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INDIAN PRAIRIE SCHOOL DISTRICT 204

Superintendent ..................................................................................................................................................Dr. Karen Sullivan


Assistant Superintendent, Elementary.........................................................................................................................Kathy Pease
Assistant Superintendent, Middle Schools ..............................................................................................Brad Hillman
Assistant Superintendent, High Schools .................................................................................................Dr. Louis Lee
District 204 Music Education Coordinator ........................................................................................ William Jastrow
WAUBONSIE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Principal........................................................................................................................................................................Jason Stipp
Assistant Principal.............................................................................................................................................Rebecca Schreiber
Assistant Principal ............................................................................................................................................ Jason Schmidtgall
Assistant Principal.....................................................................................................................................................Charles Bibbs
Fine Arts Department Chair ................................................................................................................................................... Mark Duker
IPSD 204 GENERAL/CHORAL MUSIC
Brookdale ...................................................................................................................................Anthony Pape, Cristina Wagoner
Brooks .................................................................................................................................................Cara Knutson, Kathy Muno
Builta ........................................................................................................................................................................Mary Schmitz
Clow .....................................................................................................................................Ryan Henry, Shelley May-Hutchison
Cowlishaw ..........................................................................................................................................................Michele Drescher
Fry .......................................................................................................................................................Ryan Henry, Mary Schmitz
Georgetown ..............................................................................................................................................................Andrea Burck
Gombert ....................................................................................................................................................Shelley May-Hutchison
Graham ..................................................................................................................................................................Kari Rothmeyer
Kendall ........................................................................................................................................................................Katie Handy
Longwood ...........................................................................................................................................................Cristina Wagoner
May Watts .......................................................................................................................................................Danielle Donaldson
McCarty .................................................................................................................................................................Jeanette Brooks
Owen ............................................................................................................................................................................Sue Boozell
Patterson ..........................................................................................................................................Sue Boozell, Kari Rothmeyer
Peterson ........................................................................................................................................Jamie Erlenbaugh, Katie Handy
Springbrook ................................................................................................................................................................Adam Duym
Steck ...........................................................................................................................................................................Kathy Muno
Welch .......................................................................................................................................................................Michelle Ross
White Eagle ........................................................................................................................................................Jamie Erlenbaugh
Young ................................................................................................................................................Claire Fenton, Anthony Pape
Crone Middle School ............................................................................................................... Brittany Anderson, Michael Sillar
Fischer Middle School ..............................................................................................Allison Rider, Veronica Roman-Meyer
Granger Middle School ........................................................................................................................................Maureen McCoy
Gregory Middle School...............................................................................................................Claire Fenton, David Pfenninger
Hill Middle School ......................................................................................................................................................Ron Korbitz
Scullen Middle School ..............................................................................................................Michael Ferguson, Graham Heise
Still Middle School ...........................................................................................Dawn Pakkebier, Mary Whitney, Megan Zalokar
Metea Valley High School ............................................................................Melinda Arnold, Paulette Boddy, Nathan Bramstedt
Neuqua Valley High School .....................................................................................Jay Kellner, J. Ryan Rimington, Reid Spears
Waubonsie Valley High School .....................................................................................Beth Best, Nicole DiGrazia, Mark Myers
IPSD 204 INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Crone Middle School & Elementary Feeders ................................................................Katie Brown, Regina Kazda, EJ Roberts
John Timmins, Megan Zalokar
Fischer Middle School & Elementary Feeders...................................................Caitlynne Burgess, Bethany Lugay, Beth Myers
Chris Niesluchowski,Allison Rider
Granger Middle School & Elementary Feeders.............................................................................Jason Dyhouse, Katie Kryszak
Anneke Miers, David Pakkebier
Gregory Middle School & Elementary Feeders ............................................................................Kelly Dimidik, Stephanie Lein
Robert E. Provost, Melissa Schwolow
Hill Middle School & Elementary Feeders..............................................................................Sarah Friederich, Megan LoPresto
Heidi Rogers, Loretta Valentin
Scullen Middle School & Elementary Feeders........................................................Krista Halvorson, Graham Heise, Lori Lauff
Laura Patterson. Doug Ruhs, Jessica Savage
Still Middle School & Elementary Feeders.......................................................................Chris Niesluchowski, Dawn Pakkebier
Doug Ruhs, Megan Zalokar
Metea Valley High School Band ...................................Don Devany, Josh Kaminsky, Glen Schneider
Metea Valley High School Orchestra ................................................Mark Liu, Elisabeth Mezera, Robin Sackschewsky
Neuqua Valley High School Band.......................................Emily Binder, Corinne Jones, Jonathan Lauff, Charles W. Staley, Jr.
Neuqua Valley High School Orchestra ................................................................Krista Halvorson, Brad Pfeil, Greg Schwaegler
Waubonsie Valley High School Band........................................................................Kevin Carroll, Chris Dandeles, Mark Duker
Waubonsie Valley High School Orchestra .........................................................................John William Burck, Daryl Silberman

The Indian Prairie School District music program thanks the Indian Prairie Educational
Foundation for their continual, generous support of the arts.

WAUBONSIE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL


MUSIC DEPARTMENT
presents

Music in Our Schools Month


Varsity Concert
with

Chamber Strings
&
Symphony Orchestra
Daryl Silberman, Director

Varsity Chamber

Mark Myers, Director


Seth Durbin, Student Teacher
Nicole DiGrazia, Accompanist
and

Wind Ensemble

Mark Duker, Director


Thursday, March 5, 2015
7pm
Wentz Hall
North Central College

Waubonsie Valley High School


Music Department

MISSION STATEMENT
Music is universal, cultural, and individual. It is with this understanding that
the Music Department of Waubonsie Valley High School provides every student with the
opportunity to receive a high-quality musical training in school, regardless of grade level,
performance level, or background. The goal of this musical training is to help participants
achieve a personal level of understanding, appreciation, and passion for music.
It is undeniable that music has always been an integral part of human existence.
Every culture throughout history carries its own musical traditions. In our culturally
diverse society, music is one of the few common threads that links peoples and ideas
together. Music education uses the artistic medium of musical sound to give insight into
the universal human experience.
Departmental Goals:

Develop strong musicianship and cultivate aesthetic awareness in the classroom


through the preparation and performance of quality musical literature. (National
Music Standards 1, 2 and 5)
Provide co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for all music students
that enhance their musical experience. (NMS 1, 2 and 5)
Facilitate opportunities for students seeking musical self-enrichment.
(NMS 2)
Empower students to create their own music through composition, arranging,
and improvisation. (NMS 3 and 4)
Create community on all levels: within our classrooms, our department, our
school buildings, and our local population; as well as within the national and
global community. (NMS 8 and 9)
Enrich students appreciation of the musical arts by attending fine cultural events.
(NMS 6 and 7)
Create the best possible learning environment for students to pursue an education
in the musical arts. (NMS 8)
Inspire students to become life-long learners and intelligent consumers of music.
(NMS 7 and 9)
Address the needs of students seeking a future career in the field of music. (NMS
1, 2, 7, 8 and 9)

Family
Arturo & Yolanda Acevedo
Ajmera Family
Nily Anlar
Randy & Cindy Becker
James & Lisa Beier
Chris & Mary BenVau
The Benziger Family
Tushar & Jaya Bhawtankar
Ray & Carol Bishop Family
Mark & Sue Boozell
The Born Family
The Brunelle Family
John & Lorena Burns
Carey Family
The Cassidy Family
The Chappell Family
Chari
Anjani Chintalapudi
Calvin Chu & Family
Cordes Family
Mary & Alexandra Coutee
The Diefenderfer Family
The Ditzel Family
Ken & Raynah DSouza
The Ehlert Family
Brian & Theresa Feeney
Dan & Ellen Filipek
Flori Family
The Fowler Family
The Fox Family
The Gervais Family
The Gorshe Family
The Guerrieri Family

Dale & Kara Hari


Susan Heilmann
Hiller Family
Mr. & Mrs. Theodore Hudson
Bertha Jackson & Family
The Jaskae Family
Jian Family
Landon Jones & Family
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Julius, Sr
Taek Kim
The Kim Family
Klaft Family
The Knowles Family
Koberstine Family
Koritala Family
Barbara Krawczyk
Todd & Kim Lewis
Stephanie Liu & Family
The Mahacek Family
Dan & Kris McCormick
The Meyer Family
Rich & Anna Morris
Morusupalli Family
Akira & Miki Motoyama
Carrie & Dan Nave
Ochoa Family
The ODonnell Family
Prasenjit & Seema Paul
Paul & Kellie Pirkle
Richard & Julie Puls
The Reinertson Family
Michael Rhoades Family
Steve & Laura Riley

The Roberts Family


Wendy & Jeff Ruhde
The Rullo Family
Geeta Sasikanth
Chanaka Samarakoon
Schenekl Family
The Schuch Family
Pal Shah & Family
The Simon Family
Steve Smith Family
The Lorack Family
Mike & Cindy Steele
Bob & Debbie Stewart
Ramesh & Viji Subrahmanyam
Dave & Dawn Summers
Srinivas Family
The Thennarasu Family
The Thurman-Keup Family
Tiscareno Family
Tse Family
Valek Family
Tracey Vuksinic
The Wagenknecht Family
Debbie & Yongxin Wang
The Watkins Family
The Wetzel Family
The Wilczynski Family
Carole Yaacoub
Matthew & Margaret Zaker
Zubic Family
Anonymous

Anonymous (2014)
Anonymous (2018)
Mabel Pagay (2017)
Leo & Dorette Rich (2018)

Monica A. Toth
Chris & Jacquie Williams
Jennifer Vickers (2014)

Alumni
Nicholas Brunelle (2014)
Karthik Devarakonda
Oksana Kochergin

Coda:
Our most noble goals are set in the context of awakening all children to the gift of
music and equipping them to use it for a lifetime.
Marie McCarthy

We regret any errors or omissions to Music Patron names in the program.


Please contact mark_duker@ipsd.org with any corrections.

MUSIC PATRONS

PROGRAM

The Waubonsie Valley Music Family wish to express their gratitude to


the following Music Patrons who have made donations to benefit our
Music Programs, Scholarships and Activities.

VARSITY CHAMBER
Mark Myers, Director

Warrior
The Bentson Family
John & Adina Bishop
Larry & Peggy Boik
The Bonaguro Family
BP Fabric of America Fund
Gary & Kelly Breuer
Jasendu & Soma Chakraborty
Rob & Robin Church
Dave & Barb Crane
Kurt & Jeanne Daill

The DeMaso Family


Amit & Nirati Gupta
Bill & Chris Holbrook
Robert & Kerrie Johnson
Cicily Jones/Jones Thengil
Dave & Lynn McCammon
Brian & Tammy McGough
The Mikaili Family
Julie & Peter Moy
The David Pakkebier Family

Panuganti Family
Kim & Patricia Reed
Hans & Claudia Schmidt
The Schmitt Family
Robb & Kim Powell
The Truckenbrod Family
George & Nancy Vickers
Anonymous

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Daryl Silberman, Director
Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin

Gold
Mark & Michal Baker
Anshuman & Priya Balekai
Balentine Family
Jesse & Carlota Bautista
Bender Family
The Born Family
The Braver Bunch
Cabrera Family
The Chimniak Family
Sharron Church
The Cole Family
The Conrath Family
Ganiyu Ademola Dada
& Bolanle Dada
Mike & Amy Dantzer
Liz Dieter
Fernandez Family
Dr. & Mrs. Paul Goldberg
The Gruman Family
The Haber Family

Kyrie from Petite Messe Solenelle


Gioachino Rossini
Earth Song
Frank Ticheli
Peze Kaf
Traditional Haitian, arr. Kllman
Shalom!
Traditional Jewish Folksongs, arr. Bucky
My Souls Been Anchored in the Lord
Spiritual, arr. Hogan

Steve & Teresa Heinen


The Holt Family
Houghton Family
Houghton Family
Itambo Family
The Jaishankar Family
Kleckler Family
Marty & Cindy Krug
The Lightle Family
The Moody Family
The Safer Family
John & Carol Shea
Jaison Family
Karas Family
The Keys Family
Rich & Mary Grace Madamba
Maniacci Family
Jon & Laura Maul
Jorge & Carolina Mendieta
The Mika Family

John & Audrie Miller


Dr. & Mrs. Chad Mueller
Jack & Laura Niekamp
Michael & Michele Nolan
Shelby Parchman
& Jamila Covington
Santillan Family
Schur Family
The Sondag Family
Greg & Jody Specht
Tiangco Family
Van Howe Family
Gail & John Wheeler
Cordell & Yvette Williams
The Wolak Family
The Woodruff Family
Wyman Family
The Yard Family
James & Tamara Zinn

The House Family


Ken Israelsen Family
William & Julie Jastrow
Choongil Kim & Eunyoung Lee
Kontos Family
The Krusic Family
Lakshmi & Hariharan
Lalitha & Srivatsan
Manecke Family
Ruthann & Mike Martin
McDonough Family
Miller Family
The Mitchell Family
Queennie Obando

The Reeder Family


Reyes Family
The Rumrey Family
Dinesh Salegame
Schenone Family
Shukla Family
Silberman-Seidenberg Family
Sreedhar Family
The Szela Family
The Vitro Family
Werle Family
Benjamin Yoon
James & Nilgn Zahour
Anonymous

CHAMBER STRINGS
Daryl Silberman, Director
Rounds for String Orchestra
I. Allegro, molto vivace
II. Adagio
III. Allegro, vigoroso

David Diamond

WIND ENSEMBLE
Mark Duker, Director
Fanfare for a New Era
Lincoln Portrait

Green
Ahuja Family
Sandy Balan
The Biswas Family
Chovancak Family
Kerry & Thomas Crumpton
Damore Family
Reena Devadas
Peter & Karen Dix Family
The Elenbaas Family
Esch Family
The Forman Family
The Gravel Family
Gusse Family
Diana & Dave Houck

Richard Wagner

Jack Stamp
Aaron Copland, trans. Beeler
William Jastrow, narrator

Symphony on Themes of John Philip Sousa


Mvt. II after The Thunderer
The Thunderer

Ira Hearshen
John Philip Sousa

Upcoming Events

PROGRAM NOTES
Kyrie from Petite Messe Solenelle
Gioachino Rossini
The Kyrie is the first movement of Gioachino Rossinis Petite Messe Solenelle. Rossini
composed the Mass in 1863 and dedicated it to Countess Louise Pillet-Will. The constant
extreme dynamic and harmonic shifts throughout are very representative of the Romantic
era in music.
Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison

Lord, have mercy


Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy

Earth Song
Frank Ticheli
Earth Song is one of only a few works that I have composed without a commission. Instead,
it sprang out of a personal need during a time when so many in this country, include myself,
were growing disillusioned with the war in Iraq. I felt a strong impulse to create something
that would express my own personal longing for peace.
It was this longing which engendered the poems creation. Normally, I would spend
countless hours, weeks, perhaps months, searching for the perfect poem to set. But in
this case, I knew I had to write the poem myself, partly because it is not just a poem, but
a prayer, a plea, a wisha bid to find inner peace in a world that seems eternally bent on
war and hatred.
But also, the poem is a steadfast declaration of the power of music to heal. In the end, the
speaker in the poem discovers that, through music, he is the embodiment of hope, peace,
the song within the Song. Perhaps music has the power not only to nurture inner peace,
but also to open hearts and ears in a world that desperately needs love and listening.
-Frank Ticheli, composer and lyricist
Peze Kaf
Traditional Haitian, arr. Sten Kllman
Creole is a mixture of French, Spanish, English, and West African languages. There are
many variations worldwide wholly different languages in different countries still
referred to as Creole. Haitian Creole has a strong French influence that stems from Haitis
French colonial history. Haitian coffee is serious, and so is the rich culture surrounding it.
Embodying this culture is Peze Kaf, a popular folk-song known by all, even children.
The song tells the story of a child sent to weigh, or buy, coffee for his family. On his
return home, he gets arrested. As they carry him and his coffee away, he wails What
am I going to do? What will I tell my mother about the coffee? He is more concerned
about the coffee than the arrest. This simple traditional folk song is set here by Swedish
composer Sten Kllman, who focuses on arrangements of music from Scandinavia, Haiti,
and the Middle East.
Manman m voye m peze kaf o
An arivan mwen sou potay
men youn jandam arte m
Woy sa ma di lakay
l m arrive mezanmi

Mother sends me to the market to sell coffee.


The police stop me,
they take my coffee.
Oh, what shall I say
when I get home, my friend?

Music in Our Schools Month Concert #2


Concert Orchestra, Concert Strings,
Symphonic Orchestra & Symphonic Strings
Music in Our Schools Month Concert #3
Concert Band, Symphonic Band & Wind Symphony
Music in Our Schools Month Concert #4
Cecillian Singers, Treble Choir, Mosaic,
Pink Notes & Cloud 9
Music in Our Schools Month Concert #5
Bass Chorus, Concert Choir, Varsity Singers,
Show Choirs & UnaVoce
WVHS Spring Percussion Concert
WVHS Mosaic & World Beat Concert
WVHS Jazz Concert
WVHS Vocal Pops Concert
Show Choirs
WVHS Senior Concerto Concert
Chamber Strings, Orchestra Winds,
Symphonic Strings & Concert Strings
WVHS Spring Musical

Tuesday, March 10th


7 PM WVHS Auditorium
Thursday, March 12th
7 PM WVHS Auditorium
Monday, March 23rd
7 PM WVHS Auditorium
Tuesday, March 24th
7 PM WVHS Auditorium

Thursday, March 26th


7 PM WVHS Auditorium
Tuesday, April 7th
7 PM WVHS Auditorium
Thursday, April 9th
7 PM WVHS Auditorium
Friday & Saturday, April 17th-18th
7 PM WVHS Auditorium
Monday, April 20th
7 PM WVHS Auditorium

Thursday, May 7th- Saturday, May 9th


7 PM WVHS Auditorium
WVHS Spring Choir Concert #1
Tuesday, May 12th
Concert Choir, Treble Choir, Green Bass Chorus,
7 PM WVHS Auditorium
Mosaic & UnaVoce
WVHS Spring Band Concert
Wednesday, May 13th
Concert Band, Symphonic Band,
7 PM WVHS Auditorium
Wind Symphony & Wind Ensemble
WVHS Spring Choir Concert #2
Thursday, May 14th
Freshmen Choirs, Varsity Choirs, Pink Notes & Cloud 9
7 PM WVHS Auditorium
Fine Arts Festival
Saturday, May 16th
WVHS, Still & Fischer Middle Schools, White Eagle, Steck,
8 AM - 4 PM
Owen, McCarty, Gombert, & Georgetown Elementary Schools
WVHS
WVHS Orchestra Family Pops Concert
Tuesday, May 19th
All WVHS Orchestras & Orchestra Winds
7 PM WVHS Auditorium

MANY THANKS
to
Dr. Ramona Wis & Ken Hannah
North Central College
WVHS Music Patrons & Auditorium Staff

PROGRAM NOTES, cont.

VARSITY CHAMBER
Sarah Anas ^
Adam Boik
Patrick Bolger
Joel Braver ^
James Bright ^
Ethan Burck ^
Vincent Cornelius
Samuel Courtney ^
Julia Ehlert ^
Rhealee Fernandez
Ronnalee Fernandez ^

Julia Gusse
Shelby Herr
Mihika Iyer
Ramya Jaishankar ^
Nitin Jaison ^
Lauren Lee
Joshua Mikaili
Madeline Mitchell
Austin Nelson
Ian Nolan
Asura Osborne

Kendall Parchman
Kelley Powell
Kara Sims
Katelyn Stack
Brandon Stalling
Varsha Subrahmanyam ^
Hannah Thompson ^
Macie Trosien
Serena Upadhyay ^

CHAMBER STRINGS
VIOLIN
Calvin Chu
Kirsten Deguzman
Katie Gruman
Kevin Huang
Deepika Khanna
Sarah Lu ^
Anjeli Manam
Josie Moy
Anjana Narasimhan ^
Sherin Pradeep
Andrew Reed ^
Rajath Salegame ^

VIOLIN cont.
Mary Sliva ^
YeJun Kim
VIOLA
Crystal Acevedo
Raajesh Arunachalam
Nicolet Chovancak
Ochi Samarakoon ^
Jose Santillan
Sabrina Tiangco

CELLO
Ben Gruman ^
Jessica Kim ^
Maddie Mitchell
Elliott Myong
BASS
Cedrick Chan
Zach Houck
Richie Puls

WIND ENSEMBLE
FLUTE
Becky Breuer (piccolo) #
Kellie Crumpton #
Kelley Powell #
Namita Shenoy

SAXOPHONE
Nate Jones (baritone)
Sean Keys (tenor)
Rushil Shukla (alto)
Ashwath Srinivas (alto)

OBOE
Julianna Dantzer #
Grace Leafblad #

TRUMPET
Sagar Biswas ^#
Tyler Born #
Sohum Buch
Adam Krusic #
Riley Miller

BASSOON
Jill Elkins #
Ethan Roberts #
CLARINET
Altun Anlar #
Stephanie DSouza
Lauren Goldberg
Anvita Hariharan #
Michael Johnson ^#
Megan Meyer
Jaina Siemienkowicz
Sarah Van Howe
Leah Williams (bass)

FRENCH HORN
Ethan Burck #
Asha Koritala #
Jack McCammon #
Chris Vitro #
TROMBONE
Michael Baker ^#
Matt Koberstine #
Jake Truckenbrod #

EUPHONIUM
Kyle Balentine
Sthitadhi Chakraborty
TUBA
Jonathan Bonaguro #
Brian Smith
PERCUSSION
Michael Crane #
Matthew DeMaso #
Adam Dix
Anna Holbrook #
Christian Smith

Shalom!
Traditional Jewish Folksongs, arr. Elio Bucky
Shalom! is a contemporary setting of two traditional Jewish folksongs (Shalom Chaverim
and Hevenu Shalom Aleichem) by Elio Bucky. It was one of only two winning
compositions in the 2014 Chanticleer Student Composer Competition, and Varsity Chamber
will be performing it again at the end of March as a part of the Chanticleer National Youth
Choral Festival at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.
Shalom chaverim
Hevenu shalom aleichem

Peace friends
We brought peace unto you

My Souls Been Anchored in the Lord


Traditional Spiritual, arr. Moses Hogan
Perhaps no other arranger, in the past ten years, has been so influential in the revitalization
of the songs of our forefathersthese distinguished arrangements reflect the dignity of a
strong and proud people.
-Andr J. Thomas, Florida State University, on the work of Moses Hogan
Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin
Richard Wagner
Full of big energy, due in no small part to the large brass section in this piece, this Prelude
to the third act of Wagners romantic opera Lohengrin is often played independent of the
rest of the opera as a symphonic piece. At this point in the opera, the female protagonist
Elsa has married her knight in shining armor, and in their bridal chamber she is considering
asking her groom who he is. She had sworn that if she was to be married to her betrothed
she would not ask his name in exchange for being absolved of a wrongdoing earlier in her
life. Premiered in 1850, with none other than Franz Liszt on the podium conducting the
opera, Lohengrin became popular for both its musical content and the story. Just under 4
minutes long, this is a fantastic piece to showcase the strengths of the Waubonsie Valley
High School Symphony.
Rounds for String Orchestra
David Diamond
A long time member of the Juilliard faculty in New York, David Diamond is considered
one of the preeminent composers of the mid 20th century. In 1944, in the middle of
World War II, Diamond was asked to write a happy piece by conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos. Mitropoulos wrote, These are distressing times. Most of the difficult music
I play is distressing. Make me happy. And, the resulting work, Rounds for String Orchestra (3 rounds in 3 movements) is exciting and full of life, though the 2nd Round is
marked teneramente translated to mean tenderly and sounds a bit melancholy. Once
premiered, this work became widely performed, and is now considered Diamonds most
popular work. The greatest conductors of the time programmed this piece to be played
by the string sections of symphonies they conducted. Diamond was not as widely known
as some of his contemporaries, but he was considered a successful composer and helped
to influence the next generation of 20th century American composers. As you listen, you
will hear melodies tossed from section to section, and movement to movement.
Fanfare for a New Era
Jack Stamp
Fanfare for a New Era was written as a celebration of Lt. Col. Lowell E Grahams appointment as Commander of the United State Air Force Band. The composer states, As
I envisioned the piece, I knew that I heard something energetic and vibrant, highlighting
the talents of this fine ensemble...

^ - ILMEA All-State
# - Symphony Orchestra

The work derives its framework from the opening trumpet motif. The motif is expanded
and developed through a variety of musical techniques including chorale, fugue, augmentation, polychordal techniques, and minimalism.

PROGRAM NOTES, cont.

PROGRAM NOTES, cont.

Lincoln Portrait
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was the quintessential American composer of the 20th century. Beloved
by both critics and audiences alike, his music envokes nationalistic imagery and pride
like no other. It is not surprising that in 1942 he was one of three composers commissioned by New York Philharmonic conductor Andre Kostelanetz to write three pieces that
would have a correlated idea in that they are to represent a musical portrait gallery of
great Americans. Initial suggestions included George Washington, Paul Revere, Walt
Whitman, Robert Fulton, Henry Ford, and Babe Ruth. Copland eventually turned to
Abraham Lincoln as his subject.

Symphony on Themes of John Philip Sousa


Ira Hearshen
Stirred and fascinated by the music of John Philip Sousa since childhood, I still get a chill
upon hearing the piccolo obbligato in the trio of The Stars and Stripes Forever. Though
the thought of transforming popular march music into a legitimate piece for concert stage
had a lot of intellectual appeal, I figured that any attempt I made to pay homage to Sousa
would be misunderstood. But artistic challenge won out and I started working on what
was to become the second movement of the symphony in the winter of 1990-91.

Writing for the program book of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1943, Mr. Copland
explained his procedure:

I began this piece by taking the trio theme from the march, The Thunderer, slowing
it down to a tempo of 48 beats per minute and casting it in the style of the Finale of
Mahlers Third Symphony.

The letters and speeches of Lincoln supplied the text. It was comparatively a simple matter to choose a few excerpts that seemed particularly apposite (related) to our own situation today. I avoided the temptation to use only well-known passages, permitting myself
the luxury of quoting only once from a world-famous speech ...

From the audience reaction to the first performance of (after) The Thunderer, I knew I
was involved with something unusual in the realm of band music. The weight of the
piece and its 8-minute performance time meant that the idea of a light concert suite of 4
to 6 movements as originally commissioned was out of the question. It was at this time I
realized that I had the beginning of a full-scale symphony in both length and depth.

I worked with musical materials of my own, with the exception of two songs of the period: the famous Camptown Races and a ballad that was first published in 1840 under
the title The Pesky Serpent but is better known today as Springfield Mountain. In
neither case is the treatment a literal one. The tunes are used freely, in the manner of my
use of cowboy songs in Billy the Kid.

I began to envision this work as a four movement symphony classically constructed.


It would have a first movement written in sonata-allegro form, a slow movement, a
scherzo, and a finale. Each of the four sections would be based on a different Sousa
march and the outer movements must be at least twice as long as the internal two so that
the work would have the integrity of true symphonic form.

The composition is roughly divided into three sections. In the opening section I wanted
to suggest something of the mysterious sense of fatality that surrounds Lincolns personality. Also, near the end of that section, something of his gentleness and simplicity of
spirit. The quick middle section briefly sketches in the background of the times he lived
in. This merges into the concluding section where my sole purpose was to draw a simple
but impressive frame about the words of Lincoln himself.

Sousas melodies are all strong and of a wide variety of architectural styles. They range
from complex (Hands Across the Sea), to simple (Washington Post), and all are stirring,
intense, and above all, really fun to listen to. This is what makes Sousas music classic.
I hope listeners have as much of an adventure listening to this as I did putting it together.

For more than half a century, Coplands musical setting of Lincolns words have been an
important part of musical and American history. He was somehow able to capture the
gravity and triumph of the events that eventually led to the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.

The Thunderer
John Philip Sousa
The Thunderer was Mrs. John Philip Sousas favorite march. This was revealed by their
daughter Helen, who also surmised that the Thunderer might have been her fathers
salute to the London Times, which was known as the thunderer. It has since been
determined that Sousa probably had no association with the newspaper at that time, however. The thunderer might have been one of the men in charge of making arrangements
for the 1889 conclave - in particular, Myron M. Parker, who worked tirelessly to make
the event the spectacular success that it was. In the second edition of the march, Sousa
included an adaptation of an earlier trumpet and drum piece, Heres Your Health, Sir!
which has now become an iconic trumpet call from this march.

The WVHS Wind Ensemble is pleased to have Mr. William Jastrow, Indian Prairie Coordinator for Music Education, as our narrator this evening.

-Ira Hearshen

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