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Carnaval! is a vivid depiction of the excitement and energy of a Latin street carnaval. During the carnaval season, an annual festival held prior to Lent, cultures all over the world celebrate with parades and street parties that feature floats, dancers, vendors, and street performers.

Giroux captures the activity and busyness of the carnaval with a persistent rhythmic motor that travels through various timbres of the ensemble including many Latin percussion instruments. The ‘A’ section of the piece serves as an introduction to some of the motives or main characters. Utilizing vibrant orchestration and styling, each motive evokes images of brightly colored dancers dressed in lavish costumes. As the parade continues, the listener hears the characters interact with one another, and the excitement builds as the tonal center starts to wander. The ‘B’ section becomes more homorhythmic and harmonious as if the crowd and the performers join together in singing. Attention is suddenly diverted as the next group of dancers come through, interjecting quick flashes of color, forming the development section. The development leads into a contrasting ‘C’ section that has a free and majestic texture, possibly illustrating the passing by of an enormous parade float. Familiar motives from the beginning return with slight variations, followed by a brief coda. As the music accelerates, the rush of excitement and energy overloads the senses and brings the piece to a close.

- Program notes by composer

Lux Aurumque began its life as an a-capella choral work that I wrote in the fall of 2000. When the Texas Music Educators Association and a consortium of bands commissioned me to adapt it for symphonic winds, I rewrote the climax and included the grand 'Bliss' theme from my opera Paradise Lost. Lux Aurumque received its premiere at the 2005 conference of the Texas Music Educators Association, and is dedicated with deep admiration for my dear friend Gary Green. The choral text is based from Edward Esch’s poem:

Light,
warm and heavy as pure gold
and the angels sing softly
to the new-born baby.

- Program note from score

The idea of writing the Danzón No. 2 originated in 1993 during a trip to Malinalco with the painter Andrés Fonseca and the dancer Irene Martínez, both of whom are experts in salon dances with a special passion for the danzón, which they were able to transmit to me from the beginning, and also during later trips to Veracruz and visits to the Colonia Salon in Mexico City. From these experiences onward, I started to learn the danzón’s rhythms, its form, its melodic outline, and to listen to the old recordings by Acerina and his Danzonera Orchestra. I was fascinated and I started to understand that the apparent lightness of the danzón is only like a visiting card for a type of music full of sensuality and qualitative seriousness, a genre which old Mexican people continue to dance with a touch of nostalgia and a jubilant escape towards their own emotional world; we can fortunately still see this in the embrace between music and dance that occurs in the state of Veracruz and in the dance parlors of Mexico City.

The Danzón No. 2 is a tribute to the environment that nourishes the genre. It endeavors to get as close as possible to the dance, to its nostalgic melodies, to its wild rhythms, and although it violates its intimacy, its form and its harmonic language, it is a very personal way of paying my respects and expressing my emotions towards truly popular music. Danzón No. 2 was written on a commission by the Department of Musical Activities at Mexico’s National Autonomous University and is dedicated to my daughter Lily.

- Program note by composer

When Bar Argos first opened in 2013, head bartender Melody Faraday, created a “Scale of Weirdness” to guide patrons know in selecting cocktails based on their taste for adventure, ranging from “colloquial” to “delightfully unusual” to “What?!” As many of you could probably surmise, I had a predilection for choosing drinks in the “What?!” category. Prof. Rochford and I used to go to the Bar Argos regularly to hear the 13° jazz trio at Bar Argos, and it was then he suggested I compose a symphony for band where each movement represents a different cocktail— an idea that became Scale of Weirdness. The Bagpipe Mariachi, a favorite of the late composer Steven Stucky, is a bold blend of smoky Mezcal tequila and smoky scotch. These elements are reflected in the bagpipe drone heard throughout and a mariachi-inspired trumpet solo, accompanied by castanets and a driving ostinato. After walking by a percussion ensemble rehearsal of some Guatemalan marimba music, featuring some members of this very concert band, I was inspired to write the end of the movement in that style. The soprano saxophone solo is significant in this regard. In order to “keep it weird,” I decided to transpose the main theme up a half step to B major while the drone continues in Bb, creating a deliberately disorienting tonal clash.





A Happy Death was the easiest for me to conceptualize— a reimagining of Chopin’s famous Marche Funèbre from his second piano sonata. I kept everything the same melodically, however it is imposed over an Eb7 chord instead of Bb minor. The melody lended itself to further harmonization with the blues. The second theme is drawn directly from Chopin’s sonata. The second major inspiration for the piece was delivered to me through a dream in which my former student Michael Mezzo played the theme, in major, on acoustic guitar. I woke up and immediately wrote down what I heard in the dream on the sheet music notebook I keep by my bed, and the horn solo over the end reflects this moment. Later, upon discovering the drink is made with Jamaican rum, I incorporated a reggae-influenced groove as a tribute to that detail.

The Grand Budapest Hotel made me immediately think of my years in the Ithaca College Klezmorum and the myriad bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, and weddings I was hired to play afterwards with my dear friend Ryan Zawel. The piece ends with a direct quote from how most of our klezmer tunes ended— including Ryan’s boisterous trombone cadence. In keeping with the “Scale of Weirdness”, I based most of the pitch material on the hexatonic scale, which sounds very similar to the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale which is used frequently in Klezmer music. I recently found out that The Grand Budapest Hotel is actually a Wes Anderson movie. The bell and piano polyrhythmic duo in the middle is representative of some of the music in that film.

Special thanks to Will Cicola for his guidance on some of the klezmer ornaments and for providing many recordings from our time in the Ithaca College Klezmorum, Avi Smith and Tippy Ard of Bar Argos, and Ben Rochford for his friendship and brilliant imagination.

- Program note by composer

We have Johannes Brahms to thank for essentially launching Dvořák’s career. In 1878, Brahms was a judge in a composition contest that awarded Dvořák honor as a contestant. Brahms then continued to champion the young Czech composer and helped him land his first publishing contract. The contract asked of Dvořák a symphony, which we know now as No. 5, as well as some other works, including the delicious serenade for winds (and strings). The Serenade offers us Dvořák in youthful invention, as well as at his best in beautiful melodies and luscious harmony. Dvořák composed this work in two weeks, the first movement being written in one day. It was written in 1878 and was premiered that same year in Prague with the composer conducting. With its instrumentation of ten winds and two strings and the charm of its melodies, it is reminiscent of the Mozart serenades written a century earlier. The minuet is an example of the native influence on Dvořák compositions. Its trio is a “furiant”, which is a Czech dance in quick triple time with syncopation, and this provides a marked contrast to the surrounding minuet sections of the movement. Also noteworthy is the return of the opening first movement theme toward the end of the final movement, leading into a grand conclusion of the piece. This opus is truly one of the masterpieces for wind ensemble.

Johan de Meij (b. 23 November 1953, Voorburg, Netherlands) is a Dutch conductor, composer and arranger living in the United States. De Meij studied trombone and conducting at the Royal Conservatory of Music at The Hague. His catalogue consists of original compositions, symphonic transcriptions and arrangements of film scores and musicals.

Johan de Meij’s first symphony The Lord of the Rings is based on the trilogy of that name by J.R.R. Tolkien. This book has fascinated many millions of readers since its publication in 1955. The symphony consists of five separate movements, each illustrating a personage or an important episode from the book.

The symphony was written in the period between March 1984 and December 1987, and had its première in Brussels on 15th March 1988, performed by the Groot Harmonieorkest van de Gidsen under the baton of Norbert Nozy. In 1989, The symphony The Lord of the Rings was awarded a first prize in the Sudler International Wind Band Composition Competition in Chicago, and a year later, the symphony was awarded by the Dutch Composers Fund. In 2001, the orchestral version was premiered by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Although it is not simple to summarize such an extensive and complex work, the main outline is as follows: the central theme is the Ring, made by primaeval forces that decide the safety or destruction of the world. For years it was the possession of the creature Gollum, but when the ring falls into the hands of the Hobbits the evil forces awake, and the struggle for the ring commences. There is but one solution to save the World from disaster: the ring must be destroyed by the fire in which it was forged: Mount Doom in the heart of Mordor, the country of the evil Lord Sauron.

It is the Hobbit Frodo who is assigned to carry out this task, and to assist him a company, the Fellowship of the Ring, is formed under the leadership of Gandalf, the wizard, which includes the Hobbits Sam, Peregrin and Merin, the Dwarf Gimli, the Elf Legolas, Boromir and Aragorn, the later King. The companions are secretly followed by Gollum, who does not shun any means, however perfidious, to recover his priceless ring. However, the companions soon fall apart and , after many pernicious adventures and a surprising dénouement, Frodo and Sam can at last return to their familiar home, The Shire.

The first movement is a musical portrait of the wizard Gandalf, one of the principal characters of the trilogy. His wise and noble personality is expressed by a stately motif which is used in a different form in movements IV and V. The sudden opening of the Allegro vivace is indicative of the unpredictability of the grey wizard, followed by a wild ride on his beautiful horse, Shadowfax.

- Program note by the composer

Catherine Likhuta (b. 1981, Kyiv, Ukraine) is an Australian-based composer, pianist and recording artist. Catherine holds a bachelor's degree in jazz piano from Kyiv Glière Music College and a five-year post-graduate degree in composition from the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine (Kyiv Conservatory). She also received her Ph.D. in composition at the University of Queensland.

Her music exhibits high emotional charge, programmatic nature and rhythmic complexity. Catherine's works have been performed throughout North America, Europe and Australia by many prominent soloists and ensembles, such as Paul Dean, Peter Luff, The Australian Voices, U.S. Army Field Band Horns, Cornell University Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony, Queensland Conservatorium Wind Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the National Radio of Ukraine. Her pieces have been played at several international events, including two international horn symposia and the World Saxophone Congress. Her concertino for five horns entitled Hard to Argue became the winner of the International Horn Society Composition Contest, virtuoso division.

Vivid Dreams was originally written for low horn and piano for the low horn virtuoso Denise Tryon. The wind band version was commissioned by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Wind Ensemble and Denis Tryon. When writing Vivid Dreams, Likhuta decided to highlight the horn's unique storytelling abilities and to musically depict three stories. The cycle opens with the solo horn prologue, as if inviting the audience to listen to the stories about to be told. Cradle in the Forest is a creepy lullaby gone wrong, with some unexpected turns.

Born to Guyanese parents, Omar Thomas moved to Boston in 2006 to pursue a Master of Music degree in jazz composition at the New England Conservatory of Music. He is the protégé of Ken Schaphorst and Frank Carlberg, and has studied under Maria Schneider.Omar's music has been performed in concert halls across the country. He has been commissioned to create works in both jazz and classical styles. His work has been performed by such diverse groups as the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble, the San Francisco and Boston Gay Men's Choruses, and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Thomas accepted a position in the composition area at the University of Texas in Austin in the fall of 2020. Previously he was a member of both the Harmony and Music Education departments at Berklee, where he taught all four levels of harmony offered, in addition to taking charge of the "Introduction to Music Education" course. Omar was an active member of the Berklee community, serving on the Diversity and Inclusion Council, the Comprehensive Enrollment Strategy Workgroup, and acting as co-chair of the LGBTQ Allies. Omar was nominated for the Distinguished Faculty Award after only three years at the college, and was thrice awarded the Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from Harvard University, where he served as a teaching fellow. In 2024, he was elected to the prestigious American Bandmasters Association.

Thomas writes of his music:

I played trombone in wind ensembles from the 4th grade through college. This experience has contributed significantly to the life I lead now. I had the pleasure of being exposed to sounds, colors, moods, rhythms, and melodies from all over the world. Curiously absent, however, was music told authentically from the African-American experience. In particular, I couldn’t understand how it was that no composer ever thought to tell the story of a black worship experience through the lens of a wind ensemble. I realize now that a big part of this was an issue of representation. One of the joys and honors of writing music for wind ensemble is that I get to write music that I wish had existed when I was playing in these groups -- music that told the story of the black experience via black composers. I am so grateful to Dr. Tony Marinello and the Illinois State University Wind Symphony for leading an incredible consortium that brought this piece to life. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to hanging with Tony and the group for a week in about a month’s time!

Come Sunday is a two-movement tribute to the Hammond organ’s central role in black worship services. The first movement, Testimony, follows the Hammond organ as it readies the congregation's hearts, minds, and spirits to receive The Word via a magical union of Bach, blues, jazz, and R&B. The second movement, Shout!, is a virtuosic celebration -- the frenzied and joyous climactic moment(s) when The Spirit has taken over the service. The title is a direct nod to Duke Ellington, who held an inspired love for classical music and allowed it to influence his own work in a multitude of ways. To all the black musicians in wind ensemble who were given opportunity after opportunity to celebrate everyone else’s music but our own -- I see you and I am you. This one’s for the culture!

FLUTE
Nawar Aboud
Emma Cardamone
Aaron Cowen
Brooke Delmage
Jamie Friedlander, piccolo
Zoe Lisa
Gillian Nord
Cameron Ting
Rebecca Weinman
Dionisia Yanniotis, piccolo
Alan Zimmerman

OBOE
Jamie Heskett, English horn

CLARINET
Evelyn Balzer
Brendan Blazier
Sammi Bullock
Lillian Caccamo
Raelin Meacham
Xavier Pagano
Sami Shone, bass
EJ Tucker
Toag Wolf, E-flat

BASSOON
Jessie Read
Milo Vinson

ALTO SAXOPHONE
Nick Gilbert
Lindsey Green
Isaac Hophan, soprano
Beckett Olson

TENOR SAXOPHONE
Alyssa Ayerle

BARITONE SAXOPHONE
Bailey Briggs
Daniel Edelman

HORN
Emma Bradley
Lucas Ferguson
Joel Rivera

TRUMPET
Jayden Casey
Erik Figueroa
Larkin Hanna
Nathan Johnson
Cameron Nocera
Anthony Reyes

TROMBONE
Thomas Burkum
Victor Chicas Caceros
Ian Equinozzi, bass
Alexander Little
Ilan Medwed

EUPHONIUM
Elvis Lazo

TUBA
Seamus Buford
Alex Nacion
Wyndam Withington

DOUBLE BASS
Dylan Drannbauer

PIANO
Samantha Buchanan

PERCUSSION
Sierra Dages
Audrey Diddle
Maddie Krebs
Frankie Marks
Rachel Somers

FLUTE
Mad Andrus*
Emily Dupuis
Gianna Gassira
Stephen Kim
Sydney Tomishina

OBOE
Natalie Gilbert
Brady Santin*

BASSOON
Thomas German
Griffin Harrel*
Rebecca Williams

CLARINET
Anthony Angelillo*
Kaitlin Barron
Phoebe Donaghy-Robinson
Grace Gonoud
Joseph Ha
Amanda Haussmann
Liam Kearney
Christian Laughlin
Will Lesser
Fitz McAlpine
Leah Trezza

SAXOPHONE
James Baker
Lauren Bradbury
TJ Lanks*
Elora Kunz
Bryson Sauer

PIANO
Andrew Woodruff

TRUMPET
Nathan Felch
Cal Fitanides*
Camilo Mamani
Ian Manchester
Thomas Papke
Lamar Williams

HORN
Sarah Griffin
Kate Martin*
Hope Massey
Simon Stainbrook

TROMBONE
Elvis Lazo
Meghan Liang
Miguel Lopez
Elias Orphanides*
Will Shanton

EUPHONIUM
Jamie DiSalvo*
Tyler Phoebus

TUBA
Nick Smith
Noah Smith*

PERCUSSION
Madelyn Krebs
Elliot Liberty
Jillian Mihalik
Rebecca Muller
Olivia Okin*
Peter Stenberg

STRING BASS
Gabe Rogers

Mad Andrus, flute
Madi Connor, flute
Anthony Angelillo, clarinet
Fitz McAlpine, clarinet
Thomas German, bassoon
Griffin Harrel, bassoon

Nearah Sanon, bassoon
Finny Keefe, horn
Eliza Ferrara, horn
Kate Martin, horn
Peter Morales, cello
Nellie Cordi, bass

* indicates section manager
Members of the Wind Ensemble are listed alphabetically to acknowledge each performer's unique contribution. Every individual is considered to be a principal player.