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Welcome to the Richland County Middle School & High School 2023 Winter Concert featuring the 7th & 8th Grade Band, RCHS Honors Wind Chamber Ensemble, and the RCHS Dixieland Band
At this time, we ask that you place your phone on silent mode to prevent any distractions during tonight's performance.
In an effort to "go green", allow for more content, and to cut back on the cost for Richland County High School to print programs, the RCHS Bands concert program is digital. However, we know that many families would still prefer a paper copy of the program as a memento. If you would like a paper copy of tonight's concert program please fill out the form found within the link below. A paper copy will be mailed to your house within a week. https://forms.gle/JT1y2pyLR1JwuCaa9
PROGRAM NOTES - EMPERATA BY CLAUDE T. SMITH
A classic of the wind band literature, published in 1964, Emperata presented the first asymmetrical time measure to the American educational band scene. The concert band’s literature was introduced to the trademark 7/8 measure, which we all recognize now as a Smith signature. This composition also includes one of his few full band fugatos. Excellent percussion writing and a combination of all themes come together in a very exciting conclusion. Originally titled Overture for Winds and Percussion, the word “Emperata” has no meaning. I have always heard a rumor that Smith’s first publisher didn’t like the original title and changed it without Smith’s knowledge - Program Note by David Holsinger
Claude Thomas Smith (14 March 1932, Monroe City, Mo. – 13 December 1987, Kansas City, Mo.) was an American composer, conductor, educator and publisher.
Mr. Smith started his musical career playing trumpet in the fifth grade. He attended Central Methodist College, Fayette, Missouri, until he was drafted into the Army during the Korean Conflict. Unable to find a position with the service bands as a trumpeter, he auditioned on the French horn and won a position with the 371st Army Band. He finished his undergraduate training at the University of Kansas.
Smith wrote over 180 works for band, orchestra, choir, solos, and small ensembles as well as three method books for band and orchestra. His solos were written for noted artists such as “Doc” Severinsen, Dale Underwood, Brian Bowman, Warren Covington, Gary Foster, Rich Matteson, and Steve Seward. His first band composition was titled World Freedom March. His first published work, Emperata Overture, led to many other works being published by Wingert-Jones. In 1978, he became a composer for Jenson Publications (now Hal Leonard) and the educational consultant for Wingert-Jones.
Smith received numerous prestigious commissions, including works for the U.S. Air Force Band, the "President's Own" U.S. Marine Band, the U.S. Navy Band, and the U.S. Army Field Band. His composition Flight was adapted as the official march of the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institute. His orchestra works include compositions for the Kansas City Youth Symphony, South Bend (Ind.) Young Symphony, Springfield (Mo.) Symphony Orchestra, and the 1981 Missouri All-State String Orchestra.
Smith taught instrumental music in the public schools of Nebraska and Missouri. He also served as a member of the faculty of Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield where he taught composition and theory, and conducted the University Symphony Orchestra. Sacred music was also a deep love of Mr. Smith as he directed a church choirs for five years in Cozad (Neb.), 10 years in Chillicothe (Mo.), and 10 years in Kansas City (Mo.).
Mr. Smith was active as a clinician and guest conductor throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, and Europe. He received many awards for his contributions to music education and for his work in composition, including the ASCAP Composers Award multiple times. Following his death, he was awarded the National Band Association Academy of Wind and Percussion Arts (AWAPA) Award in 1987, honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Central Methodist College (1988), Hall of Fame Award from the Missouri Bandmasters Association (1988), Kappa Kappa Psi Distinguished Service to Music Medal (1988), Hall of Fame Award from the Missouri Music Educators Association (1992), and named School Director of the Year from the Christian Instrumentalist Directors Association (1994).
Smith was a member of the Music Educators National Conference (now NAfME), Missouri Bandmasters Association, National Band Association, American Bandmasters Association, and served as past president of the Missouri Music Educators Association.
Claude T. Smith Publication, Inc. was founded in 1993 to publish works which had not been released as well as works that have gone out of print.
SOURCE: The Wind Repertory Project (https://www.windrep.org)
PROGRAM NOTES - EVENING SONG (ABENDLIED) - ARRANGED BY SHELLEY HANSON
Abendlied (Evening Song), Op. 69/3, is a sacred motet by Josef Rheinberger for a six-part mixed choir (SSATTB). It has been regarded as his best-known sacred composition. He wrote the first version in 1855 at the age of 15. The text is a verse from the biblical narration of the Road to Emmaus appearance according to Luke 24:29 in Martin Luther's German version of the Bible.
SOURCE: Program Note from Wikipedia
Shelley Hanson (b. 1951, Washington, D.C.) is an American composer, conductor and clarinetist.
Dr. Hanson received her Ph.D. in performance, music theory, and music literature from Michigan State University, and has conducted university orchestras and wind ensembles as a faculty member of several universities. She is also on the artistic staff of the Minnesota Youth Symphonies.
Shelley Hanson’s compositions have been performed on every continent except Antarctica. As a conductor, record producer, and clarinetist, she has performed as a soloist with many ensembles: the Minnesota Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Las Vegas Philharmonic, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the U.S. Air Force Band, among others.
Also a conductor, record producer, and clarinetist, she and her band, Klezmer and All That Jazz, have performed her Concerto for Klezmer Band and Orchestra with the Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and many other groups. Klezmer and All That Jazz recorded traditional and her original music for the award-winning audio book version of the classic Yiddish folk tale The Dybbuk.
Principal clarinetist of the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, she has recorded orchestral and chamber music for Virgin Records, Teldec, Innova, and others, and was a soloist for the soundtrack of the feature film Out of the Wilderness. She is the founding director of the Macalester College Wind Ensemble (St. Paul, Minn).
SOURCE: The Wind Repertory Project (https://www.windrep.org)
PROGRAM NOTES - MARCH OF THE TOYS (FROM "BABES IN TOYLAND") ARRANGED BY OTTO LANGEY & HERBERT L. CLARKE
The Victor Herbert classic from Babes In Toyland has delighted audiences for decades. And this edition by Mark Rogers has a special history... it's taken from the arrangement done for the Sousa Band by Herbert L. Clarke.
Victor Herbert (1 February 1859, Dublin, Ireland - 26 May 1924, New York City) was a naturalized American conductor and composer of operettas. His is one of the most beloved names in all of American music. His operettas, comic operas, and many other songs have been very popular, and the list of his compositions is long and varied.
Herbert gained considerable experience and education as a cellist in Germany and Austria. Shortly after marrying Therese Forster in Vienna in August, 1886, he came to the United States to be principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He quickly became assistant conductor of the orchestra. In 1892, he succeeded Patrick Gilmore as leader of the famous 22nd Regiment Band of the New York National Guard. In 1893, he succeeded D.W. Reeves as leader of the Gilmore’s civilian band (Gilmore died in 1892). He was conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1898-1902. Herbert became a citizen of the United States in 1902.
A proponent of composers’ rights, he waged a constant battle against unscrupulous users of his own music and that of his colleagues and joined with John Philip Sousa and others in this cause. He was one of the founders of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), which protects copyrights and collects royalties on behalf of the organization’s members.
Nelson has received numerous commissions, including those from the National Symphony Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, the USAF Band and Chorus, Musashino Wind Ensemble, Aspen Music Festival and numerous colleges and universities. He has also received grants and awards from The Rockefeller Foundation, the Howard Foundation, ASCAP, and several from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Conductor Leonard Slatkin may have described Ron Nelson best: "Nelson is the quintessential American composer. He has the ability to move between conservative and newer styles with ease. The fact that he's a little hard to categorize is what makes him interesting." (Los Angeles Daily News, February 19, 1996)
Ron Nelson resides with his wife, Michele, in Scottsdale, Arizona.Herbert Lincoln Clarke (12 September 1867, Woburn, Mass. – 30 January 1045, Long Beach, Calif.) was an American composer, arranger, conductor and cornet virtuoso.
Clarke was the youngest of four boys, only one of whom did not follow a career in music. The Clarke family moved several times during Herbert’s youth, and his father, an organist at various churches, encouraged Herbert and his brothers to study musical instruments. Despite this urging, he did not wish them to enter music as a career.
While living in Toronto, Canada, Herbert attended a concert of the American Band of Providence (Rhode Island), conducted by D.W. Reeves. Clarke later wrote, “I was so moved by the cornet soloist that I knew in time that I too must play cornet.” His determination resulted in his being accepted, at the age of only 14, as a trumpet player in the Queen’s Own Rifle Regiment Band - even though the minimum age was 18.
One of the greatest influences in Clarke’s life was the famous cornet soloist Walter Rogers, who eventually became a close friend and side partner in Sousa’s Band. Clarke received tips from Rogers but never took formal lessons from him -- or anyone else. At age 24, he became cornet soloist with Gilmore’s Band. After the death of Gilmore in 1892, Clarke was soloist for a short period with the band of Ellis Brooks and then became soloist with Sousa’s Band in the spring of 1893.
It was another famous soloist, Arthur Pryor, who encouraged Clarke to compose his own cornet solos. Following the Sousa Band’s engagement at the Chicago Exposition in 1893, Clarke played with various groups, including the reorganized but short-lived Gilmore Band when it was directed by Victor Herbert. He returned to Sousa’s Band in 1900 and remained with it until 1917. He had often told Sousa that he would retire at age 50, since he believed that cornet soloists began to perform less effectively at that age. Sousa contended that he was playing better than ever, to which Clarke replied, “Then I’ll quit while I’m ahead.”
After retiring from Sousa’s Band, Clarke moved to Canada and served as conductor of the Anglo-Canadian Concert Band of Huntsville, Ontario, from 1918-1923. He then directed the Long Beach (California) Municipal Band from 1923-1943.
It is estimated that Clarke played over 15,000 solos during his long and active career. He traveled over 90, 000 miles with the bands of Gilmore, Sousa, Innes, Herbert, and others. He made 34 tours of the United States and Canada, four European tours, and one tour around the world.
Clarke has been declared the greatest cornetist of all time. A dedicated composer, author, conductor, cornetist, and teacher, Clarke believed that cornet playing should be pleasure rather than a chore. An example of his skill with the cornet is the fact that he could play a chromatic scale of three full octaves four times through in one breath. Among his many writings is a 12-chapter chronicle of the Sousa Band’s world tour of 1910-1911 (Musical Messenger, July, 1918, through May, 1919).
SOURCE: The Wind Repertory Project (https://www.windrep.org)
PROGRAM NOTES - STOOL PIGEON BY JULIE DAVILA
Julie Davila is a member of the chamber percussion ensemble the CAIXA TRIO, winner of a 2011 "Drummie" award by Drum Magazine. In addition to her membership in the CAIXA TRIO, she currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Percussive Arts Society and served as the chair of the Marching Percussion Committee of the Percussive Arts Society from 1998 - 2007.
She is currently the battery arranger for the Music City Drum Corps, Nashville, Tennessee and the percussion coordinator and arranger for the Middle Tennessee State University Band of Blue Drumline. Additionally, Julie is an adjunct professor of percussion at MTSU. Prior to her work at MTSU, she was the percussion specialist at several high schools in Nashville, Tennessee. Many of her groups have medaled in all divisions of the WGI activity and in 1996 the John Overton high school Indoor drum line, under her direction won a National Championship. Julie is a member of the WGI nationally recognized adjudication team and serves on the steering committee for WGI Percussion. As a member of the Caixa Trio and as an active clinician specializing in contemporary and marching percussion, she has performed in Seoul, South Korea, Paris, France, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil and extensively throughout the United States.
Julie received her degree from the University of North Texas. She has published numerous marching and concert percussion features through Row-Loff Productions and Drop6 Media. She is the author of the "Modern Multi-Tenor Techniques and Solos" and "Impressions on Wood" published by Row-loff, and is a co- author of "Aptitude" an innovative solo snare book published by Drop 6 media. Julie is an endorser and clinician for the Pearl Corporation, Innovative Percussion, the Avedis Zildjian Company, Grover Pro Percussion and Evans Drum Heads.
SOURCE: https://percussion.music.unt.edu/julie-davila
PROGRAM NOTES - MOVING AT THE SPEED OF SOUND BY MARK LORTZ
Mark Lortz is an American composer, percussionist, arranger and educator.
Lortz earned degrees at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where he majored in percussion performance, music education, and composition.
Mark Lortz was band and orchestra director at Westminster High School in Westminster, Maryland, where he directs the orchestra, concert and marching bands, percussion ensemble, color guard, and electronic and computer music program. Under his leadership, the school’s music department has received awards from MENC and the Maryland MEA for exemplary music programs, and was selected as a national semifinalist GRAMMY Signature School. The marching band has also won titles at numerous regional band competitions. In 2011, Lortz was appointed Director of Bands at Stevenson University where he started the inaugural Stevenson University Marching Band and Music Technology program. He also performs as principal percussionist and timpanist with the university’s orchestra, the Greenspring Valley Orchestra. Lortz is an adjunct music professor at McDaniel and Carroll Community Colleges. He frequently adjudicates at music competitions throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
As a performer, Lortz has performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Symphony, Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Baltimore Opera Orchestra, the Gettysburg Symphony, the Dallas Brass, the New York Pops Orchestra, and in orchestras with various concert and theatrical productions.
As a composer, he has written music for concert band, marching band, choir, chamber ensembles, and symphony orchestra. Mr. Lortz’s original music, arrangements, and transcriptions have been premiered at the Midwest Clinic and the BOA National Percussion Festival, and by universities, music schools, conservatories, and high schools across the nation. He is the front ensemble coordinator and arranger for the DCA world champion Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps, and has arranged marching band music for high schools and colleges throughout the country.
Mr. Lortz is constantly in demand as an adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor, and is a marching percussion specialist and scholastic educator for the Vic Firth Percussion Education Program. In 2006, Mr. Lortz was recognized by School Band & Orchestra magazine as one of 50 Directors Who Make a Difference.
Rousing brass motives, dynamic woodwind flourishes and active percussion ignite in an explosive concert opening statement. Beginning quietly, the action quickly accelerates and builds into a spinning sonic dynamo that truly befits the title. Though technical demands are kept at a very playable level, active parts in every section drive the music forward while occasional time signature changes dart and weave throughout this musical thrill ride.
SOURCE: Program Note from publisher
PROGRAM NOTES - MY MELANCHOLY BABY, ARRANGED BY CHRIS SHARP
Ernie Burnett, who is credited with composing the music, was wounded fighting in the First World War, from which he lost his memory and his identity dog tags. While recuperating in hospital, a pianist entertained the patients with popular tunes including "Melancholy Baby". Burnett rose from his sickbed and exclaimed, "That's my song!" He had regained his memory. A potential contender for the songwriting credit of "My Melancholy Baby" is the American pianist Ben Light. He claimed to have composed the song in 1908 as a teenager, although he did not pursue copyright protection for his work.
SOURCE: The Wind Repertory Project (https://www.windrep.org)
Chris Sharp, Ph.D. is a professional composer, arranger and orchestrator currently living in Winter Haven, FL. Educated at the University of Florida and the University of Miami, he has served the music field in a wide range of capacities. As a trombonist, Dr. Sharp worked as a full-time performing musician and band leader at Walt Disney World for eleven years. In addition, he has served as an arranger/orchestrator for the Disney parks worldwide since 1984, providing music for atmosphere groups, live shows, recording sessions and national television broadcasts. He also has written for numerous freelance clients including Universal Studios, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Boston Pops, the Dallas Brass and several service bands including the famed USAF Airmen of Note. Dr. Sharp is an active music educator, with experience teaching at the middle school, high school and college levels. He is currently serving as Director of Bands at Polk State College in Winter Haven where he also teaches music theory, music technology and arranging. Dr. Sharp has served as a clinician and guest conductor on numerous occasions, and has extensive experience as an adjudicator judging for several organizations including Bands of America and Drum Corps International. His compositions and arrangements for concert and jazz band have enjoyed widespread performances, including annual appearances at the Midwest Clinic. He has received the ASCAPlus award multiple times.
SOURCE: C Sharp Music (https://www.csharpmusic.net/chris)
PROGRAM NOTES - THE STARS & STRIPES FOREVER BY JOHN P. SOUSA
John Philip Sousa (6 November 1854, Washington, D.C. – 6 March 1932, Reading, Pennsylvania) was America's best known composer and conductor during his lifetime.
Sousa was born the third of 10 children of John Antonio Sousa (born in Spain of Portuguese parents) and Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus (born in Bavaria). John Philip's father, Antonio, played trombone in the U.S. Marine band, so young John grew up around military band music. Sousa started his music education, playing the violin, as a pupil of John Esputa and G. F. Benkert for harmony and musical composition at the age of six. He was found to have absolute pitch. When Sousa reached the age of 13, his father, a trombonist in the Marine Band, enlisted his son in the United States Marine Corps as an apprentice. Sousa served his apprenticeship for seven years, until 1875, and apparently learned to play all the wind instruments while also continuing with the violin.
Several years later, Sousa left his apprenticeship to join a theatrical (pit) orchestra where he learned to conduct. He returned to the U.S. Marine Band as its head in 1880, and remained as its conductor until 1892. He organized his own band the year he left the Marine Band. The Sousa Band toured 1892-1931, performing 15,623 concerts. In 1900, his band represented the United States at the Paris Exposition before touring Europe. In Paris, the Sousa Band marched through the streets including the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe – one of only eight parades the band marched in over its forty years.
Sousa wrote 136 marches. He also wrote school songs for several American Universities, including Kansas State University, Marquette University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Minnesota. Sousa died at the age of 77 on March 6th, 1932 after conducting a rehearsal of the Ringgold Band in Reading, Pennsylvania. The last piece he conducted was The Stars and Stripes Forever.
Sousa consistently stated that this march was divinely inspired and was born of homesickness. In his autobiography, Marching Along, he provides the details of its creation after he had received a cablegram in Italy that his manager, David Blakely, had died:
“Aboard the Teutonic, as it steamed out of the harbor on my return from Europe in 1896, came one of the most vivid incidents of my career. As I paced the deck, absorbed in thought, suddenly I began to sense the rhythmic beat of a band playing within my brain. It kept on ceaselessly, playing, playing, playing. Throughout the whole tense voyage, that imaginary band continued to unfold the same themes, echoing and reechoing the most distinct melody. I did not transfer a note of that music to paper while I was on the steamer, but when we reached the shore, I set down the measures that my brain-band had been playing for me, and not a note of it has ever changed. The composition is known the world over as The Stars and Stripes Forever and is probably my most popular march.” (By permission of John Philip Sousa, Inc., New York City)
Paul Bierley states that The Stars and Stripes Forever is “by far the most popular march ever written, and its popularity is by no means limited to the United States.” A ten-year international march popularity survey confirms Bierley’s statement. The universal appeal of Sousa’s march is illustrated by an article in The New York Times by Harold Schonberg which tells of a tour to China by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1973. After sitting politely but stonily through a program which ranged from Beethoven to Copland, the orchestra struck up The Stars and Stripes. “All of a sudden electricity permeated the hall. Faces broke into smiles; feet began tapping; there was a general air of understanding and happiness. Maybe,... (it) really is the greatest piece of music ever written by an American. In any case, it has made more friends for America than any other piece of music...”
SOURCE: Program Note from Program Notes for Band
This version of The Stars And Stripes Forever was arranged by Chris Sharp to be performed by a Dixieland Band.
PROGRAM NOTES - A CHRISTMAS PROCLAMATION BY ROBERT W. SMITH, ARRANGED BY CHRIS SHARP
Robert W. Smith (24 October 1958, Daleville, Ala. - 21 September 2023, Montgomery, Ala.) was an American composer, conductor, arranger and educator.
He attended high school in Daleville, after which he left for Troy State University, where he played lead trumpet in the Sound of the South Marching Band. While at Troy, he studied composition with Dr. Paul Yoder. Upon his graduation from Troy State with a Bachelor of Music Education degree, Smith pursued his musical career in South Florida, where he earned the master's degree in media writing and production from the University of Miami, while studying with Dr. Alfred Reed.
Mr. Smith has over 600 publications in print, with the majority composed and arranged through his long association with Warner Bros. Publications and the Belwin catalog. He serves as the Director of Product Development for C. L. Barnhouse and Walking Frog Records.
Mr. Smith's credits include many compositions and productions in all areas of the music field. His original works for winds and percussion have been programmed by countless military, university, high school, and middle school bands throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, South America and Asia. His Symphony No. 1, "The Divine Comedy", Symphony No. 2, "The Odyssey" and Africa: Ceremony, Song and Ritual have received worldwide critical acclaim. His educational compositions such as The Tempest, Encanto, and The Great Locomotive Chase have become standards for developing bands throughout the world. His numerous works for orchestras of all levels are currently some of the most popular repertoire available today. His music has received extensive airplay on major network television as well as inclusion in multiple motion pictures. From professional ensembles such as the United States Navy Band and the Atlanta Symphony to school bands and orchestras throughout the world, his music speaks to audiences in any concert setting.
As a conductor and clinician, Mr. Smith performed throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe and Australia. He was the principal conductor of the American Symphonic Winds and the American Festival Philharmonic Orchestra, professional recording ensembles based in Washington D.C. He also worked on the production of Symphony No. 3, "Don Quixote", the fourth in a series of compact disc recordings of his best-known works for concert band. In addition, he was co-creator of the Expressions Music Curriculum. This comprehensive Pre-K through 12 music program includes Band Expressions, an innovative new approach to teaching music through the band.
Mr. Smith taught in the Music Industry program at Troy University in Troy, Ala. His teaching responsibilities were focused in music composition, production, publishing and business. In addition, he was a managing partner and conductor/producer for American Audio Unlimited, an audio production company specializing in recordings for concert band and orchestra.
SOURCE: The Wind Repertory Project (https://www.windrep.org)
PROGRAM NOTES - FIRST WINTER'S SLEIGH RIDE BY JOHN O'REILLY
Using two famous carols interwoven into original music, John O'Reilly has created a sparkling holiday selection! Bits of Deck the Halls and Jolly Old St. Nicholas are interspersed for holiday cheer.
John O'Reilly (November 25, 1940 –) is an American composer and author of several successful instruction books. He has received numerous ASCAP awards and studied composition with Robert Washburn (composer), Arthur Frackenpohl, Charles Walton and Donald Hunsberger. He graduated from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam. In addition, he is the recipient of a Master of Arts in Composition and Theory degree from Columbia University and an honorary Doctorate of Music Education from Crane. He taught instrumental music and theory at all levels and for 35 years was Editor-In-Chief and Executive Vice President for Alfred Publishing Company. He is co-author of Yamaha Band Student with Sandy Feldstein, Strictly Strings, and Accent on Achievement with Mark Williams.[1] He has made a major impact on concert band, and string music education. He has received numerous commissions, published 380 compositions and has conducted ensembles in 48 states, all Canadian provinces and numerous international venues. In 2014 he received an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from the State University of New York Crane School of Music. Some songs John O'Reilly has created in the book Accent on Achievement are "Eagle Summit March" And "Galactic Episode." O'Reilly graduated from the Crane School of Music, State University of New York at Potsdam. In addition, he is the recipient of a Masters of Arts in composition and theory from Columbia University. His years of teaching experience at elementary through college levels has provided him with insights and sensitivities to the needs of both student and educators.
PROGRAM NOTES - LINUS AND LUCY BY VINCE GUARALDI, ARRANGED BY MICHAEL SWEENEY
Linus and Lucy is a popular jazz standard written by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, appearing in many Peanuts animated specials. Named for the two fictional siblings Linus and Lucy van Pelt, it was originally released on Guaraldi's album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. However, it gained its greatest exposure as part of the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack the following year. It is one of the most recognizable pieces by Guaraldi, and has gained status as the signature melody of the Peanuts franchise.
SOURCE: Wikipedia
Michael Sweeney (born 1952) is an ASCAP award-winning American composer[1] and musician. He lives in Shorewood, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States.
Sweeney studied music education and composition at Indiana University Bloomington. Sweeney taught five years in public schools of Ohio and Indiana, where he taught many concert, jazz and marching programs (including three years with the Greenwood High School Marching Woodmen) for students from elementary to high school.
Since 1982, he has worked full time for Hal Leonard Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is currently Director of Band Publications. In addition, he contributes as a composer and arranger in all instrumental areas. Sweeney is particularly known for his writing at the younger levels for concert and jazz bands, and has over 500 publications to his credit. His works appear on numerous state contest lists and his music is regularly performed around the world. An ASCAP award-winning composer, his "Ancient Voices" (1994) and "Imperium" (1992) are analyzed in music education texts from GIA Publications.
Sweeney is also in demand as a clinician and conductor for honor bands and music festivals.
SOURCE: The Wind Repertory Project (https://www.windrep.org)
PROGRAM NOTES - CHRISTMAS ENCORE, ARRANGED BY ROBERT W. SMITH
Christmas Encore is an arrangement of the classic Christmas song, Deck The Halls. A biography of Robert W. Smith may be found in the program note for A Christmas Proclamation.
PROGRAM NOTES - CAROL OF THE BELLS BY MIKOLA LEONTOVICH AND PETER WILHOUSKY. ARRANGED BY LARRY CLARK
Carol of the Bells is a popular Christmas carol composed by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914 with lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on a Ukrainian folk chant called Shchedryk.
The song is recognized by a four-note ostinato motif. It has been arranged many times for different genres, styles of singing and settings and has been covered by artists and groups of many genres: classical, metal, jazz, country music, rock, and pop. The piece has also been featured in films, television shows, and parodies.
SOURCE: Program Note from Wikipedia
Larry Clark (b. 20 September 1963, Clearfield, Fla.) is an American composer and publisher.
Larry’s music has been influenced by a variety of composers and teachers. He credits his father, a long time band director in Florida, for teaching him the joy of music. He was influenced early in his writing career by Robert W. Smith. He holds a bachelor's degree in music education from Florida State University and master's degrees in conducting and composition from James Madison University in Virginia. His decision to pursue composition and arranging was influenced further by Dr. John Hillard, composition professor at James Madison University. Dr. Pat Rooney, director of bands at James Madison University, gave Larry his first performance opportunities by performing his arrangements with the popular Marching Royal Dukes. Larry considers himself to be a product of the school band movement. His works are highly influenced by the standard band repertoire of composers such as Holst, Grainger, Schuman and Persichetti.
Clark's diverse background as a former middle school and university band director at Syracuse University, combined with his composing and editing, placed him at the forefront of music for school ensembles. He is the founder of Excelcia Music in Lakeland, Fla. He was formerly Vice President for Carl Fischer Music in New York. At Carl Fischer he served as Editor-in-Chief and coordinated all of Carl Fischer’s publishing in all genres of music. However, his main focus was on selecting, editing and producing concert band and string orchestra music for the company. He travels the world representing Carl Fischer Music doing clinic/workshops and guest conducting appearances. Prior to this appointment he served as an Instrumental Music Editor for Warner Bros. Publications in Miami.
His music is some of the most popular and most performed by concert bands and string orchestras of all ability levels. Larry is equally adept at writing music for beginners as he is for high school and college ensembles. His music is characterized by rhythmic verve, tuneful melodies, contains a fresh harmonic perspective, is well scored and stretches the musicianship of the performers. He prides himself on producing music that is not only intriguing to performers and audiences alike but that contains a playability that comes from a keen understanding of the technical difficulties inherent in all instruments. His pieces have been performed internationally and appear on numerous contest/festival performance required music lists. He is an ASCAP award-winning composer, has over 300 publications in print and is in demand to write commissions for bands and orchestras across the country.
Larry is in demand as a clinician and guest conductor around the country. He has presented clinics recently at the Midwest Clinic, the New York State School Music Association conference, the Texas Music Educators Association conference, the Ohio Music Educators Association conference, the Florida Music Educators Association conference and the Wisconsin Music Educators Association conference as well as numerous guest-conducting appearances internationally.
He is co-author with Sandy Feldstein of the innovative band method The Yamaha Advantage.
Clark is also known to have written under the pseudonym Keiko Yamada.
SOURCE: The Wind Repertory Project (https://www.windrep.org)
IT IS THAT TIME OF THE YEAR WHERE STUDENTS REGISTER FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR. IN AN EFFORT TO HELP STUDENTS NAVIGATE REGISTRATION, TRI-M HONOR MUSIC SOCIETY CREATED A 4-YEAR GUIDING DOCUMENT. WE HOPE IT MAKES YOUR LIFE EASIER!
RICHLAND COUNTY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT - STUDENT ACCOLADES
Seven student-musicians from the Richland County High School band program have been selected to partake in the 2023 Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) District 5 Music Festival on November 4th (Jazz) & November 18th (band, orchestra & choir) at Eastern Illinois University. These students were selected from a rigorous audition process as the top student-musicians representing 15 schools from twenty counties across the southeast Illinois area.
From left-to-right, the six RCHS band students that participate in the festival on November 4th are Wyatt Baker (senior/senior jazz band II), Ethan Zuber (junior/senior jazz band II), Lila Balding (sophomore/senior jazz band II), Aidan Gomez (senior/senior jazz band I), and Addison Ridgely (junior/senior jazz band II).
The three RCHS band students that participate in the festival on November 18th are (from left-to-right) Emma Wells (senior/senior band), Jereme Higginbotham (junior/senior orchestra), and Aidan Gomez (senior/senior band).
Two students from Richland County High School shall participate in the 2024 Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) All-State All-State Ensembles. ILMEA will host the event on January 25-27, 2024 in Peoria.
These students were selected from a rigorous audition process as the top student-musicians representing over 12,000 schools throughout Illinois. Of roughly 2,400 students that auditioned, only a fraction of students were selected to participate in the event. The RCHS students selected to participate are Aidan Gomez (senior/jazz band) & Emma Wells (senior/band).
Congratulations to those that were inducted into the Richland County High School Tri-M Honor Music Society, Chapter 8170
The members of the 2023-2024 Tri-M Honor Music Society include the following (back row from left to right): Mr. Weitkamp, Ethan Zuber, Evan Irvin, Ryan Zhu, Aidan Gomez, Wyatt Baker, Sean Joyce, Kyle Rennier, & Mr. Jones. (In the front, from left to right): Rilley Harrolle, Jozalyn Houser, Emma Wells, Victoria Zwilling, River Logan, Ari Henby, & Carly Houchin.
Tri-M Music Honor Society, formerly known as Modern Music Masters, is an American high school and middle school music honor society. A program of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), it is designed to recognize students for their academic and musical achievements and to provide leadership and service opportunities to young musicians.
The 2023-2024 Richland County High School Chapter 8170 Tri-M Music Honor Society members are:
ROW 1: Conner Akers, James Benton, Callista Ridgely, Riley Harrolle (vice president), Addison Ridgely, Carly Houchin, Molly Fehrenbacher, River Logan, and Callie Smith
ROW 2: Mr. Weitkamp (sponsor), Ethan Zuber (historian), Jereme Higginbotham, Sean Joyce (treasurer), Isaac Zwilling, James Wyatt Baker, Aidan Gomez (secretary), Emma Wells (president), and Mr. Jones (sponsor)
ABSENT: Lilla Balding
For more information pertaining to Tri-M Music Honor Society, visit https://www.rchsbands.net/tri-m-chapter-8170.html.