UWA Wind Ensemble Concert April 25th, 2023 | 7:00 p.m. | UWA Auditorium

AYO: Rhapsody for Band | Katahj Copley (b. 1998)

Seascape | Alfred Reed (1921-2005) | Braxton Jones, Euphonium

Diamond Tide | Viet Cuong (b. 1992)

Aquarium | Movement I & II | Johan de Meij (b. 1969)

British Eighth March | Zo Elliott (1891-1964)

AYO: Rhapsody for Band (2022)

Salutations.

Greetings.

Hello.

Hi.

Hey.

Yo.

Ayo.

These terms along with countless others have been used to greet people throughout history. However, the term "AYO" is different. Rooted from hip hop and jazz cultures, AYO is built in the black language. It's used to tell when something is right, when something is wrong, when something is awesome, and when something is too sweet for words. Its use is seen with your closest people, your family, or people who know you best. It's personal.

In short, "AYO" is a personal embrace that can represent life.

With this piece I wanted build the kind of embrace you would get from this one word while also honoring its beginnings – using hip hop rhythms and colorful harmonies. By the end of the piece, we the listeners go from uncertainty to home; and with the uniqueness of the piece, we in turn celebrate not only a word like AYO but also celebrate life. (Copley)

Diamond Tide (2015)

A 2010 article published in Nature Physics details an experiment in which scientists were able to successfully melt a diamond and, for the first time, measure the temperature and pressure necessary to do so. When diamonds are heated to very high temperatures, they don’t melt; they simply turn into graphite, which then melts (and the thought of liquid graphite isn’t nearly as appealing or beautiful as liquid diamond.) Therefore, the addition of extremely high pressure -- 40 million times the pressure we feel on earth at sea level -- is crucial to melt a diamond.

The extreme temperature and pressure used in this experiment are found on Neptune and Uranus, and scientists therefore believe that seas of liquid diamond are possible on these two planets. Oceans of diamond may also account for these planets’ peculiar magnetic and geographic poles, which do not line up like they do here on earth. Lastly, as the scientists were melting the diamonds, they saw floating shards of solid diamond forming in the pools -- just like icebergs in our oceans. Imagine: distant planets with oceans of liquid diamond filled with bergs of sparkling solid diamonds drifting in the tide...

These theories are obviously all conjecture, but this alluring imagery provided heaps of inspiration for Diamond Tide, which utilizes the “melting” sounds of metallic water percussion and trombone glissandi throughout.

The work is in two movements, which may be performed separately.

Heartfelt thanks to Cheryl Floyd, Richard Floyd, the TMEA Region 18 bands, and John Mackey for making this piece possible. (Cuong)

Seascape (1962)

"Seascape" was written for the noted Baritone and Trombone soloist, Hunter N. Wiley, and was first performed at a concert given in connection with the annual convention of the Florida Composers' League on March 16th, 1962, with Mr. Wiley as soloist and the composer conducting the University of Tampa Symphonic Band.

Alfred Reed has termed this score a "Dramatic Intermezzo", and the music unites the lyric and dramatic moods through three themes, developed in a free, rhapsodic manner. The score attempts a welding together of solo instrument and band into a continuous musical texture, with both parts of equal importance, so that there is no pure "accompaniment" as such. The thematic material passes almost constantly back and forth between the soloist and the band, and the individual colors of the modern, balanced concert band are exploited to their fullest against the predominating tone of the Baritone (or Trombone) soloist.

Aquarium (1991) | Movements I and II

The suite Aquarium is Johan de Meij's third composition for symphonic band and features six tropical fishes, each of them represented by a motif, and surfacing as such in several guises. The composition consists of three movements, of which the second and third merge uninterruptedly into each other.

1. Allegretto grazioso (Neon Tetra, Electric Eel and Angelfish)

2. Andante/Adagio (Sea Horse and Zebra fish)

3. Finale: Allegro giocoso (Guppy & Co.)

The neon tetra motif functions as a kind of 'leitmotiv' and describes the beautifully coloured, frisky fish: A number of variants have been derived from this theme and will also appear in the other movements. The electric eel is fact is not represented by a motif, but by a rhythm based on the restless electric pulses made audible in some aquaria. The angel fish is represented by elegant chord clusters.

In the second movement the sea horse emerges out of the water vegetation and starts a dialogue with the zebra fish, which is represented by one melodic phrase in unison getting more and more threatening by adding parallel fifths and octaves. Simultaneously with the sea horse motif the neon tetra theme emerges, this time in 3/4 time and in Eb minor.

British Eighth March (1944)

The British Eighth March was copyrighted in manuscript in 1943 and published in 1944. It was dedicated to Gen. Bernard Montgomery and the Eighth Army after a triumphant sweep across North Africa in 1942. Following the defeat of Rommel’s forces at El Alamein, Montgomery was promoted to field marshal, and he soon became the idol of the British public. In 1944 he commanded all Allied ground forces during the invasion of France, and in 1951 he became deputy commander of the Atlantic Pact nations. Since the war, Zo Elliott’s impressive march has retained its popularity on both sides of the Atlantic. In a 1980 random survey of 69 members of the Texas Bandmasters Association, for example, British Eighth March was ranked third in a list of nearly 80 favorites. ("Program Notes for Band")

• June 10-12 | West Alabama Marching Band | Drumline Audition Camp
• July 1 | Wind Audition Deadline | Information/Registration Link

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