Thursday, October 6th, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Wentz Concert Hall | Naperville, Illinois
With Special Guest, the Victor J. Andrew High School Wind Ensemble,
Mr. Mark Iwinski, conductor
From the Music Director
Welcome to the second season of The Naperville Winds, an organization comprising musicians from across Chicagoland (and beyond) who share one common mission–to perform the finest wind band literature available at the highest level possible. This ensemble coalesced quickly; the energy and excitement at the first rehearsal on August 26, 2021 was palpable, and, immediately after rehearsal, it was clear that we were at the beginning of a truly special journey.
The road to today’s performance hasn’t been easy. In order for a major ensemble to establish itself in the time of COVID, it must overcome myriad problems and challenges. We faced these head-on, knowing full-well the daunting challenges we’d face, and we overcame them all, together. The collective “brain trust” of the ensemble–through each member’s experience, outside-the-box thinking, and quick problem solving skills–has allowed us to deftly navigate around the detours and roadblocks and continue on our path, unwaveringly, toward our shared goal. Our first season is, therefore, not just a celebration of music, but a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
It has been an absolute joy to make music with the members of The Naperville Winds over the past year and a half. I am humbled by the collegiality, selflessness, energy, and of course, talent, that each member brings to the table. I strongly believe that The Naperville Winds will soon be a household name for lovers of wind band repertoire throughout the nation and the world. I sincerely hope you will support us throughout this incredible journey!
Sincerely,
Sean Kelley, D.M.A.
Music Director, The Naperville Winds
Repertoire
The Victor J. Andrew High School Wind Ensemble
Fanfare: The Benefaction from Sky and Mother Earth
Satoshi Yagisawa (b. 1975)
Fanfare: The Benefaction from Sky and Mother Earth was commissioned by the Oyama City Symphonic Wind Orchestra to commemorate their 30th anniversary. The composer was inspired by Oyama City’s slogan, “Water, green, and earth,” to write this festive fanfare. Following a gentle opening, a fanfare leads to a magnificent chorale. This turns into a quickly-moving energetic section with irregular rhythms.
– Program note from publisher
Prelude to Act III of “Kunihild”
Cyrill Kistler (1848-1907)
Cyrill Kistler was at one time thought to be the successor to Richard Wagner, but other than Kunihild, his works are rarely performed. The revival of Kunihild in 1893 was much more successful than when it was first produced ten years earlier. There is a striking similarity to the music of Wagner in the use of harmony, melody, leitmotivs and musical grandeur. The opera’s story, based on a medieval legend, contains the expected fairytale elements including a beautiful princess, a brave knight and an enchanted castle.
– Program Note from Iowa State University Wind Ensemble concert program, 29 September 2017
El Camino Real: A Latin Fantasy
Alfred Reed (1921-2005)
El Camino Real (literally “The Royal Road” or “The King’s Highway”) was commissioned by, and is dedicated to, the 581st Air Force Band (AFRES) and its commander, Lt. Col. Ray E. Toler. It was composed during the latter half of 1984 and completed in early 1985.
The music is based on a series of chord progressions common to countless generations of Spanish flamenco (and other) guitarists, whose fiery style and brilliant playing have captivated millions of music lovers throughout the world. These progressions and the resulting key relationships have become practically synonymous with what we feel to be the true Spanish idiom. Together with the folk melodies they have underscored, in part derived by a procedure known to musicians as the “melodizing of harmony,” they have created a vast body of what most people would consider authentic Spanish music.
The first section of the music is based upon the dance form known as the Jota, while the second, contrasting section is derived from the Fandango, but here altered considerably in both time and tempo from its usual form. Overall, the music follows a tradition three-part pattern: fast-slow-fast. The first public performance of El Camino Real took place on April 15th, 1985, in Sarasota, Florida, with the 581st Air Force Band under the direction of Lt. Col. Ray E. Toler.
– Program note by the composer
Personnel
Click to view members of The Victor J. Andrew Wind Ensemble
Intermission (15 minutes)
The Naperville Winds
Fanfare for a New Era
Jack Stamp (b. 1954)
Fanfare for a New Era was written as a celebration of Lt. Col. Lowell E. Graham’s appointment as Commander of the United States 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…” The work derives its framework from the opening trumpet motif. The motif is expanded and developed through a variety of musical techniques including chorale, augmentation, polychordal techniques, and minimalism.
– Program note by the composer
Carmina Burana
Carl Orff (1895-1982)
arr. John Krance (1934-1989)
Six hundred years before Carl Orff was born, a group of monks at the Bavarian monastery of Benedikbeuern created a manuscript of verses written by various traveling scholars, clerics, and students who had stayed at the monastery. This manuscript was discovered in 1803 and published in 1847. The verses of late medieval poetry, written in Latin, Middle High German, and Old French, are marked by their vernacular, blunt language and startling eroticism. They extol the virtues of eating, drinking and carnal behavior while taking a sarcastic and scornful stab at the clergy’s decline in morality. In 1937 Orff set them to music that has since become his most famous composition, Carmina Burana.
Carmina Burana has become such a staple of the choral-orchestral repertoire that its music has pervaded many film scores and television commercials (if the producers of these projects had taken the time to find out what the chorus was singing, they might have chosen something more appropriate!). Nearly everyone recognizes the opening chorus, O Fortuna, but hardly anyone knows that it is a song in praise of the moody Goddess of Fortune, whose wheel of fate rolls unpredictably over mankind. The rest of the cantata is divided into three sections: Spring, In the Tavern, and Court of Love. Spring is a collection of poems praising nature, the sun, the earth and her resources, boisterous singers, coy young girls, and the sensual germination of life and love. In the Tavern consists of verses reserved solely for men. The men first lament, then celebrate the fate of the beautiful swan who is to be roasted for dinner, then sing a series of toasts which degenerate into an orgy of senseless drinking. Court of Love contains only verses with a hint of subtlety. These poems describe the sighs of love, longing, courtship and the desire for a kiss. Court of Love ends with a hymn to the Goddess of Love before the O Fortuna chorus returns, creating a bridge from the beginning of the cantata to the end, reminding us that the wheel of life keeps turning; yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
– Program note by Silas Nathaniel Huff
“Nimrod” from Enigma Variations
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Arranged by Alfred Reed (1921-2005)
The Enigma Variations were written for orchestra in 1899 and bore the dedication “To My Friends Pictured Within.” The theme and fourteen variations catapulted Elgar to international acclaim. The story is told of how Elgar, returning home after a long day of giving violin lessons, sat down to unwind at the piano and tinkered by improvising. His wife commented on one of the melodies that emerged, and out of that exchange was born the concept of fashioning the original melody … as it might be played by some of their friends in their own style. In all, fourteen people and a dog are featured in the Variations.
– Program Note by Nikk Pilato
Commando March
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Samuel Barber established himself as an accomplished composer early in his career by winning the prestigious American Prix de Rome while studying at the Curtis Institute. Born in West Chester, Penn., Barber enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1943. His compositional approach may be best described in the words of famed conductor Arturo Toscanini: “… simple and beautiful.” Such qualities are exemplified in his most famous work, Adagio for Strings.
While on active duty, Barber composed notable pieces for the war effort including his second symphony, the Flight Symphony, as well as his only composition for wind band, Commando March. The work was premiered on May 23, 1943, by the Army Air Forces Tactical Training Command Band in Convention Hall, Atlantic City, N.J. The work received many performances in the final years of the war, solidifying its place as a classic centerpiece in wind band literature.
– Program Note by David Balandrin and Ricky Parrell
Snow Caps
Richard Saucedo (b. 1957)
Commissioned by the 2004 Jefferson County Honor Band, Denver, Colo., and drawing musical inspiration from the awe-inspiring surrounding mountain peaks, this major work from Richard Saucedo explores a wealth of colors and emotions possible with today’s wind orchestra. At times sensitive and delicate with soloistic passages, and alternately incessantly rhythmic and powerful, this composition displays complete command of the idiom and a creative sense of harmony and form.
– Program note by the composer
Personnel
Click to view members of The Naperville Winds
Thanks To Our Sponsors
Corporate Sponsor
Corporate Partner
Full Circle Creative & Media Services
Gold Sponsor
$500 to $1000
Michael & Caroline Kelley
Sean Kelley
Silver Sponsor
$250 to $499
Bruce Spitzer
Francesca Vanderwall, Financial Advisor with Edward Jones
Bronze Sponsor
$100 to $249
Friends of The Naperville Winds
$1 to $99
Special Thanks To:
North Central College Camps & Conferences Office:
Christopher Drennan
Laura Cooper
Jennifer Berozek
Andrew Butler
Collin Trevor
Pete Ellman, Ellman’s Music Center
Jonathon Kirk, Chairperson, NCC Department of Music
Lawrence Van Oyen, NCC Director of Bands
Joe LaPalomento, NCC Instructor of Percussion
Kim Richter, NCC Instructor of Bassoon & Music Director, Naperville Youth Symphony Orchestra
Stephen M. Caliendo, NCC Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
Liana Finch, Music Manager, The Naperville Winds
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