Commissioned by the National Wind Ensemble Consortium Group and premiered by the Hartt Wind Ensemble and Symphony Band at Carnegie Hall under the baton of Dr. Glen Adsit on May 30, 2010, Chen Yi's Dragon Rhyme for symphonic band has two movements: I. Mysteriously-Harmoniously; II. Energetically. The first movement is more lyrical and the second powerful. The thematic material in both movements is matched, which is used economically for development throughout the work. The instrumental texture is rich in colors, from transparent and delicate to angular and strong. Taking the image of the dragon, which is auspicious, fresh and vivid, the music is layered and multidimensional. It symbolizes the Eastern culture. When it meets the world, it becomes part of the global family.
Program note from score
On December 14, 1844, the remains of Carl Maria von Weber were moved from London, where he had died, to Germany. Wagner composed Trauermusik for the torch-light procession to Weber’s final resting place, the Catholic Cemetary in Friedrichstadt. As part of his musical remembrance, Wagner arranged several portions of Weber’s opera, Euryanthe, for a large wind band of 75 players including 7 oboes, 10 bassoons, 25 clarinets and 14 horns, among others. This wind band was accompanied during the funeral procession by 20 drums. The first part of Trauermusik is an arrangement of music from the overture to Euryanthe which represents the vision of Emma’s spirit in the opera. The main section of the work is taken from the cavatina “Hier dicht am Quell,” the text of which contains numerous references to death. The coda comes from a passage in Act II that recalls the opening “spirit music.” Wagner amassed all of the military bands around Dresden for the occasion, and was gratified by the effect. He remained fond of the work throughout his life and in Mein Leben he wrote, “I had never before achieved anything that corresponded so perfectly to its purpose.”
Program note by Michael Votta
A couple of years ago, I started thinking about how so often when classical composers write a piece of music, they are trying to tell you something that they are proud of and like about themselves. Here’s this big gushing melody, see how emotional I am. Or, here’s this abstract hard-to-figure-out piece, see how complicated I am, see my really big brain. I am more noble, more sensitive, I am so happy. The composer really believes he or she is exemplary in this or that area. It’s interesting, but it’s not very humble. So I thought, “What would it be like if composers based pieces on what they thought was wrong with them? Like, here’s a piece that shows you how miserable I am. Or, here’s a piece that shows you what a liar I am, what a cheater I am.” I wanted to make a piece that was about something disreputable. It’s a hard line to cross. You have to work against all your training. You are not taught to find the dirty seams in music. You are not taught to be low-down, clumsy, sly and underhanded. In cheating, lying, stealing, although phrased in a comic way, I am trying to look at something dark. There is a swagger, but it is not trustworthy. In fact, the instruction in the score for how to play it says: ominous funk.
Program note by David Lang
Equally comfortable as a composer, organist, teacher, and ornithologist, Olivier Messiaen occupied a unique place in twentieth-century music. A stalwart Catholic, Messiaen created a unique musical language centered around his faith that combined literal representations of birdsong with Indian rhythmic patterns, Greek poetic rhythms, plainchant, and a distinctive melodic and harmonic vocabulary.
Regarding La Ville d’en-haut, Messiaen wrote,
The piece is based on two texts from Holy Scripture:
“…set your hearts on things above, where Christ is…” Colossians 3:1 (NIV)
“I saw the Holy City…coming down out of heaven from God…” Revelation 21:2 (NIV)
It is therefore a brief glimpse of life in the afterlife: the resurrected in a city of glory and peace.
Brass chorale. A trumpet melody, accompanied by piano and glockenspiel chords. A call, linked to a strophe from the xylophone, xylorimba, marimba: it is a bird from the bushes of France, Italy, Spain: the melodious warbler. Again the brass chorale. And the trumpet melody, a little longer. New calls and a new strophe of the melodious warbler with three keyboards. The Eurasian blackcap by the woodwinds. Garden warbler by the solo piano. These two birds alternate for quite a long time between woodwinds and solo piano with ever longer stanzas. Return of the brass chorale. And a repeat of the very elongated trumpet melody to the end. The brass chorale represents the glory of the Celestial City. The birds of the three keyboards, of the woodwinds, of the solo piano, symbolize the joy of the resurrected, assured of always being close to Christ. The chord colors change almost constantly and in turn symbolize the colors of the light of heaven.
Though John Williams has mastered many forms of composition, he is most famous for his unforgettable film scores, which are considered the epitome of film music. In 1977, Williams composed what is arguably his most famous film score, the music for Star Wars, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Score that year. It was not his first Oscar win, nor would it be his last, but the music for Star Wars cemented Williams’ fame as a composer. The opening fanfare of the “Main Theme” is instantly recognizable and sets the stage for the epic film to come. The 1977 score of Star Wars was selected by the American Film Institute as the greatest film score of all time.
Program note from U.S. Marine Band concert program, 2 June 2022
Jonathan Caldwell is director of bands and assistant professor of conducting at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he conducts the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band and teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting. Prior to his appointment at UNCG, Caldwell held positions at Virginia Tech, the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, and Garner Magnet High School (Garner, NC).
Ensembles under Caldwell’s guidance have performed for the College Band Directors National Association Southern Division, the National Band Association–Wisconsin Chapter, and in Carnegie Hall. His writings have been published in the Journal of Band Research and the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series. He has given presentations for the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the College Band Directors National Association, the Internationale Gesellschaft zur Erforschung und Förderung der Blasmusik (IGEB), and music educator conferences in North Carolina and Virginia.
Caldwell received a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from the University of Michigan and a Master of Music in instrumental conducting from the University of Maryland, College Park. He holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and a Bachelor of Music in performance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Hailed for her “brilliant pianism” (Gramophone) and “acrobatic” performances (Take Effect), Taiwanese-American pianist Annie Jeng has performed widely as a solo and chamber musician at the Brancaleoni International Music Festival in Italy, the Gijón International Piano Festival in Spain, the Kennedy Center, New York City, China, and at numerous academic institutions as a guest artist. As an advocate for pushing the boundaries of traditional performances, Annie has performed and curated concerts at breweries, parking deck rooftops, intimate living room settings, and other unconventional spaces, all with the aim of making the arts more accessible and interdisciplinary. Annie has presented at Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) conferences at collegiate, state, and national levels, The National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), and College Music Society (CMS) conferences. She is the current President of Greensboro Music Teachers Association (GMTA) and serves on the board for the North Carolina Music Teachers Association (NCMTA). During summers, she is the Assistant Director of Piano for the Brancaleoni International Music Festival in Piobbico, Italy.
Annie has commissioned and premiered dozens of new works. She is the pianist of Khemia Ensemble, a contemporary chamber ensemble that is dedicated to promoting contemporary classical music by cultivating inclusive place-making, collaborative mentorships, and authentic storytelling through immersive, multimedia performances. She also released the album “World Map” with Parma Recordings as the former pianist of Four Corner’s Ensemble. Her latest commissioning project, Circles and Lines, consists of new pedagogical works by women composers that introduces contemporary piano techniques to intermediate pianists. As a strong believer in creating a better and more equitable “normal” in the piano community, she also founded A Seat at the Piano (ASAP) in the summer of 2020. ASAP is a 501(c)(3) that is dedicated to the promotion of inclusion in the performance and study of solo piano repertoire. In collaboration with the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy, she has co-created an online course on women composers, been invited to speak on panels, present workshops, and serves on the Career Develop and Innovation subcommittee chair for NCKP.
Annie received her DMA in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Michigan, where she also received her MM. She earned her BM in Piano Performance with a minor in Public Health from New York University. Her primary teachers have included Logan Skelton, José Ramón Mendez, Miyoko Lotto, Anne-Marie McDermott, and Faye Bonner. She is currently Assistant Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.