December 1st Wind Ensemble
Dr. Frank Tracz, Conductor
Wind Ensemble
Dr. Frank Tracz, Conductor
Festive Overture (1954)………………….…………...………………..Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral (1850)………………….…………......Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Hymn to a Blue Hour (2010)………………….…………...………………….….John Mackey (b. 1973)
Toccata Marziale (1924)………………….…………...…………Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Clear Track Polka (1980)………………….…………...…………………...Eduard Strauss (1835-1916)
Wind Ensemble Program Notes
Festive Overture (1954)………………….…………...………………..Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
The gestation of Shostakovich’s Festive Overture has been subject to several different theories. One author claims that it was originally written in 1947, but was suppressed by Shostakovich along with many of his compositions created during this repressive period of Soviet history. Others believe that the celebratory quality of the overture displays Shostakovich’s relief at the death of Josef Stalin (in 1953), whose regime had twice censored the composer and his music. Most probably, the work was commissioned for a gathering at the Bolshoi Theater in November of 1954, celebrating the 37th anniversary of the October Revolution. The conductor, Vasili Nebolsin, realized that he had no appropriate piece to open the high-profile concert. He approached Shostakovich, who was at the time a musical consultant at the Bolshoi. The composer set to work, and the overture was completed in three days, the individual pages of the score being taken by courier before the ink had dried to copyists waiting at the theater to create the orchestra parts. Although written in haste, the overture has proved to be one of Shostakovich’s most frequently performed works.
Program Note from University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Wind Ensemble concert program, 19 November 2015
Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral (1850)………………….…………......Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Transcriber Lucien Cailliet was a clarinetist in the Philadelphia Orchestra for many years and also served as associate conductor of The Allentown Band in Pennsylvania. This ensemble, with whom Cailliet frequently tested his transcriptions, is the oldest civilian concert band in the nation and has a proud history of talented musicians gracing its roster. His imaginative transcription of this bridal procession from Lohengrin, which dates from 1938, seamlessly combines the chorus and the orchestra into a setting that has proved to be one of Cailliet’s most successful and popular adaptations for band.
Program Note from U.S. Marine Band concert program, 17 August 2016
Toccata Marziale (1924)………………….…………...…………Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Toccata Marziale, written in 1924, was Vaughan Williams’s second work for military band and is one of the most significant contributions to the wind band literature. The word “toccata” comes from the Italian toccare, meaning “to touch,” hence its association with the early Baroque virtuoso keyboard pieces written by Frescobaldi and others. Toccata Marziale is a contrapuntal masterpiece for wind ensemble, in which textures are juxtaposed in massed effects with large sections of winds and brasses. A rhythmic vigor, as suggested by the title, permeates the piece, and Vaughan Williams’s brilliant scoring reveals the fundamental properties of the band’s sonority and its instrumental virtuosity and color.
Program Note by Frederick Fennell
Hymn to a Blue Hour (2010)………………….…………...………………….….John Mackey (b. 1973)
The blue hour is an oft-poeticized moment of the day - a lingering twilight that halos the sky after sundown but before complete darkness sets in. It is a time of day known for its romantic, spiritual, and ethereal connotations, and this magical moment has frequently inspired artists to attempt to capture its remarkable essence. This is the same essence that inhabits the sonic world of John Mackey’s Hymn to a Blue Hour.
Programmatic content aside, the title itself contains two strongly suggestive implications - first, the notion of hymnody, which implies a transcendent and perhaps even sacred tone; the second, the color blue, which has an inexorable tie to American music. Certainly Hymn to a Blue Hour is not directly influenced by the blues, per se, but there is frequently throughout the piece a sense of nostalgic remorse and longing - an overwhelming sadness that is the same as the typically morose jazz form. Blue also has a strong affiliation with nobility, authority, and calmness.
This piece is composed largely from three recurring motives - first, a cascade of falling thirds; second, a stepwise descent that provides a musical sigh; and third, the descent’s reverse: an ascent that imbues hopeful optimism. From the basic framework of these motives stated at the outset of the work, a beautiful duet emerges between horn and euphonium - creating a texture spun together into a pillowy blanket of sound, reminiscent of similar constructions elicited by great American melodists of the 20th century, such as Samuel Barber. This melody superimposes a sensation of joy over the otherwise “blue” emotive context - a melodic line that over a long period of time spins the work to a point of catharsis. In their climactic moment, the colors are at their brightest, enveloping their surroundings with an engelic glow. Alas, as is the case with the magical blue hour, the moment cannot last for long, and just as steadily as they arrived, the colors dissipate into the encroaching darkness, eventually succumbing at the work’s conclusion with a sense of peaceful repose.
Program notes by Jake Wallace
Clear Track Polka (1980)………………….…………...…………………...Eduard Strauss (1835-1916)
The Strauss dynasty (there is really no other word for it) has now lasted over 150 years, in Vienna and throughout the world, bringing forth this illustrious and continuing family, a long line of composers, conductors and performers whose efforts have delighted and entranced at least six generations of musicians, music lovers, dancers, and audiences on every continent in the civilized world.
Like his brothers, Eduard became a successful composer and conductor, almost in defiance of his father's wishes, who did not want any of his three sons to pursue such a calling. Whereas his brothers Johann and Joseph had to deal with this situation in a sometimes painful way, Eduard (only ten when his father died) had a much easier time following his inclination toward music. As a result, he was able to enjoy his successes with a much clearer conscience. Eduard traveled and toured extensively throughout Europe as a conductor of his own orchestra and others. His compositions, imbued with the same Viennese spirit and vitality became well known and are still performed to this day.
Clear Track Polka (Bahn Frei) is another of those delightful "Schnell Polkas" that seemed to be a Strauss invention. It depicts a railroad train being given the "clear track ahead" signal, and after starting up and reaching cruising speed, takes its riders merrily on their happy, jingling way, with Straussian melodies as its fuel.
Program Notes by The Lexington Bicentennial Band
Kansas State University Wind Ensemble
Flute Jenna Dominguez Nicole Hoppas Jessica Minnich* Amaya Molinar Bailey Tadda
Oboe Lily Linville Brielle Vollmuth*
Clarinet Mark Ahlman Olivia Bazanos Taton Bennett Peri Carney Audrey Farrell Joseph Forino Ethan Hill Crystal Rathburn* Hilary Tallman
Bass Clarinet Haley Rader Tony Rodriguez | Alto Saxophone Hannah Mancini Julia McCabe Nosara Vargas Gamboa*
Tenor Saxophone Mason Ringer
Baritone Saxophone James Probst
Trumpet Ann Barker Mitchell Betancourt* Nathan Enns Kyle Grimes Caleb Niehoff Jessica Vanstory
French Horn Josie Anderson Braden Jones Katie Kimmel Elliot Peters Sophia Shaar* | Trombone Tyler Long William Osorio Daniel Smith Travis Turner*
Euphonium Justin Koegeboehn Trey Switzer* Michael Walker
Tuba Chris Hovis* Chase Keesling
Percussion Braedon Bomgardner John Eldridge Jack Johnson* Nathan Smith Preston Thomas Brandon Wells Eric Woods
String Bass Stephen Mitchell
Piano Jacob Thomas |
*Denotes Principal Section Player | ||
Wind Ensemble Conductors
FRANK TRACZ is Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Kansas State University. He earned his B.M.E. from The Ohio State University, the M.M. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Ph. D. from The Ohio State University. He has public school teaching experience in Wisconsin and Ohio and has also served as Assistant Director of bands at Syracuse University and Director of bands at Morehead State University. Dr. Tracz has served as an adjudicator, clinician, speaker in various schools and conferences and has conducted All-State and Honor bands across the United States as well as in Canada, Singapore, South Africa, Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand.
At Kansas State he directs the Wind Ensemble and the Marching Band, teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting, advisor to Kappa Kappa Psi, Tau Beta Sigma, and the Band Ambassadors, and administers and guides all aspects of a large BIG XII comprehensive band program. Ensembles under his direction have been invited to perform at numerous State conferences, MENC, two CBDNA regional conferences, The Larry Sutherland Wind band Festival at Fresno State, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center. The marching band was awarded the prestigious Sudler Trophy in 2015. The Wind Ensemble has been invited to perform at the International Convention of the American Bandmasters Association in 2019 in Loveland, CO
Dr. Tracz is on the faculty of the Conn-Selmer Institute, adjunct faculty of the American Band College, past member of the Music Education Journal Editorial Board, contributor to the Teaching Music Through Performance In Band series, and was recently appointed Chair of the Sudler Trophy Project of the John Philip Sousa Foundation. His honors include the Stamey Award for outstanding teaching, Kansas Bandmasters Outstanding Director award, Wildcat Pride Alumni Association award, the Tau Beta Sigma Paula Crider Outstanding Band Director award, named a Lowell Mason fellow, and Phi Kappa Phi Honorary Fraternity. He has also received the Conn-Selmer Institute Hall of Fame award, the Kansas State Professorial Performance award, and was elected to the prestigious American Bandmasters Association.
Dr. Tracz is married to Geralyn, and has three daughters, Jessica Tracz Kelly, Kelley Tracz, and Carly Tracz-Morris. He also has one grandson, Caden.
