Flute
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 Boekahoff
Jaksyn Trimbach

Clarinet
Reagan Brothers
Katie Roy
Jessica Galliers
Aurora Conner
Curtis Graham
Maddy Baldonado
Lillian Fiedler
Raiden Hemming
Lindsay Marshall
Alli Twining
Megan Heuerman
Candice McNeill
Kamiah Fluer
Maggie Pridemore

Bass Clarinet
Joe Boyle
Reagan Fairbanks
Elliot Kindt

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

Tenor Sax
Andrew Sweeney

Bari Sax
Ryan Williams

Trumpet
Sydney Gankosky
Erica Voigt
Evan Picchioni
Esmer Hatten
Mathew Frazier
Elijah Spokony
Rachel McFarland
James Rosengarten
Nicholas Adams
Tyler Heuermann
Alex Orgill
Carson Smith
Kristen McClure

Horn
Matthew Bechtol
Joseph Brueseke
Chloe Fry
Krystina Rodkey

Trombone
Jacob Palumbo
Savannah Westfall
Sam Poe
Andrew Sowders
Sarah Gold-Anderson
Chloe Feldpausch
Abby Schneider
Mason Combs
Braeden Scheirer

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

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

Percussion
Juliet Wheeler
Macey Craddock
Laura Robbins
Silas Nietz
Jessica Kozik
El Wisniewski
Lisabeth Moening

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

Uptilt
An Up Tilt is a tilt attack that can be performed by any character by holding the control stick lightly upward and pressing the attack button while on the ground. This can be found in games like "Super Smash Bros." When tasked to write a piece revolving around the love of video games, I chose to focus on the music from fighting and combat games. Oftentimes, the music in games like "Tekken", "Smash", "Street Fighter", and countless others sparked the energy needed to go berserk on a controller, to spar on a stage, and to create combos that can capture the eyes and imaginations of so many. In many fighting games, there are elements of jazz scattered throughout their music - using complex harmonies and rough rhythmic modulations to put the listener - the gamer - in an adrenaline fueled frenzy. However, there are times in these games where there are epic moments of sound and monumental moments that happen sonically as you reach the end of a fight. With this piece, I wanted to capture all of the energy, all of the excitement and intensity into roughly five minutes of music.                                                             ~~Program note by composer

Seal Lullaby     
In the spring of 2004 I was lucky enough to have my show Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings presented at the ASCAP Musical Theater Workshop. The workshop is the brain child of legendary composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell), and his insights about the creative process were profoundly helpful. He became a great mentor and friend to the show and, I am honored to say, to me personally. Soon after the workshop I received a call from a major film studio. Stephen had recommended me to them and they wanted to know if I might be interested in writing music for an animated feature. I was incredibly excited, said yes, and took the meeting.

The creative executives with whom I met explained that the studio heads had always wanted to make an epic adventure, a classic animated film based on Kipling’s The White Seal. I have always loved animation, (the early Disney films; Looney Tunes; everything Pixar makes) and I couldn’t believe that I might get a chance to work in that grand tradition on such great material.

The White Seal is a beautiful story, classic Kipling, dark and rich and not at all condescending to kids. Best of all, Kipling begins his tale with the mother seal singing softly to her young pup. (The opening poem is called The Seal Lullaby).

      Oh! Hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us, 
      And black are the waters that sparkled so green. 
      The moon, o’er the combers, looks downward to find us, 
      At rest in the hollows that rustle between.
      Where billow meets billow, then soft be thy pillow, 
      Oh weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease! 
      The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee, 
      Asleep in the arms of the slow swinging seas! 
      ~~Rudyard Kipling, 1865-1936

I was struck so deeply by those first beautiful words, and a simple, sweet Disney-esque song just came gushing out of me. I wrote it down as quickly as I could, had my wife record it while I accompanied her at the piano, and then dropped it off at the film studio. I didn’t hear anything from them for weeks and weeks, and I began to despair. Did they hate it? Was it too melodically complex? Did they even listen to it? Finally, I called them, begging to know the reason that they had rejected my tender little song. “Oh,” said the exec, “we decided to make Kung Fu Panda instead.”

So I didn’t do anything with it; just sang it to my baby son every night to get him to go to sleep. (Success rate: less than 50%.) A few years later the Towne Singers commissioned the choral arrangement of it, and in 2011 I transcribed the piece for concert band. I’m grateful to them for giving it a new life, and to the schools, colleges and directors listed who have believed in this new transcription. And I’m especially grateful to Stephen Schwartz, to whom the piece is dedicated. His friendship and invaluable tutelage has meant more to me than I could ever tell him. 

~~Program note by composer

Illumination
“Illumination” -- lighting up, bringing light. I am especially interested in composing music for young people that allows them a vibrant experience of their own creative energy. A powerful experience of this sort stays in the heart and mind as a channel for creative energy, no matter what the life path. Music shared in community brings this vital force to everyone. Illumination is an open and cheerful piece in a quick tempo, with a very direct A-B-A song form.

Illumination: Overture for Band was composed for the Franklin, Massachusetts', public schools. The commission was started by Nicole Wright, band director at the Horace Mann Middle School in Franklin, when she discovered that my grandnephew was in her band. The piece was initially to have been for her young players, but the idea grew to make it the center of the dedication concert at the opening of Franklin’s new high school building. Rehearsals of Illumination were actually the first musical sounds made in their fine new auditorium.                                                                                         ~~Program note by composer  

Tribute    
This work is written in memory of James Hubert Grimes (1920-2005), Travis Cross's maternal grandfather, though conductors are welcome to program the work to honor whomever they choose. Tribute joins Cross's Elegy, written for Cross' maternal grandmother, and Memento, written for his paternal grandmother.                                                                                       ~~Program Note by composer

Skyward Spirits
Commissioned by Kimberly Beene and the Arbor Creek Middle School Honors Band, Skyward Spirits is very special to me for a number of reasons. Arbor Creek (along with its dedicatee, the Hebron High School cluster) resides in Carrollton, Texas -- my hometown. The theme of “the sky” became immediately clear for this project to honor the mascots of Arbor Creek (eagles) and Hebron (hawks), as well as the insignia of the Carrollton water tower (a bird sculpted from the letter ‘C’).

In a much broader sense, this piece pays homage to all those who watch us from above and fly with us in the thrill of the moment. I’ve been fascinated with flight since I was a little kid, and this work really satisfies my childhood’s soul!

This is also my first symphony ever! Coining the term “micro-symphony” best describes the piece (as opposed to a “sinfonietta” or “suite”) in that each movement is an extremely efficient sonata form while also playing individual roles in one sonata large form (the first movement as the primary theme, the second movement as the secondary theme, the third movement as the development, and the fourth movement as a large-scale recapitulation). I also aimed to broaden the accessibility to audiences and performers of the daunting musical structure of a symphony. In just 6 minutes (approx. 90 seconds per movement), you are taken on an incredible voyage in the following sections:

Movement 1: Takeoff. Vivacity meets the vastness of the sky in this depiction of a bird’s initial ascent. The introductory brass fanfare and interspersed playful woodwind flourishes invite listeners to soar as the music paints pictures of feathers catching the sunlight and the breezes that beckon onward. A bold and lyrical melody emerges in A-flat major as the movement’s primary theme -- the serene sketch of a songbird sailing smoothly across the landscape. The music shifts to F major with a soaring secondary theme and an uplifting pulse that feels as instinctual as the flap of wings against the azure expanse. After a short melodic development, the movement recaps with the opening fanfare theme, this time in the new home key of F major.

Movement 2: Under the Wing. An evocative ode to the timeless themes of protection and guardianship, this movement offers listeners a serene refuge moving with deliberate grace. Trombone and euphonium take the lead, unfurling an expansive primary melody that captures the essence of a watchful eye overhead. As the soundscape slowly sweeps into 6/8, every note seems to wrap around the listener, akin to the gentle fold of a wing sheltering us from the world’s tempests. This movement in particular is dedicated to the Hebron High School Hawks in Carrollton.

Movement 3: Cloudburst. The third movement is a scherzo (“joke” in Italian) in D minor that evokes the unpredictable whims of nature. This movement navigates through tumultuous skies with shifting mixed meters, capturing the erratic dance of raindrops and wind gusts. Several sections are featured in this movement: muted trumpets and xylophone sound the distant rumbles of thunder; an emotive oboe solo sings the melancholy lullaby of a storm-worn traveler; a piccolo solo pierces through like streaks of lightning, sharp and electrifying; which is contrasted by the deep resonance of a low brass/ woodwind feature that emulates the roaring storm clouds. This daring exploration of nature’s fury and splendor journeys through sonic tempests that promise to both thrill and enchant. This moves without pause into the final movement.

Movement 4: Blue Skies. The final movement takes the baton from the previous scherzo and immediately launches with a sprightly reel melody. The infectious rhythmic melody gracefully travels from the fife family of flute and oboe, to the single reed family of clarinet and saxophone, and finally to the triumphant trumpet and horn sections -- each instrument lending its own vibrant hue to the tapestry. Yet, as the piece progresses, there is a moment of profound reflection: in a masterstroke of musical narrative, we are treated to a recapitulation of each significant theme from the preceding movements, like cherished memories flashing before one’s eyes. The journey culminates with the opening fanfare that began it all, bringing listeners full circle in a resounding celebration of fond remembrance and a jubilant leap into the vast, endless horizon.                                                                    ~~Program Note by composer

Hands Across the Sea      
When Sousa’s new march Hands Across the Sea was played for the first time by Sousa and his band at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music on April 21, 1899, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that “many feet were beating a tattoo.” The band was obliged to repeat it three times. After that successful beginning, the march has become a standard in band literature.

Sousa wrote these remarks concerning Hands Across the Sea in The Great Lakes Recruit in March, 1918:

“After the Spanish War there was some feeling in Europe anent our republic regarding this war. Some of the nations ... thought we were not justified while others gave us credit for the honesty of our purpose. One night I was reading an old play and I came across the line, ‘A sudden thought strikes me -- let us swear an eternal friendship.’ That almost immediately suggested the title Hands Across the Sea for that composition and within a few weeks that now famous march became a living fact.”
~~Program Note from Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music

Shenandoah              
Shenandoah is one of the most well-known and beloved Americana folk songs. Originally a river song detailing the lives and journeys of fur traders canoeing down the Missouri River, the symbolism of this culturally significant melody has been expanded to include its geographic namesake -- an area of the eastern United States that encompasses West Virginia and a good portion of the western part of Virginia -- and various parks, rivers, counties, and academic institutions found within.

Back in May of 2018, after hearing a really lovely duo arrangement of Shenandoah while adjudicating a music competition in Minneapolis, I asked myself, after hearing so many versions of this iconic and historic song, how would I set it differently? I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it, and before I realized it, I had composed and assembled just about all of this arrangement in my head by assigning bass notes to the melody and filling in the harmony in my head afterwards. I would intermittently check myself on the piano to make sure what I was imagining worked, and ended up changing almost nothing at all from what I’d heard in my mind’s ear.

This arrangement recalls the beauty of Shenandoah Valley, not bathed in golden sunlight, but blanketed by low-hanging clouds and experiencing intermittent periods of heavy rainfall (created with a combination of percussion textures, generated both on instruments and from the body). There are a few musical moments where the sun attempts to pierce through the clouds, but ultimately the rains win out. This arrangement of Shenandoah is at times mysterious, somewhat ominous, constantly introspective, and deeply soulful.                                                                                      ~~Program Note by composer

Until the Night Collapses           
"Love! Love until the night collapses..." from the second poem of Canto General (1950), Pablo Neruda's tenth book of poetry. Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, or as he was better known, Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician, who was awarded with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. He often wrote in green ink, which was his personal symbol for desire and hope.

Hope speaks to me through this line of poetry. I'm watching our American society violently spasm as the rise of hate groups, fascists, Neo-Nazis and white supremacists are met with massive counter-protests. Mass shootings with tragic civilian casualties are becoming a regularly occurring nightmare. Families seeking asylum are being torn apart, and I see so much anger, so much contempt, and horrifically, so much violence. I feel as though we are in the dark, in the deep of night, disoriented and desperately seeking the light.

Until The Night Collapses is a meditation on the crisis our nation faces and ideals to which we aspire. It interpolates traditional American patriotic songs with fragments of Sunday, Bloody Sunday by U2, an anthem for peace and non-violence.

Dedicated to the students, parents and staff of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, Florida.

*Additionally, this piece was premiered in 2019 by the Bowling Green State University Symphonic Band.
~~Program Note by composer

Irish Tune from County Derry        
Irish Tune from County Derry (published 1918) is based on earlier settings that date back as early as October 1902 with an essentially identical setting of this melody for wordless mixed chorus. Later versions for solo piano (1911) and string orchestra with two optional horns (1912) followed. The wind band setting is cataloged as British Folk Music Setting Nr. 20, and like all his settings of British folk music is “lovingly dedicated to the memory of Edvard Grieg.” The composer’s brief program note states, “This tune was collected by Miss J. Ross, of New Town, Limavady, Co Derry, Ireland and published in The Petrie Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland, Dublin, 1855.”
~~Program Note by Mark Rogers

Overture to Candide 
Candide was Leonard Bernstein’s third Broadway musical, following On the Town and Wonderful Town. Adapted by Lillian Hellman from Voltaire’s 18th-century satire on blind optimism, Bernstein’s Candide is an operetta set in the castle of the Baron Thunder-ten-Tronckh in the mythical European land of Westphalia. Within these walls live the Baron and Baroness; Cunégonde, their beautiful and innocent virgin daughter; Maximilian, their handsome son; Candide, their handsome bastard nephew; and Paquette, the Baroness’ buxom serving maid. They are taught by Dr. Pangloss, who preaches the philosophy that all is for the best in “The Best of All Possible Worlds.”

Candide and Cunégonde kiss, and Candide is banned from Westphalia. As he leaves, Bulgarians invade, kidnap him and slaughter everyone except for Cunégonde, who they prostitute out to a rich Jew and the Grand Inquisitor. Candide escapes and begins an optimistic, satirical journey, taking with him his sweetheart Cunégonde and Pangloss. Candide journeys to Lisbon, Paris, Buenos Aires, and even the legendary El Dorado, only to discover reality in the forms of crime, atrocity, and suffering. He returns to Venice with Cunégonde, stripped of his idealism. His ultimate emotional maturation concludes in the finale with “You’ve been a fool, and so have I, But come and be my wife, And let us try before we die, To make good sense of life. We’re neither pure nor wise nor good; We’ll do the best we know; We’ll build our house, and chop our wood, And make our garden grow.”

Opening on Broadway on December 1, 1956, Candide was perhaps a bit too intellectually weighty for its first audiences and closed after just 73 performances. Bernstein was less concerned over the money lost than the failure of a work he cared about deeply. The critics had rightly noted a marvelous score, and Bernstein and others kept tinkering with the show over the years. With each revival, Candide won bigger audiences. In 1989, the already seriously ill Bernstein spent his last ounces of vital energy recording a new concert version of the work. “There’s more of me in that piece than anything else I’ve done,” he said.

The sparkling overture captures the frenetic activity of the operetta, with its twists and turns, along with Candide’s simple honesty. From the very beginning, though, the overture was a hit and swiftly became one of the most popular of all concert curtain raisers. Brilliantly written and scored, flying at breakneck speed, it pumps up the adrenaline of players and listeners alike. It features two of the show’s big tunes: the sweeping romantic one is Candide’s and Cunégonde’s love duet “Oh Happy We,” while the wacky up-tempo music is from Cunégonde’s fabulous send-up of coloratura soprano arias, “Glitter and Be Gay.”
~~Program note by San Luis Obispo Wind Orchestra concert program, 12 May 2012