Thursday, April 24, 2025 | 7:00 PM
Rialto Center for the Arts
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Adam F. Dalton, principal conductor
Rachel Breaux, graduate assistant conductor
Julianna Pinero, graduate assistant conductor
Hymn to the Infinite Sky
SATOSHI YAGISAWA | B. 1975
Rachel Breaux, graduate assistant conductor
Hymn to the Infinite Sky is a tone poem based on the words of the conductor of the school band who commissioned the work...
The sky has to be a symbol of peace. However, there is sky where combat planes are flying when children look up. That is very sad. I wish there would be no more conflict on the Earth. I hope that children all over the world will hold onto their dreams towards the sky. I pray to the infinite sky for world peace.
Best of Rooms
RANDALL THOMPSON | 1899-1984
TRANS. TYLER S. GRANT | B. 1995
Christ, He requires still, wheresoe'er He comes, To feed, or lodge, to have the best of rooms; Give Him the choice; grant Him the nobler part Of all the house: the best of all's the heart.
- poem by Robert Herrick
Randall Thompson was an American composer, famous for his choral works. He then attended Harvard University and received a doctorate in music from the Eastman School of Music. He went on to teach at the Curtis Institute of Music, the University of Virginia, and Harvard. He was also an honorary member of the Rho Tau chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity at Appalachian State University.
English Folk Song Suite
March - “Seventeen Come Sunday”
Intermezzo - “My Bonny Boy”
March - “Folk Songs from Somerset”
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS | 1872-1958
Julianna Pinero, graduate assistant conductor
English Folk Song Suite is one of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams' most famous works. It was first published for the military band as Folk Song Suite.
Ralph Vaughan Williams was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over sixty years. Strongly influenced by Tudor music and English folk-song, his output marked a decisive break in British music from its German-dominated style of the 19th century.
Vaughan Williams is among the best-known British symphonists, noted for his very wide range of moods, from stormy and impassioned to tranquil, from mysterious to exuberant. Among the most familiar of his other concert works are Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910) and The Lark Ascending (1914).
Give Us This Day
I. Moderately slow
II. Very fast
DAVID MASLANKA | 1943-2017
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 Bhuddist monk Thich Nhat Hahn (pronounced “Tick Nat 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 awareness 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 is not 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 choral melody “Vater Unser in Himmelreich” (Our Father in Heaven) – No. 110 from the 371 four-part chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach.
- Note by David Maslanka
Adam F. Dalton
Dr. Adam Dalton is currently the Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at Marshall University where he oversees all aspects of a comprehensive band program including concert bands, the Marching Thunder, and basketball pep bands. He also conducts the Marshall Wind Symphony, teaches courses in music education and conducting, and serves as the recruitment director for the music department. Prior to his appointment as Director of Bands, Dr. Dalton served as Director of Athletic Bands at Marshall for five years.
Dr. Dalton is a native of Virginia where he attended James Madison University and earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. After graduating, he moved to Atlanta, GA where he taught high school at Milton High School, a large 5A program in Georgia. He then accepted a Graduate Teaching Assistantship at The University of Alabama where he received his Master of Arts in Music Education and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Instrumental Conducting.Dr. Dalton performed with The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps for three years earning two world championships and a gold medal in individual and ensemble. He also marched in various independent winter guards in the southeast, consistently making finals at Winter Guard International. His designing and teaching experience includes the 2008 World Champion Phantom Regiment, The Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, and currently serves as a caption head for the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps. He is featured on the WGI video, Toss and served as a clinician and performer for the first everSpinfest Clinic, an annual educational event sponsored by WGI. Dr. Dalton maintains a busy schedule as a designer, consultant, and adjudicator for marching bands and indoor groups both nationally and internationally.
Dr. Dalton worked with every ensemble while at The University of Alabama and was a featured conductor for the 2013 All-State Festival performance with The Alabama Wind Ensemble. His high school band received superior ratings at Large Group Performance Association. As a percussionist, Dr. Dalton performed with the Alabama Wind Ensemble for four years including their 10 day tour of Italy in 2012. He is a founding member of the Alabama Winds, a community band based in Birmingham, AL. He has also participated in the Alabama Wind Ensemble recording project The Glass Bead, available on Albany Records.
Dr. Dalton’s professional affiliations include the Collegiate Band Director’s National Conference, the National Association for Music Education, the Collegiate Music Society, and the National Band Association.
Rachel Breaux
Graduate Teaching Assistant & Wind Band Conducting Student
Rachel Breaux, a native of Temple, GA, is pursuing the Masters of Music degree in Wind Band Conducting. She is a recent graduate of the University of West Georgia where she earned the Masters of Music degree in Flute Performance. While at UWG, Rachel took advantage of conducting opportunities with the Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Joshua Byrd. She also holds a Bachelors of Music degree in Music Education from West Georgia.
As a performer, Rachel has studied privately with Elisa Lyle, Candance Keach, and Dr. Tammy Evans, and actively runs a private and sectional studio consisting of students within Carroll, Paulding, Fayette, and Coweta counties. She also participates in marching band instructional staff, flute sectional clinics, beginning and advanced conducting graduate teaching assistant instruction, theatre orchestra pits, and local church orchestras; including the Tabernacle Baptist Church, Roopville Baptist Church, Douglasville Baptist Church, and East Newnan Baptist Church.
On the side, Rachel specializes in social media and marketing for local organizations and honor bands. Her professional affiliations include the Georgia Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, and the National Band Association.
She currently resides in Temple, GA with her 5-year old forever puppy, Oscar.
Julianna Pinero
Graduate Teaching Assistant & Wind Band Conducting Student
Julianna Pinero is an alumna of Georgia State University where she earned the Bachelor of Music degree with a concentration in Instrumental Music Education. At Georgia State, Ms. Pinero was a member of several ensembles including the University Orchestra, Panther Band, Panther Basketball Band, Concert Band, and Choral Union. She is a 2019 graduate of Mill Creek High School where she performed in various ensembles.
Ms. Pinero’s teaching experience includes pre-school instrument with Jumpstart Education, strings instruction at Drew Charter School in Atlanta, student teaching in Gwinnett County, and marching band instruction at Cambridge High School in Milton, GA and North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, GA. In addition, she has served as a visual educators for the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps in Denver, Colorado.
Julianna was selected as a Conducting Fellow for the Atlanta Summer Conducting Institute hosted by Georgia State University in both 2023 and 2024.
Credits:
Created with images by TGEN - "Soft blue sky fuse with sunset light to look like heaven peaceful" • Andy Evans Photos - "South Downs in Hampshire from Beacon Hill, England, United Kingdom" • rook76 - "Give us this Day our Daily Bread" • kaiskynet - "Sunset with Colorful dramatic sky in the countryside."