Amporito Roca
Although the original score of this pasodoble was reportedly written (possibly under a different title) by the British bandmaster Reginald Ridewood (1907-1942), Jaime Texidor undoubtedly copyrighted the work and arranged for its publication by Editorial Musica Moderna in Madrid and, in 1935, by Boosey & Hawkes in London. In April 1936, an ad by Boosey & Hawkes in The Musical Progress and Mail included the title Amparito Roca followed by a translation, “The Sheltered Cliff.” The present conductor of the Baracaldo Municipal Band, Juan Esteve Galán, has stated, however, that Texidor dedicated the pasodoble to a girl named Amparito (diminutive of Amparo) Roca, and that she still lives in that area. Regardless of its origin, researchers agree that Amparito Roca is still one of the band world’s most popular pasodobles.

- Program Note from Program Notes for Band

Cajun Folk Songs
Cajuns are descendants of the Acadians, a group of early French colonists who began settling in Acadia (now Nova Scotia) around 1604. In 1755 they were driven out by the British, eventually resettling in south Louisiana. Today there are nearly a million French-speaking descendants of the Acadians living in Louisiana and parts of Texas, preserving many of the customs, traditions, stories, and songs of their ancestors.

Although a rich Cajun folk song tradition exists, the music has become increasingly commercialized and Americanized throughout the twentieth century, obscuring its original simplicity and directness. In response to this trend, Alan and John Lomax traveled to south Louisiana in 1934 to collect and record numerous Cajun folk songs in the field for the Archive of Folk Music in the Library of Congress. By doing so, they helped to preserve Cajun music in its original form as a pure and powerful expression of Louisiana French Society.

La Belle et le Capitaine and Belle can both be heard in their original versions on the Lomax recordings (Swallow LP-8003-2, Swallow Records Co., Ville Platte, Louisiana). La Belle et le Capitaine tells the story of a young girl who feigns death to avoid being seduced by a captain. Its Dorian melody is remarkably free, shifting back and forth between duple and triple meters. In this arrangement the melody is stated three times. The third time an original countermelody is added in flutes, oboe, clarinet, and trumpet.

Belle is about a man who goes away to Texas only to receive word of his sweetheart's illness, forcing him to return to Louisiana. Finding her unconscious upon his return, he pawns his horse to try to save her, to no avail. The folk melody is sometimes varied rhythmically, texturally, and coloristically, and an original melody is added for variety.

Cajun Folk Songs is composed as a tribute to the people of the old Cajun folk song culture with hopes that their contributions will not be forgotten. The work is dedicated to the Murchison Middle School Band, Austin, Texas, Cheryl Floyd, director, who commissioned the work and gave its premiere on May 22, 1990.

- Program Note by composer

On A Hymnsong Of Philip Bliss
Horatio G. Spafford, a Chicago Presbyterian layman and successful businessman, planned a European trip for his family in 1873. In November of that year, due to unexpected last minute business developments, he had to remain in Chicago; but he sent his wife and four daughters on ahead as scheduled aboard the S.S. Ville du Havre. He expected to follow in a few days. On November 22, the ship was struck by the Lochearn, an English vessel, and sank in twelve minutes. Several days later the survivors were finally landed in Cardiff, Wales, and Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband, “Saved alone.” Shortly afterward, Spafford left by ship to join his bereaved wife.

It is speculated that on the sea near the area where it was thought his four daughters had drowned, Spafford penned this text with words so significantly describing his own personal grief, “When sorrows like sea billows roll...” It is noteworthy, however, that Spafford does not dwell on the theme of life’s sorrows and trials, but focuses attention in the third stanza on the redemptive work of Christ. Humanly speaking, it is amazing that one could experience such personal tragedy and sorrow as did Horatio Spafford and still be able to say with such convincing clarity, “It is well with my soul...”

Hymnwriter Philip Bliss was so impressed with the experience and expression of Spafford’s text that he shortly wrote the music for it, first published in 1876. Bliss was a prolific writer of gospel songs throughout his brief lifetime, and in most cases he wrote both the words and the music. This hymn is one of the few exceptions.

There is speculation that this was perhaps the last gospel song written by Bliss. Bliss and his wife, Lucy, were killed in a train wreck in Ashtabula, Ohio, on December 29, 1876. Most sources mention that Bliss actually escaped from the flames first, but was then killed when he went back into the train to try to rescue is wife. Neither body was ever found.

As a postscript, Bliss’s trunk was salvaged from the wreckage, and in it, evangelist D. W. Whittle found an unfinished hymn, which began, “I know not what awaits me, God kindly veils my eyes...”

- Program Note by composer

Foundry
The idea with Foundry was to make a piece that celebrates the fact that percussionists have this ability to make just about anything into an "instrument." Snare drums and bass drums are great, but why not write a whole piece featuring non-traditional percussion -- things like salad bowls and mixing bowls and piles of wood? 

In some cases, I was specific about what instrument to play (timpani, xylophone, etc.). With many of the parts, though, I only described what sound I wanted (play a "clang" — a metal instrument, probably struck with a hammer, that creates a rich "CLANG!" sound), and allowed the percussionist to be creative in finding the best "instrument" to make the sound I described. 

It won't be surprising that Foundry, for concert band with "found percussion," much of it metallic, ends up sounding like a steel factory. The composer thanks the required 10–12 percussionists for allowing his ridiculous requests to continue. Clang. 

- Program Note by composer

Into the Storm
This work, inspired by the 1993 Storm of the Century, the great blizzard which covered much of the United States, blends the choirs and the dynamic shaping of the lines to create a stunning experience. 

- Program Note adapted from publisher

Slava!
When Mstislav Rostropovich (“Slava” to his friends) invited Leonard Bernstein to help him launch his inaugural concert as Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra, he also asked him to write a rousing new opening piece for the festivities. This overture is the result, and the world premiere took place on October 11, 1977, with Rostropovich conducting his orchestra at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. 

The first theme of Slava! is a vaudevillian razz-ma-tazz tune filled with side-slipping modulations and sliding trombones. Theme two, which prominently features the electric guitar, is a canonic tune in 7/8 time. A very brief kind of development section follows, after which the two themes recur in reverse order. Near the end they are combined with a quotation (proclaimed by the ubiquitous trombones) from the “Coronation Scene” of Mussorgsky’s Boris Goudonov, where the chorus sings the Russian word “Slava!”, meaning “glory!” In this way, of course, the composer is paying an extra four-bar homage to his friend Slava Rostropovich, to whom this overture is fondly dedicated. 

- Program Note by Jack Gottlieb

Lux Perpetua
Lux Perpetua was composed for the Baylor University Wind Ensemble in memory of two young clarinetist members of that ensemble, Laura Onwudinanti and Jack Stewart, whose lives were tragically cut short in an automobile accident in 2014. The work’s title is drawn from the last line of the Latin text, Lux aeterna: “et lux perpetua luceat eis” (and let perpetual light shine upon them). The idea of light as both protector and illuminator was constantly in my mind as I composed the piece. Two kinds of light comprise the work: one soft and meditative, the other more sparkling and effervescent. Also in mind were the respective personality traits of the two dedicatees, Jack being more thoughtful and introspective, Laura being more spontaneous and gregarious. 

A simple call motive begins the piece, introduced by the clarinets. Its two main notes form a descending minor 3rd, a sound that is universally associated with a call or greeting (think “yoo-hoo”) but also widely associated with playground games and nursery rhymes. This idea is laced into the entire fabric of the piece, sometimes serving as transition material, other times appearing unexpectedly for purposes of contrast, still other times flowering into main melody.

The main melody is at once longing and noble in quality, and is constructed in a way that suggests the notion of infinity. Its accompanying harmony depicts a kind of bellows or the act of breathing, in and out perpetually. It never settles on a final chord, but instead moves to a built-in modulation, compelling the melody to repeat itself in a chain of new keys. 

A faster, more energetic middle section serves as a dramatic contrast, but rather than give it a new theme, I chose to continue with a variant of the main melody. The accompanying harmony is still breathing, the lyrical line still permeating the entire section, but this time building to a tremendous climax. The final coda is a brief meditation. The main melody echoes itself tenderly as the harmony begins its slow and fragile ascent to the heavens.

Lux Perpetua received its world premiere by the Baylor University Wind Ensemble, Eric Wilson, conductor, at the centennial meeting of the Texas Music Educators Association on February 13, 2020.

- Program Note by composer

A Deep Reverberation Fills With Stars
This is the biggest piece I’ve written since being medicated for ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] (I was diagnosed in mid-2020), and it’s the most substantial piece I’ve written since the start of the pandemic. (I’ve written very little; it was basically impossible for me to motivate myself when concerts grinded to a halt. Things feel much more normal -- and creative -- again.)

So the idea with this one, partially by design, but largely just because it happened to turn out this way once I started writing, is that of emerging from darkness, “a deep reverberation,” with the return of some sense of normalcy, coinciding with, at least for me, some hope of an improvement of mental health.

That said, none of this piece is sorrowful. It starts with handbells! (Thank you, Larry Livingston, for your help with that!) But it does spend eight minutes pulling back and forth between levels of tension before finally “filling with stars.”

- Program Note by composer

Flute
Amanda Reed
Alyssa Brannon
Liam Earnest
Evelyn Taylor
Macy Poherence
Wyatt Cobb

Oboe
Quentin O'Brien
Grace Russell (and EH)
Emily Nash

Eb Clarinet
Willis McClure

Bb Clarinet
Adam Williams
Mollie Barrett
Elton Chu
Alexia Redmond
Maelee Zerkle
Reagan Fairbanks
Elizabeth Warren
Eduardo Mata

Bass Clarinet
Andrew Sowders

Bassoon
Shaun Knox
Eleanor Margraf
Lorelei Wilkerson

Saxophone
Elizabeth Laird A1
Ava Boedicker A2
Hannah Huddle A3
Noah Salmon T
Brenden Stein B

Trumpet
Nick Forlow, Co-Principal
Luke Brewster, Co-Principal
Elijah Hash
Jack Mantonya
Eliana Peron
Alexandria Preston
Madison Valentine
Evan Frank
Courtney Woerlein

Horn
Charles Ditchman, co-principal
Tre Myers, co-principal
Emma Clement, II
Ash Behn, II
Rowen Raynes, III
Ella Jobe, III
Brayden Adamisin, IV

Trombone
David Franklin
Connor Kirkner
Christian Chang
Skyler Spiriti
Kirsten Bates
Caleb Bennett (bass)

Euphonium
Zephyr McQuade
Benjamin Bates
Meg Gierula
Hannah Crowe

Tuba
Braeden Scheirer
Xavier Bucher
Jamie Chester
Noah White

Percussion
Sarah Hertenstein, section leader
Zion Bateman
Zachary Hallam
Brooke Guyton
Matthew Graves
Jayden Hall
Anna LeHoty
Joshua Boyd

Flute (*=Piccolo Double)
Kylee Helmick*
Madison Duncan
Helena Borden*
Jay Ortega
Claire McKinney
Emelia Houser
Sarah Beckstedt
Madison Wolf
Olive Ricker
Alyssa Khoury

Oboe
Ash Bell

Bassoon
Isabel Gracon
Jenna Boekhoff
Jaksyn Trimbach

1st Clarinet
Reagan Brothers
Katie Roy
Jessica Galliers
Aurora Conner

2nd Clarinet
Curtis Graham
Maddy Baldonado
Lillian Fiedler
Raiden Hemming 

3rd Clarinet
Lindsay Marshall
Alli Twining
Megan Heuerman
Candice McNeill
Kamiah Felver
Maggie Pridemore

Bass Clarinet
Joe Boyle
Reagan Fairbanks
Elliot Kindt

Alto Sax
James Stickler
Audrey Simon
Sage Szappanos
Charli Carroll
Jade Gilmore
Brittney Vonault
Joshua Boyd
Jakob Hancock
Corinne Shull
Joshua Roth
Jack Salisbury

Tenor Sax
Andrew Sweeney

Bari Sax
Ryan Williams

1st Trumpet
Sydney Gankosky
Erica Voigt
Evan Picchioni
Esmer Hatten 

2nd Trumpet
Mathew Frazier
Elijah Spokony
Rachel McFarland
James Rosengarten
Nicholas Adams

3rd Trumpet
Tyler Heuerman
Alex Orgill
Carson Smith
Kristen McClure

Horn
1st Matthew Bechtol
3rd Joseph Brueseke
2nd Kristen Ford
4th Chloe Fry

1st Trombone
Jacob Palumbo
Savanah Westfall

2nd Trombone
Sam Poe
Andrew Sowders
Sarah Gold-Anderson Chloe Feldpausch

3rd Trombone
Abby Schneider
Mason Combs
Braeden Scheirer

Euphonium
Tyler Perez
Emily Thronton
Kayden Moore
Wyatt Lehman
Autumn Jackson
Arsen Cherubini
Cameron Laker

Tuba
Ethan Owens
Jacob Stierman
Trey Reed
Tyler Huntington
Samaja Amison
Sierra Wood
Adam Mgebroff