An American in Paris
George Gershwin, arr. John Krance
Originally composed in 1928, An American in Paris is An American in Paris’s vibrant musical depiction of an American visitor experiencing the sights and sounds of Paris. Gershwin blends elements of classical form with jazz-influenced rhythms and harmonies, capturing both the excitement and occasional homesickness of a traveler abroad. The music evokes bustling city streets, lively conversations, and the charm of Parisian life, famously incorporating the sound of taxi horns to enhance its sense of place. Moments of blues-inspired lyricism suggest a longing for home, contrasting with the energetic and colorful scenes of the city. This wind band arrangement by John Krance preserves the spirit and character of Gershwin’s original orchestral work while translating its rich textures into the symphonic band setting, allowing a new ensemble to bring this iconic American work to life.
Ye Banks and Braes O'Bonnie Doon
Percy Grainger
Ye Banks and Braes O’ Bonnie Doon is one of Percy Grainger’s most beloved settings of a traditional Scottish folk song, with text originally by Robert Burns. Grainger was deeply passionate about folk music and sought to preserve its natural expressiveness while enriching it with his own distinctive harmonic language. In this setting, Grainger treats the melody with great sensitivity, allowing it to unfold freely while surrounding it with lush, warm harmonies. The music reflects a sense of nostalgia and quiet melancholy, evoking the gentle beauty of the Scottish countryside and the emotional depth of Burns’ poetry. Grainger’s approach avoids rigid structure, instead embracing a flexible, almost improvisatory style that mirrors the natural flow of folk singing. The result is a deeply expressive and intimate work that highlights both the simplicity and emotional power of the original tune.
Undertow
John Mackey
Composed in 2014, Undertow by John Mackey explores the powerful and often unseen forces that pull beneath the surface—both musically and metaphorically. The title refers to the strong current beneath ocean waves that can drag swimmers away from shore, serving as a metaphor for emotional or psychological forces that can feel overwhelming. The piece is driven by relentless rhythmic energy, with propulsive ostinatos and shifting meters creating a sense of instability and tension. Dense textures and bold brass writing convey intensity, while contrasting sections provide brief moments of reflection before the music is swept back into motion. Mackey’s writing demands precision and stamina from the ensemble, building toward a powerful and dramatic conclusion. Undertow is both thrilling and evocative, capturing the sensation of being caught in a force that is impossible to resist.
Barnum and Bailey’s Favorite (1913)
Karl L. King (1891–1971)/arr. Bainum
Raised in Canton, Ohio, Karl L. King was undoubtedly influenced both by the rich tradition of band music of the Midwest as well as the most popular form of entertainment at the time, the circus. Very much a self-made man, King began his musical education with the purchase of a cornet, paid for with money earned from a paper route. As a young musician, he played several brass instruments as well as the piano, but ultimately settled on the baritone, which he played in several circus bands between 1910 and 1913, among them the Barnum and Bailey Band. It was during this time that King became well known for his ability to compose circus marches quickly (often by oil lamp in crowded circus tents). At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were very few compositions that fit the rhythm and pacing of circus performances, and composers were in demand. King composed more than 188 marches and rousing circus “screamers,” and he was considered to have done for the circus march what John Philip Sousa did for the patriotic march. King began a long conducting career in 1914, initially directing circus bands and ultimately becoming the Bandmaster of the Fort Dodge Municipal Band, all the while continuing to compose. King was performing with the Barnum and Bailey Band in 1913 under Ned Brill when Brill asked him to write a special march. “Barnum and Bailey’s Favorite,” dedicated to Brill, became King’s most famous march as well as the theme music of the circus. The piece unsurprisingly has a lively baritone part and, like most of his other circus marches, is considered to be among the more difficult compositions in the body of American march music.
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (1922)
John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
John Philip Sousa, like many prominent musicians throughout history, was a member of a Masonic Lodge. He became a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine in Washington, D.C., in April 1922, and was promptly named the first honorary director of the Almas Temple Shrine Band. His nephew, A. R. Varela sponsored him, and asked him to compose this march. The new march saluted Shriners in general but was dedicated specifically to the Almas Temple and the Imperial Council. The Shriner’s national convention was held in Washington in June 1923, and Sousa was invited to lead a band of 6,200 Shriners in Griffith Stadium. This was the largest band he ever conducted, and this new association with the Shriners led to several Shrine bands accompanying the Sousa Band in performances of the new march as Sousa toured the United States. “Nobles of the Mystic Shrine” is unique in that it is one of the few Sousa marches that begins in a minor key, giving it an exotic sound, and it is also one of the few that includes a published part for harp. The “Jingling Johnny” or Turkish crescent, which is a marching instrument consisting of a pole hung with jingling bells, is heard through the use of percussive instruments such as tambourines and the triangle. These are essential to the texture and refer to the intriguing Eastern sounds heard in shrine marching music, thus making “Nobles of the Mystic Shrine” one of the more unusual but wonderful Sousa marches.
Divertimento (1964/2009)
Roger Boutry (1932–2019)
Roger Boutry was born in Paris in 1932 and studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where he earned multiple first prizes in disciplines including composition, piano, and conducting. In 1954, he won the prestigious Prix de Rome. Boutry later returned to the Conservatoire as professor of harmony, a position he held from 1962 to 1997. He also served as musical director of the Garde Républicaine from 1973 to 1997. Over the course of his career, he received numerous honors, including the Music Prize of the City of Paris, awards from SACEM, and the Georges Bizet Prize from the Académie des Beaux-Arts. A versatile musician, Boutry was active as a composer, pianist, and conductor, and produced a substantial body of work spanning orchestral, chamber, and solo repertoire. Boutry is particularly well known for his contributions to the saxophone repertoire, including his Sérénade (1957) and Divertimento (1964), both written for the legendary saxophonist Marcel Mule, professor at the Paris Conservatoire. His style reflects the influence of French composers such as Debussy and Ravel, combined with a rhythmic vitality and stylistic flexibility that often incorporates elements of jazz. The Divertimento is cast in three movements and draws loosely on the historical idea of a divertimento as a light, entertaining multi-movement work. Boutry’s interpretation, however, is virtuosic and modern in character. The first movement is energetic and rhythmically driven, featuring syncopation and clear jazz influences. The second movement contrasts with a more introspective, blues-like lyricism and includes a cadenza that leads directly into the finale. The third movement is bright, fast-paced, and technically demanding, bringing the work to an exciting conclusion.
Um Mitternacht (1901)
Gustav Mahler (1860–1911)
One of five songs contained in Mahier’s Rückert Lieder, Um Mitternacht is the only song in the set scored for orchestral winds without strings. In fact, it is Mahler’s one and only contribution to the wind repertoire. Um Mitternacht (At Midnight) recounts the poet’s battle with darkness in both its literal and figurative sense. Three central instrumental motives are introduced in the opening bars and form the foundation for much of the song: a three-note dotted figure in the clarinets; a rising and falling dotted figure in the flute; and an even descending scale in the horns, mirrored by an ascending scale in the voice. Each of the first four stanzas weave these motives in different contexts and modalities, representing the poet’s psychological fear of God, darkness and the earthly realm. The poet’s initial awareness of God is followed by the pursuit to understand the heavenly unknown. The poet then recognizes his or her own humanistic limitations and struggles to fight inherent “afflictions.” This leads to a very different orchestration of the final section: the transcendent moment where the proportion, harmony and grandiosity build into extravagant fruition. Um Mitternacht is often performed as the last song of the set, due to the triumphant nature of the ending. A translation of Ruckert’s poetry follows: At midnight, I was roused and looked up to the heavens; No star in the entire sky smiled down upon me at midnight. At midnight, I cast my thoughts out beyond the dark limits. No vision of light brought me solace at midnight. At midnight, I was rapt to the beats of my heart; One single pulse of pain welled up at midnight. At midnight, I fought the battle, of your passion, oh humankind; I could not resolve it with my strength at midnight. At midnight, I commended my strength into your hands! Lord, over death and life you keep watch at midnight! - Program Note by Brooke Emery and University of North Texas Wind Ensemble concert program, 23 February 2021
Still wie die Nacht (1889)
Carl Böhm (1844–1920)/arr. Rondeau
Born in Berlin, Carl Böhm is best known for his lyrical compositions, characterized by a Romantic, song-like expressiveness. A prominent figure in 19th-century salon music, his works have long appealed to both amateur and professional musicians. Bohm’s music is marked by its charm and sentimentality, qualities that have helped secure its enduring place in both vocal and instrumental repertoire. Among his most celebrated works is Still wie die Nacht (“Silent as the Night”), composed in 1889. Set to an anonymous text, the poem reflects themes of quiet love and devotion, likening their gentle constancy to the stillness of the night. The song remains a favorite among performers and audiences alike and stands as one of Bohm’s most beloved and enduring compositions.
Blue Shades (1997)
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Frank Ticheli, professor of composition at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles since 1991, is especially known for his concert band works among his other musical contributions as a conductor and orchestral composer. Growing up near New Orleans, Ticheli developed a love for traditional jazz which he synthesized with his own musical style in his 1997 piece Blue Shades. The composer describes the work’s use of jazz elements: As its title suggests, the work alludes to the Blues, and a jazz feeling is prevalent; however, it is not literally a Blues piece. Blues harmonies, rhythms, and melodic idioms pervade the work, and many ‘shades of blue’ are depicted, from bright blue, to dark, to dirty, to hot blue. At times the work parodies some of the clichés from the Big Band era, not as a mockery of those conventions, but as a playful tribute to them. A quiet, slow middle section paints the atmosphere of a dark, smoky blues haunt. An extended clarinet solo, played near the end, recalls Benny Goodman’s hot playing style, and ushers in a series of ‘wailing’ brass chords reflecting the train whistle effects commonly used during that era.
Lincolnshire Posy (1937)
Percy Grainger (1882–1961)
Percy Grainger was a native of Brighton, Australia, and first studied piano with his mother and later with Luis Pabst in Melbourne. At age ten, he gave a series of recitals that financed his later studies in Germany. In 1900, he began a career as a concert pianist with sensational success in England, South Africa, and Australia. He came to America in 1915 and, at the outbreak of Word War I, enlisted as a U.S. Army bandsman. He was soon promoted to the Army School of Music. In 1919, following the war, he became a United States citizen and resumed his career as a concert pianist. Grainger’s technical facility and rugged individualism, heard regularly in his piano performances, became an integral part of his compositions, including Lincolnshire Posy. Grainger requested that the following introduction be distributed at all performances of this work. Lincolnshire Posy, as a whole work, was conceived and scored by me direct for band early in 1937. This bunch of “musical wildflowers” is based on folksongs collected in Lincolnshire, England in the years 1905–1906 with the help of a wire cylinder recorder. The work is dedicated to the old folksingers who sang sweetly to me and each movement is intended to be a kind of musical portrait of these singers. These folksingers were the kings and queens of song! No concert singer I have ever heard approached these rural warblers in a variety of tone-quality, range of dynamics, rhythmic resourcefulness, and individuality of style. These musical portraits of my folksingers were tone-painted in a mood of considerable bitterness of the cruel treatment meted out to folksingers as human beings and at the thought of how their gifts often were allowed to perish unheard, unrecorded, and unhonoured. The stories contained within the text for each folk song weave a powerful portrait of the human condition, a factor that surely led Grainger to distinguish these six folk songs from the many he collected thirty years before writing this exquisite work. The text of the first three songs illustrate poignant examples of common people in conflict with government and social authorities: a man choosing between his oath to the queen and his pregnant lady, a man confronting his master and losing his life, and men struggling to feed their families at the risk of death. All three are tales of oppression and moral dilemma that remain true today. The second set of songs, movements four through six, depict one-on-one conflicts: a man tricking a woman, a dying man’s fleeting remembrance of his youth, and a kidnapped niece who is “found” in order to save her uncle from the gallows. Of the six movements, the sixth and final setting is the only one with a happy ending. While there is richness in Grainger’s harmonic language and orchestration, this should not be confused with love or beauty, but instead understood as representing the bitterness and pain of both his folk singers and the stories they so lovingly retold. Frederick Fennell, founder of the Eastman Wind Ensemble and a frequent collaborator with Grainger, prepared the performance materials utilized tonight from Grainger’s original manuscripts.
Neon Nights (2023)
Katahj Copley (b. 1998)
Neon Nights is an electrifying musical portrait of the energy, color, and motion of urban nightlife. Drawing on Afro-Latin rhythms and vibrant harmonic textures, the work immerses listeners in a sound world that reflects the pulse of a city after dark. The piece unfolds as a continuous journey through a series of shifting musical scenes, much like moving through different spaces in a lively night setting. At times, shimmering sonorities evoke the glow of neon lights and dazzling visual displays, while other moments place the listener in the center of a crowded dance floor, driven by infectious rhythms and celebratory melodies. Copley’s writing captures both the spectacle and the human experience of nightlife—the excitement, movement, and emotional variety that come with it. The music alternates between energetic grooves and colorful, kaleidoscopic textures, creating a vivid sonic landscape that reflects the ever-changing atmosphere of a bustling city evening. Lasting approximately five minutes, Neon Nights was composed in 2023 and showcases Copley’s distinctive voice, blending contemporary wind band writing with influences from popular and global musical styles.