Thursday, April 24, 2025 | 7:00 pm | Wentz Concert Hall | Naperville, Illinois
With Special Guests, The Cooper Middle School Symphonic Winds &
The Buffalo Grove High School Wind Ensemble
Repertoire
The Cooper Middle School Symphonic Winds
Ms. Cindy Severino, Conductor
Conductor Biography and Personnel
True Blue March
Karl King (1891 –1971)
arr. James Swearingen (b. 1947)
Clean and sparkling, this delightful march is as honest and uncomplicated as its name, but overflowing with musical interest. Charming, tuneful melodies are perfectly balanced with refreshing countermelodies, giving every section a chance to shine without overtaxing technical demands. A flawless, crowd-pleasing piece of true Americana!
-Program note by publisher
…music speaks
Randall D. Standridge (b. 1976)
While I can’t speak for all composers, I know that, for myself, I often find musical ideas that I wish to explore more than once. Such is the case with …music speaks. A couple of years ago, I wrote a work called Where Words End… whichwas intended to be a lyrical work that was about “nothing.” It was 100% abstract, contained no program, and allowed me to explore some musical colors and harmonies without being beholden to a central idea or theme. It was very liberating. …music speaks continues this idea, with some similar harmonic language and colors, but at a higher developmental level. Like its sister work, it is an abstract soundscape, and the way every listener will react to it will be solely based on the emotions and ideas that they themselves bring to it. Some may hear passion, some may hear sadness, others may hear anger, regret, hope, and peace. Every listener’s experience will be unique to them. This work was commissioned by the Maysville Band Program (Maysville, MO) and their director, Elizabeth Betts. The work was written in memory of Sheriff Andy Clark, beloved father, husband, and hero.
-Program note by composer
Fable
Erik Morales (b. 1966)
Having the sound of an epic movie soundtrack, this work was inspired by old collections of children’s stories such as Aesop’s Fables and Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Broad, memorable themes create images that jump off the page while an energetic and highly rhythmic pulse drives the work forward. Just as the written stories did, the music maintains a veil of darkness and intrigue that captures the imagination of the listener.
– Program note by publisher
The Buffalo Grove High School Wind Ensemble
Mr. Vince Genualdi, Conductor
Conductor Biography and Personnel
Second Suite in F
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
1. March
2. Song Without Words
3. Song of the Blacksmith
4. Fantasia on the “Dargason”
Defining “folk music” can be a difficult task, particularly in a time when we are (rightfully) concerned with cultural recognition and appropriation. While it would be easy to simply dismiss many wind band repertoire standards — like Second Suite in F for Military Band — it could instead be an opportunity to redefine why certain parts of our musical heritage are important.
Written in 1911 (though not premiered until 1922), Second Suite introduces and develops seven tuneful folk melodies over four movements. The introductory “March” begins with “Glorishears” — a Morris-dance tune realized in the style of a British town brass band. A euphonium soloist sings out the sweeping melody of “Swansea Town” before clarinets and saxophones dance to “Claudy Banks.” A recapitulation of “Glorishears” concludes the opening movement. The second movement, “Song without words ‘I’ll love my Love,’” features a new exploration of the ensemble’s texture, pairing mournful solo voices against a brooding pulse of woodwinds and euphonium. “Song of the Blacksmith,” movement three, features a much brighter, brassier color. Alongside driving syncopations, it is easy to imagine the blacksmith hard at work, sparks flying. After an unexpected transition, the fullness of the countryside is revealed in the final movement, “Fantasia on the ‘Dargason.’” Propelled by joyful jig-like rhythms and a celebratory tambourine, a sustained setting of “Greensleeves” triumphantly arrives before the contrast of the opening’s tuba and piccolo close the suite.
Celebrated English composer Gustav Holst wrote and revised his two suites for military band during a time of immense compositional growth. Both suites were composed before the premiere of Holst’s symphonic masterwork The Planets (1918), which in many ways relied on his experience working with folk songs. In Second Suite, much of Holst’s source material comes from the work of Dr. G. B. Gardiner and Cecil Sharp, anthropologists who collected field recordings throughout England. (Interestingly, Sharp later traveled to the United States and collected recordings in the Southern Appalachians that helped spur the folk revival era of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and more. A lineage from these collections can be traced to present day through countless popular recording artists.)
Too often, overemphasizing originality or pure authenticity robs us of one of the great joys of music listening: familiarity. “The pleasures that come from popular music listening,” says scholar Keith Negus, “arise from those moments of sudden recognition or discovery, when we find a connection.” Embracing folk music as gathered, collected, and evolving — where players and listeners alike are encouraged to infuse their own experiences — helps us realize a richer musical tradition of connection, one Holst’s Second Suite continues for wind bands even now.
-Program note by David Stanley for the University of Georgia’s Wind Symphony concert program
Lux Aurumque
Eric Whitacre (b. 1970)
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.
–Program note from wind score
Symphony No. 2
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Mvt. 3: Apollo Unleashed
The finale, “Apollo Unleashed,” is perhaps the most wide-ranging movement of the symphony, and certainly the most difficult to convey in words. On the one hand, the image of Apollo, the powerful ancient god of the sun, inspired not only the movement’s title but also its blazing energy. Bright sonorities, fast tempos, and galloping rhythms combine to give a sense of urgency that one often expects from a symphonic finale. On the other hand, its boisterous nature is also tempered and enriched by another, more sublime force, Bach’s Chorale BWV 433 (Wer Gott vertraut, hat wohl gebaut). This chorale — a favorite of the dedicatee, and one he himself arranged for chorus and band — serves as a kind of spiritual anchor, giving a soul to the gregarious foreground events. The chorale is in ternary form (ABA’). In the first half of the movement, the chorale’s A and B sections are stated nobly underneath faster paced music, while the final A section is saved for the climactic ending, sounding against a flurry of 16th-notes.
My second symphony is dedicated to James E. Croft upon his retirement as Director of Bands at Florida State University in 2003. It was commissioned by a consortium of Dr. Croft’s doctoral students, conducting students and friends as a gesture of thanks for all he has given to the profession.
-Program note by composer
Intermission (10 minutes)
The Naperville Sauce
Mr. Aaron Newman, Leader
Danzon for My Father
Oscar Hernandez (b. 1954)
The composer, Oscar Hernandez, was born in Puerto Rico in 1954 and immigrated to NYC with his family at a young age. He is a piano player, producer, and arranger for artists in the 1970s, the golden age of New York Salsa, including Ray Baretto, Ruben Blades, and Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez. He is a 4-time grammy winner and founded Spanish Harlem Orchestra in 2003.
Danzon for My Father was written by Oscar Hernandez for the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. The flute adaptation is from an album by flutist Dave Valentine, transcribed by Chuck Sher, and lightly arranged by me for this group. A danzon sounds like a more formal, stately version of a tango. It transitions to a cha-cha, which is more of an informal ‘club’ dance at about the same tempo. if you know the Tito Puente/Santana song “Oye Como Va,” that is another example of a cha-cha.
-Program note from oscarhernandezmusic.com and Aaron Newman
The Naperville Winds
Ms. Alyssa Arkin, Conductor
Downey Overture
Oscar Navarro (b. 1981)
Downey Overture is dedicated with all my affection to the Downey Symphony Orchestra, for its hard work and dedication, and, of course, to its conductor, Sharon Lavery, for her professionalism and great passion for music. Downey Overture is a Latin-American fusion with which I have wanted to link my birth country, Spain, and California, the land that, as a result of the two years I lived there, has left a permanent imprint on my heart. An amalgam of rhythm and musical color wrapped in an atmosphere of dance are the essence of this piece. It is joyful, energetic and written with all my enthusiasm and dedication.
-Program note by composer
Baron Cimetière’s Mambo
Donald Grantham (b. 1947)
In Voodoo lore, Baron Cimetière is the loa (spirit) who is the keeper and guardian of cemeteries, hence one of the spirits in charge of the intersection between life and death. (“Cimetière” is French for “cemetery.”) Depictions of him are, needless to say, quite chilling. He is usually pictured in dark tailcoat and tall dark hat – like an undertaker – wearing dark glasses with one lens missing. He carries a cane, smokes cigars, and is a notorious mocker and trickster. (The Haitian dictator ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier is said to have imitated the Baron’s sartorial style in order to intimidate any opponents who were practitioners of Voodoo.)
I first came across Baron Cimetière in Russell Banks’ fascinating novel Continental Drift, which deals with the collision between American and Haitian culture during the “boat people” episodes of the late 1970s and early ‘80s. Voodoo is a strong element of that novel, and when my mambo began to take on a dark, mordant, sinister quality, I decided to link it to the Baron.
Baron Cimetière’s Mambo was commissioned by Neil Jenkins and Nikk Pilato for the J.P. Taravella High School Wind Orchestra, Coral Springs, Florida.
-Program note by composer
Give Us This Day:
Short Symphony for Wind Ensemble
David Maslanka (1943-2017)
1. Moderately Slow
2. Very Fast
Give Us This Day was commissioned by Eric Weirather, Director of Bands at Rancho Buena Vista High School in Oceanside, Calif., which is in the greater San Diego area. Eric put together a consortium to support the commission. The score was finished in October of 2005, and the premiere performance was done at Eric’s school in the spring of 2006. Since then, with publication of the piece, and a lot of word of mouth, Give Us This Day has literally taken off. It continues to be performed all over the U.S., and many places around the world.
The words “give us this day” are, of course, from the Lord’s Prayer, but the inspiration for this music is Buddhist. I have recently read a book by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced “Tick Not Hahn”) entitled For a Future to be Possible. His premise is that a future for the planet is only possible if individuals become deeply mindful of themselves, deeply connected to who they really are. While this is not a new idea, and something that is an ongoing struggle for everyone, in my estimation it is the issue for world peace. For me, writing music, and working with people to perform music, are two of those points of deep mindfulness.
Music makes the connection to reality, and by reality I mean a true awakeness and awareness. Give Us This Day gives us this very moment of awakeness and aware aliveness so that we can build a future in the face of a most dangerous and difficult time.
I chose the subtitle “Short Symphony for Wind Ensemble” because the music really isn’t programmatic in nature. It has a full-blown symphonic character, even though there are only two movements. The music of the slower first movement is deeply searching, while that of the highly energized second movement is at times both joyful and sternly sober. The piece ends with a modal setting of the chorale melody Vater Unser in Himmelreich (“Our Father in Heaven”), #110 from the 371 Four-Part Chorales by J.S. Bach.
-Program note by composer
The Naperville Winds Personnel
Thanks to Our Sponsors
Corporate Partner
$1001 and Greater
Full Circle Creative & Media Services
Gold Sponsor
$500 to $1000
Michael & Caroline Kelley
Sean Kelley
Silver Sponsor
$250 to $499
Bruce Spitzer
Bronze Sponsor
$100 to $249
Friends of The Naperville Winds
$1 to $99
Special Thanks To:
The Naperville Winds Leadership Team
Rudi Schwerdle (Trombone), Logistics Chair
Ethan Dunk (Trumpet), Music Manager
Lori Foster (Clarinet), Public Relations Chair
Barb Holland (Flute), Secretary
Nate Dickman (Trumpet), Treasurer
Jennifer Wojcik (Flute), Program Editor
Claudia Andrews (Horn), Ken Kelly (Clarinet), Band Representatives
Tim Chernobrov (Contrabass clarinet), Jim Cross (Trumpet), David Stickley (Trumpet), Setup Crew
NCC Student Front-Of-House Volunteers
Jan Bauers
Shannon Blonski
Joie Fagaragan
Alexa Gangoso
Ray Gray
Fernand Padua
Faith Rios
Liliana Saucedo
Cami Scott
Maddy Travnicek
Daniela Velazquez
Olivia Wegner
Special Supporters
Susan Chou, Chairperson, NCC Department of Music
Lawrence Van Oyen, NCC Director of Bands
Joe LaPalomento, NCC Instructor of Percussion
Stephen M. Caliendo, NCC Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
NCC Conference Services & Fine Arts Offices
Brianna Avalos
Jennifer Berozek
Andrew Butler
Christopher Drennan
Collin Trevor