveys emotion at the same time it makes young bands sound good.

Old Churches uses Gregorian chant to create a slightly mysterious monastery scene filled with the prayers and chanting of monks in an old church. Gregorian chant is ancient church music and that has been in existence for over 1500 years. The chant unfolds through call and response patterns. One monk intones a musical idea, then the rest of the monks respond by singing back. This musical conversation continues throughout the piece, with the exception of a few brief interruptions. Perhaps they are the quiet comments church visitors make to one another.

MelodiOus Thunk (2021)

David Biedenbender (b. 1984)

David Biedenbender is a composer, conductor, and educator. He received his doctor of musical arts degree in composition from the University of Michigan and is currently Assistant Professor of Composition in the College of Music at Michigan State University.

He writes regarding Melodious Thunk, “I really liked the idea of playing around with Monk’s name because this nickname actually provided great musical inspiration. Melodious: well that’s fairly obvious: and thunk became the starting points for the piece. Big, fat thunks are interspersed with pointy, clunky, bluesy blips, which are then transformed into long, smooth, laid-back melody accompanied by a funky bass line. I hope you’ll hear some similarities between this piece and Monk’s iconic musical style and quirky attitude.”

Melodious Thunk was commissioned and premiered by the Cedar Springs High School Symphonic Band on April 26, 2012.

Rose Variations (1955)

Robert Russel Bennett (1894-1981)

Robert Russell Bennett was an American composer and leading orchestrator and arranger of the Broadway musical from 1922 through the 1970s. As an orchestrator and arranger, he defined the sound of the American musical, arranging and scoring ninety-seven original productions for Broadway alone. His most notable works were his collaborations with Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Bennett orchestrated the most popular of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musicals from Oklahoma! (1943) to The Sound of Music (1959).

Rose Variations was written in 1955 as a concerto for cornet and piano. Upon its premier, the piece was quickly published with band accompaniment. Rose Variations is a simple theme and variations preceded by an introduction. Four variations compile this tune. They are: “The Dorothy Perkins Rose,” “Frau Karl Druschki Rose,” “Cinnamon Rose,” and “American Beauty Rose.”

American Hymnsong Suite (2007)

Dwayne S. Milburn (b. 1963)

Major Dwayne S. Milburn is an American composer, conductor, and military officer. He received his Ph.D. in music from UCLA in 2009.

Dwayne Milburn writes regarding this piece, “American Hymnsong Suite is firmly rooted in my family history as church musicians. I grew up singing and playing many different hymns, including the four tunes featured in this work. The Prelude on Wondrous Love opens with a chant-like statement of this Southern tune before proceeding to a more kinetic retelling. Ballad on“Balm in Gilead” features a rich jazz harmonization of this familiar spiritual. The Scherzo on “Nettleton” contains all the rhythmic playfulness inherent in the best orchestral third movements, and the March on“Wilson” calls to mind the wildest marching band ever heard.”

American Hymnsong Suite was written in 2007 with the goal of introducing listeners to the richness of the American musical heritage.

Kristin Arp is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with Dr. Kevin Geraldi and Dr. Jonathan Caldwell. Before coming to UNCG, Kristin taught high school and middle school band in the Knox County, Tennessee public schools.

Kristin holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music Education and Instrumental Conducting from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where she studied with Dr. Donald Ryder and Dr. David Royse. At UT, she frequently conducted the University of Tennessee Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and Trumpet Ensemble. As a graduate assistant for the Pride of the Southland Marching Band, Kristin’s responsibilities included teaching drill, music, and the supervision of Volleyball and Basketball Pep Bands. She also has extensive experience with Drum Corp International and performed with 2009 DCI World Championship Finalists, the Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps from Casper, Wyoming.

Trumpet artist Garrett Klein has performed across the United States and Asia as a soloist, chamber player, and orchestral musician. He is currently serving as Assistant Professor of Trumpet at UNC Greensboro where he leads the Trumpet Studio, coaches the Graduate Brass Quintet, and directs the Trumpet Ensemble. Previously Garrett served on the faculties of St. Olaf College and Gustavus Adolphus College.

Garrett is a member of the Dallas Brass, an internationally recognized touring ensemble. Dallas Brass has a legacy of presenting uplifting performances, which span a wide array of musical styles. In addition to performing shows across the country, Dallas Brass demonstrates a steadfast commitment to music education by working to inspire students of all ages while on tour.

Outside of touring with Dallas Brass, Garrett has performed with the Charlotte Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, the North Carolina Brass Band, and the Carolina Brass. He has also appeared as a guest musician with The Phoenix Symphony, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. Additionally, Garrett is an Associate Artist with the Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass. A new music advocate, Garrett has worked with composers to commission new works for trumpet, presenting newly composed works at International Trumpet Guild Conferences.

Garrett earned his DMA and MM degrees at Arizona State University, along with a Certificate in Music Theory Pedagogy. Prior to ASU, he studied at the prestigious Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore and St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Garrett Klein is an endorsing artist for Conn-Selmer and proudly performs on Vincent Bach trumpets.