Saturday, April 28, 2025
7:00 PM
Kopleff Recital Hall
Robert J. Ambrose, principal conductor
Meeka Sivilay, graduate assistant conductor
Symphonic Wind Ensemble
presents...
Shortcut Home (2003)
Dana Wilson | b. 1946
Meeka Sivilay, graduate assistant conductor
The works of Dana Wilson have been commissioned and performed by such diverse ensembles as the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Formosa Quartet, Xaimen Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Memphis Symphony, Dallas Wind Symphony, Voices of Change, Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Syracuse Symphony, Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, the trio STRATA, and Canadian Brass. Many college ensembles and faculty members have performed and recorded his music.
Symphony No. 7 (2004)
David Maslanka | 1943 - 2017
I. Moderate
Sunday night church services from my youth. Mrs. Smith played the piano. The opening piano solo is marked “enthusiastically” in the score. A dream travels to a far place.
II. Slow
In the manner of an American folk song, with a setting that might have come out of the 19th or early 20th centuries.
III. Very fast
A ferocious fast music, unrelenting, determined to get a grip on chaos. Toward the end a fractious quote of the Bach Chorale melody “Du Friedensfurst Herr Jesu Christ” (Prince of Peace Lord Jesus Christ).
IV. Moderately slow
A simple song of peace and healing.
I am strongly affected by American folk songs and hymn tunes, and I think of this Symphony and “old songs remembered”. With one exception all the tunes are original, but they all feel very familiar. The borrowed melody is from the 371 Four-Part Chorales by J.S. Bach. Each song has a bright side and a dark side, a surface and the dream underneath. Each is a signal or call which evokes an inner world of associations.
- Program notes by composer
ENSEMBLE
ALUMNI CONCERT BAND
Program to be chosen from the following:
American Salute (1943/1971)
MORTON GOULD | 1913 – 1996
TRANS. BY PHILIP J. LANG
This is a tribute to all things American, based on When Johnny Comes Marching Home.
Metalfare (2014)
ILARI HYLKILÄ | B. 1978
ARR. BY ROBERT J. AMBROSE
Metalfare is a fanfare for symphony orchestra. It is the winner of Helsinki University Symphony Orchestra's composition contest in honor of its 85th anniversary. Hylkilä was inspired by heavy metal music while writing the piece and felt that this influence was strong enough to warrant incorporation into the title.
- Program notes by publisher
Sleep (2001)
ERIC WHITACRE | B. 1970
In the winter of 1999 I was contacted by Ms. Julia Armstrong, a lawyer and professional mezzo-soprano living in Austin, Texas. She wanted to commission a choral work from me that would be premiered by the Austin ProChorus...The circumstances around the commission were certainly memorable. She wanted to commission the piece in memory of her parents, who had died within weeks of each other after more fifty years of marriage; and she wanted me to set her favorite poem, Robert Frost’s immortal Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening. I was deeply moved by her spirit and her request, and agreed to take on the commission.
Second Suite in F, op. 28b (1911)
GUSTAV HOLST | 1874 - 1934
ED. BY COLIN MATTHEWS
I. March "Morris dance, Swansea Town, Claudy Banks"
II. Song without Words “I’ll love my love”
III. Song of the Blacksmith "A Blacksmith Courted Me"
IV. Fantasia on the “Dargason” and "Greensleeves"
The Second Suite in F for Military Band (Op. 28, No. 2) is Gustav Holst's second of his two suites for concert band. The Second Suite consists of four movements, all based on specific English folk songs.
La Fiera Asturiana (2024)
MICHELE FERNÁNDEZ | B. 1970
This fiery, dramatic paso-doble-style march burns with Spanish authenticity and tells the poignant, inspiring true story of a tenacious flamenco dancer with an indomitable spirit. Written for, and dedicated to, the composer's grandmother, who was a flamenco artist in Asturias, Spain.
- Program notes by publisher
CONDUCTORS
Robert J. Ambrose
Conductor Robert J. Ambrose enjoys a highly successful and diverse career as a dynamic and engaging musician. His musical interests cross many genres and can be seen in the wide range of professional activities he pursues. Dr. Ambrose studied formally at Boston College, Boston University and Northwestern University, where he received the Doctor of Music degree in conducting. Dr. Ambrose currently serves as Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Georgia State University a research institution of over 53,000 students located in Atlanta.
Dr. Ambrose is in constant demand as a guest conductor and has performed on four continents. Recent engagements include performances in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan as well as across the United States. In 2016, Dr. Ambrose was invited to spend ten days on tour as a guest conductor with the United States Army Field Band. Ambrose is the only civilian in history to be invited to guest conduct a premiere American military band on tour. This engagement led to the formation of the National Chamber Winds, a professional wind dectet based in Washington, D.C. for which he is Founder and Music Director. Ambrose is also the Founder and Music Director of the Atlanta Chamber Winds and Ensemble ATL, ensembles comprising musicians from the Atlanta Symphony, Atlanta Opera, and Atlanta Ballet Orchestras.
Dr. Ambrose is Founder and Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Wind Ensemble (MAYWE), a highly-select high school honor ensemble consisting of musicians from throughout the Atlanta area. During his nine-year tenure as Music Director, nearly 1000 high school students participated in the MAYWE program and the ensemble was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall on two occasions.
Dr. Ambrose has strong ties to the Finnish music community. He is frequently engaged in that country as a guest conductor, teacher, master clinician, and lecturer. Recent guest conducting appearances include the Finnish Navy Band, the Helsinki Police Band, the STM Summer Music Festival Wind Orchestra, the Rauma Wind Band, and the youth wind bands of Kokkola, Kotka, and Rauma. He has taught conducting workshops in Tampere, Rauma, Kuopio, and Kokkola, and has served as a guest lecturer at the Central Ostrobothnian Conservatory and the Sibelius Academy.
Ambrose is a prolific arranger with nearly two dozen publications to his credit. His transcriptions and editions are published by Presser Music, Murphy Music Press, C. Alan Publications, Fennica Gehrman (Finland), and Edition Tilli (Finland). His transcriptions appear on several state lists and have been performed around the world.
Meeka Sivilay
Graduate Teaching Assistant & Wind Band Conducting Student
Meeka Sivilay is currently pursuing the Master of Music in Wind Band Conducting degree at Georgia State University under the guidance of Robert J. Ambrose. As a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the University Bands, she conducts and coaches a variety of ensembles, assists with undergraduate conducting instruction, and supports the operations of a large, comprehensive band program.
Prior to her move to Georgia, Ms. Sivilay served as a band director in the Mountain Home (AR) School District, where she conducted the junior high band, taught beginning woodwind classes and assisted with all aspects of the high school band program. Along with her official duties, she assisted with the guard programs and trained marching band student conductors.
Meeka graduated Cum Laude from Arkansas Tech University with the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education. Her primary teachers were Dan Belongia and Karen Futterer. During her tenure at Arkansas Tech, Meeka served as a student conductor for various ensembles, was as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, and served on local and district-wide executive boards of the Tau Beta Sigma music fraternity.