Funding for tonight’s performance was provided, in part, by the John R. Locke Endowment for Excellence in Music. For more information on giving to the UNCG School of Music, please visit https://vpa.uncg.edu/music/giving/
A Festival Prelude
Alfred Reed
Alfred Reed, an American composer, arranger, and educator, was a trumpet player and arranger for the 529th Army Air Force Band, the National Broadcasting Corporation, and the American Broadcasting Corporation. In addition, he held faculty positions at Baylor University and the University of Miami. His prolific oeuvre includes more than 250 works for band, orchestra, choir, and chamber groups. His most well-known compositions for band include El Camino Real (1985), Armenian Dances (1972), and Russian Christmas Music (1944). A Festival Prelude, composed in 1956 for the 25th anniversary of the Tri-State Music Festival was premiered by the Phillips University Band of Enid, Oklahoma with Reed conducting. A Festival Prelude is built from a main theme and two repeated fanfare motives. The scoring of the piece includes three distinct tone color groups: the horns, the trumpets and trombones, and the cornets, euphoniums, and clarinets. Through his use of increasing tempos, layered rhythmic motives, and woodwind flourishes, Reed writes a work that ends emphatically and triumphantly.
Note by Alfred Reed and Patty Saunders
Best Things
Catherine Likhuta
Catherine Likhuta is a Ukrainian Australian composer, pianist, and recording artist. Her works have been performed internationally by leading symphony orchestras and have been featured at major festivals and conferences around the world. Best Things reflects on the simple, often overlooked joys of life; the moments of stillness, beauty, and connection that bring meaning beyond material success. Inspired by experiences such as a child’s laughter, the scent of rain, or the rhythm of waves, the piece invites listeners to pause and appreciate life’s wonders. The music builds intensity before gently receding, reminding us to find fulfillment not in grandeur, but in presence and gratitude
Note by Catherine Likhuta and Molly Allman
Wilderness
Cait Nishimura
Cait Nishimura is a Japanese Canadian composer most well known for her works for concert band. In addition to composing, Nishimura is an active environmentalist, regularly speaking out and raising awareness for the preservation of the environment. She also frequently donates portions of her profits to charities focused on environmental conservation. Wilderness, commissioned by the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic for their 75th anniversary, is a musical reflection of these environmental considerations. Wilderness is a celebration of the remaining wild spaces on Earth and a recognition of the people who fight to protect them. A portion of each purchase of Wilderness is donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. The piece is an expression of Nishimura’s personal experiences as an environmentalist and serves as a call-to-action for people to do their part in taking care of the planet. The primary theme is energetic and propels the piece forward even as the theme is transformed through various meter changes. The piece slows and settles into a more solemn, flowing melody before picking up energy leading to the end.
Note by Cait Nishimura and Jaden Brown
Goodnight Moon
Eric Whitacre
Eric Whitacre, a GRAMMY® Award–winning American composer and conductor, attended The Julliard School where he studied with John Corigliano. Originally a singer and best-known for his choral music, Whitacre also led virtual choir projects that synchronized singers from around the world including a 2020 performance of his work, Sing Gently, with over 17,000 singers. Whitacre is a founding member of BCM International, a quartet of composers including Steven Bryant, Jonathan Newman, and James Bonney. Whitacre’s musical output also includes the well-known band pieces Ghost Train and Godzilla Eats Las Vegas. Goodnight Moon was originally composed for harp, string orchestra, and Whitacre’s wife and son’s mother, soprano Hila Plitmann. It was arranged by conductor and educator Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant for band. The composition is based on the 1947 American children’s book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. Whitacre writes “Over the past few years I must have read Goodnight Moon to my son a thousand times—maybe more. Somewhere around hearing number 500, I began hearing little musical fragments as I read, and over time those fragments began to blossom into a simple, sweet lullaby.”
Note by Eric Whitacre and Patty Saunders
Simple Gifts: Four Shaker Songs
Frank Tichelli
Frank Ticheli, an American composer and conductor, is a prolific and significant band composer. Some of his most well-known compositions include Cajun Folk Songs, Blue Shades, and Vesuvius. Ticheli studied composition at the University of Michigan, served on the faculty at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, and was composer-in-residence of the Pacific Symphony. Simple Gifts is a work built from four Shaker melodies that include a nature song, a lively dance tune, a tender lullaby, and a Shaker hymn that celebrates simplicity and humility. Ticheli wrote that each setting “sought subtle ways to preserve their simple, straightforward beauty.” The first movement includes the oldest surviving Shaker song with text, a setting of “In Yonder Valley.” The hymn is attributed to Father James Whittaker (1751–1787), a Shaker who immigrated to America in 1774. Ticheli’s use of a three-note motive recalls a birdcall during springtime. The second movement, “Dance,” celebrates an essential part of Shaker worship. The movement closes with the melody, heard at different times in the woodwinds and brass. The third movement, “Here Take This Lovely Flower,” comes from Dorothy Berliner Commin’s collection Lullabies of the World. This song exemplifies the Shaker belief that spiritual gifts were received from spirits through visions or trances. The final movement is a setting of the Shakers’ most famous song, “Simple Gifts.” Sometimes attributed to Elder Joseph Bracket (1797–1882), the song has been used in hundreds of settings, most famously in Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Ticheli wrote “throughout its little journey, the tune is never abandoned, rarely altered, always exalted.”
Note by Frank Ticheli and Patty Saunders
a sky so boundless
Katahj Copley
Katahj Copley, an American composer, studied at the University of West Georgia, the University of Texas at Austin, and Michigan State University. Copley has written over 100 works spanning chamber ensembles, wind ensembles, and orchestra often elevating the importance of music’s purpose. Copley writes “Music for me has always been this impactful thing in my life. It can soothe, it can enrage, it can quiet, and it can evoke emotions that are beyond me and this world we live in. I believe that music is the ultimate source of freedom and imagination. The most freedom I have had as a musician was through composing. Composition is like me opening my heart and showing the world my drive, my passion, and my soul.” a sky so boundless, commissioned by the Franklin High School Band (Tennessee), explores what Copley describes as “adventure and risk while exploring colors of warmth and emotions.” The work is based on a poem written by Copley that showcases perseverance, hope, and possibility: our hands reached high filled with wonder filled with beauty filled with fear filled with unknown filled with hope forever connected to a sky so boundless
Note by Katahj Copley and Patty Saunders
Crystal Kachevas
Crystal Kachevas holds a Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of Arizona and a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from Arkansas State University. Currently, she is a doctoral student in vocal performance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she serves as a graduate teaching associate for the voice area. An avid teacher, Crystal was previously an instructor of voice and opera at Arkansas State University where she directed Viardot’s Cendrillon and the world premiere of Murl Sickbert’s realization and adaptation of Mozart’s incomplete L’oca del Cairo. She continues to hone her passion for stage directing and theatre in collaboration with the UNCG Opera Theatre, UNCG Theatre, and Greensboro Opera. On the operatic stage, Crystal’s most recent roles include Madame Lidoine in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, Madame Herz in Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor, the Dew Fairy in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Lord Birkenhead in the American premiere of Elena Langer’s Rhondda Rips It Up!, and La Fée in Massenet’s Cendrillon.
Patty Saunders
Patty Saunders is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in instrumental conducting at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) where she studies with Jonathan Caldwell. At UNCG, she conducts the Concert Band and assists with all other aspects of the UNCG Bands.
Prior to coming to UNCG, Patty completed a master’s degree in instrumental conducting from the University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music (CCM) with Kevin Holzman where she conducted the Wind Symphony, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Winds, and Brass Choir and was involved in ensemble recordings. She also holds undergraduate degrees in saxophone performance and psychology from the University of Kentucky and in biochemistry from Virginia Tech. She spent many years serving in her community working with non-profit music organizations as well as collaborating with groups including the Lexington Philharmonic and University of Kentucky choirs. Passionate about connecting with audiences, she seeks to be intentional about representation and accessibility in her programming while creating a positive ensemble culture.
Patty is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the College Band Directors National Association. She strives to learn a new word every day, loves hiking with her family and dog, Ginger, and takes her coffee black, with no room for cream or sugar.
Molly Allman
Molly Allman is pursuing her Master of Music degree in instrumental conducting at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), where she studies with Dr. Jonathan Caldwell and serves as a music education graduate teaching assistant. In this role, she supports the mission of the UNCG School of Music through teaching and service to the music education area. Prior to her graduate studies, Molly taught band and choir for three years in the North Carolina public schools.
Molly is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and she previously served as president of the North Carolina state affiliate of NAfME Collegiate. In that role, she traveled to Washington, D.C. in 2019 to meet with legislative representatives and advocate for the importance of arts funding in schools.
Molly aspires to build a career in higher education, where she hopes to mentor the next generation of musicians. Outside of academics, Molly enjoys exploring new music, engaging in community service, watching Red Sox baseball, and spending time with her family and pets.
Jaden Brown
Jaden Brown is currently pursuing a master’s degree in instrumental conducting at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), where he studies with Dr. Jonathan Caldwell. At UNCG, he serves as the assistant conductor for the Concert Band and assists with other ensembles and undergraduate conducting courses.
Prior to his graduate studies, Jaden earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Western Carolina University. During his time at WCU, he studied trumpet with Dr. P. Bradley Ulrich for three years and participated in the Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, and Trumpet Ensemble. He also performed for three seasons with the Pride of the Mountains Marching Band, serving as trumpet section leader for two of those years.
Jaden has spent the past two summers as an instrumental music fellow at the North Carolina Governor’s School, where he supported the development of talented high school musicians from across the state.
He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and the National Association for Music Education. Outside of music, Jaden enjoys spending time outdoors, has a love for animals of all kinds, and hopes to one day have a family of pet ferrets.