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/
Sesquicentennial Exposition March
John Philip Sousa
By the time Sousa composed Sesquicentennial Exposition March for the 1926 Philadelphia exposition, he had long since defined the American march tradition. The piece follows the familiar multi‑strain structure typical of his style: an introduction; two primary strains; a trio; a break strain; and a final strain. Its strength lies less in innovation than in refinement. The introduction sets a bright, declarative tone before leading into the first and second strains, each built on clear phrase symmetry and rhythmic buoyancy. Rather than relying on sheer volume, Sousa builds momentum through pacing and carefully shaped dynamics. The trio shifts to the subdominant and introduces a more legato, lyrical character. Here, the inner voices do more than provide accompaniment—they contribute independent motion and add energy beneath the melody. The break strain heightens rhythmic intensity and dynamic tension before the return of the trio in the final strain. Even within a well-worn formal design, Sousa demonstrates remarkable control of color, balance, and pacing. What makes the march endure is not simply its structure, but the clarity and craftsmanship with which Sousa animates that structure.
Note by Molly Allman
Early Light
Carolyn Bremer
Carolyn Bremer was an American composer, orchestral bassist, and educator whose music explores the intersections of creativity, expression, and meaning. Central to her artistic voice were two guiding questions: how to synthesize her wide-ranging influences into a cohesive musical language, and how to communicate that creative process clearly to her students and audiences. Early Light, originally composed for the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and premiered in July 1995, grew out of Bremer’s lifelong love of baseball. She found inspiration in the joyful anticipation that surrounds the national anthem before a game, weaving familiar fragments of “The Star-Spangled Banner” into the music—not as a patriotic declaration, but as a symbol of shared memory, ritual, and tradition. Now a mainstay of the wind ensemble repertoire, Early Light concludes with the slapstick imitating the sharp crack of a bat and the exhilarating possibility of a long home run.
Note by Patty Saunders
Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Orchestra
Ingolf Dahl
Ingolf Dahl was a German-born composer who immigrated to Los Angeles in 1939 to escape discrimination tied to his Jewish heritage. He studied at the University of Zurich, where the music of Stravinsky and Schoenberg left a lasting mark on his compositional voice—an influence evident throughout his works. In 1948, saxophonist Sigurd Raschèr wrote to Dahl requesting a substantial new concerto. Raschèr, one of the most influential advocates for the classical saxophone in the twentieth century, inspired more than 200 dedicated works during his career. Aware of Raschèr’s extraordinary command of the extreme upper register, Dahl composed the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Orchestra in 1949, crafting a work that showcases both technical brilliance and refined musicality. The concerto firmly situates the saxophone in a serious modernist concert tradition, drawing on mid-century neoclassicism through its clear forms, contrapuntal textures, and rhythmic precision. The concerto unfolds in three movements—two slow movements followed by a lively, march-like finale—that subvert the standard fast–slow–fast concerto model. The opening “Recitative” begins in a declamatory, improvisatory manner before settling into more focused musical ideas, allowing the soloist to alternate between expressive freedom and concentrated intensity. The second movement is a passacaglia built on a repeating bass line, over which the solo part gradually expands in both range and emotional depth. The concluding movement, “Rondo alla marcia,” features angular themes, shifting meters, and a sharply etched rhythmic profile that give the finale its distinctive modern character. Dahl continued refining the piece over the next decade, substantially rewriting the third movement in 1953 and removing several sections in 1959. Today, the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Orchestra remains his most frequently performed work.
Note by Jaden Brown and Molly Allman
Yankee Doodle
Morton Gould
Morton Gould was an American composer, conductor, and pianist who displayed remarkable musical talent from an early age. A gifted improviser and arranger, he used these skills to secure steady work playing piano for theaters and vaudeville acts in New York City. His reputation grew quickly as he advanced within the world of radio, all while continuing to compose throughout World War II. During this period, Gould wrote and arranged several works that have since become staples of the American repertoire, including Yankee Doodle, composed near the end of the war in 1945. In this piece, he takes the familiar folk tune and transforms it through a variety of styles—ranging from light and delicate to jazz-inflected and improvisatory—demonstrating his versatility and imaginative approach to American musical traditions.
Note by Jaden Brown
Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein was one of the most influential and charismatic musicians of the twentieth century. An internationally celebrated conductor, composer, pianist, and educator, he studied at Harvard University, the Curtis Institute of Music, and at Tanglewood with Serge Koussevitzky. Bernstein’s career launched overnight in 1943 when he made a triumphant, nationally broadcast debut with the New York Philharmonic—an event that instantly made him a household name. He later served as the orchestra’s music director from 1958 to 1969. A passionate champion of American music, especially the works of Aaron Copland, Bernstein was also a transformative educator whose Young People’s Concerts and lectures continue to inspire audiences around the world. As a composer, he bridged the worlds of the concert hall and Broadway with landmark creations including Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah,” his operetta Candide, and—his most famous work—the musical West Side Story. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story premiered in 1961 with the New York Philharmonic, four years after the Broadway opening of the musical with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. A contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story portrays the escalating conflict between two teenage gangs on Manhattan’s Upper West Side—the Jets and the Sharks—and the doomed relationship of Tony and Maria. The suite draws on dance rhythms, jazz-inspired harmony, and classical techniques such as fugue to capture the work’s tension between rivalry, love, and aspiration. Listeners will recognize moments like “Mambo,” a high‑energy competition between the gangs; the “Cha-Cha,” when Tony and Maria first meet; and the “Finale,” which recalls the yearning melody of “Somewhere.” Beginning and ending with the distinctive tritone interval—first as the melodic cell of “Maria” (C–F♯–G) and later embedded in the final chord—the Symphonic Dances underscore the persistent dramatic tension that permeates the musical’s nine seamlessly connected movements.
Note by Patty Saunders
William L. Lake, Jr.
Dr. William L. Lake, Jr. is the director of concert bands at the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music at George Mason University. In this role, he conducts the George Mason University Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band. He also teaches conducting and wind literature classes. Before his tenure at George Mason University, Dr. Lake, served as associate director of bands and assistant professor of music education at the Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam). Dr. Lake earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in instrumental conducting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro under the mentorship of Drs. John R. Locke and Kevin Geraldi. As a graduate student, he was the principal conductor of the University of North Carolina University Band and guest conductor of the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Casella Sinfonietta Chamber Ensemble, and Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Lake is the recipient of two master’s degrees, the first from Boston University in Music Education (2011) and the second from the University of Maryland, College Park in Wind Conducting (2014), under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Votta, Jr. In May 2006, Dr. Lake received a Bachelor of Music Liberal Arts–Jazz Studies Piano Performance degree from the University of Maryland, College Park as a student of Jon Ozment and Christopher Vadala. Dr. Lake maintains an active performance and clinic schedule as a guest conductor and lecturer nationwide. In March of 2024, Dr. Lake was named music and artistic director of the Capital Wind Symphony, one of the nation’s premier wind symphonies. Based near the nation’s capital, the ensemble comprises some of the finest musicians in the area, including members of the US military bands, freelance players, studio teachers, and music educators. Recently, Dr. Lake served as a collaborating author for two books, Teaching Instrumental Music: Perspectives and Pedagogies for the 21st Century (Oxford University Press) and Music Education on the Verge: Stories of Pandemic Teaching and Transformative Change (Lexington Books). As a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dr. Lake has presented numerous seminars across the United States on inclusive practices in music education and performance, including the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the Eastern Division of the College Band Directors National Association, the Texas Music Educators Association, the Maryland Music Educators Association, the Virginia Music Educators Association, the College Music Society, and the National Association for Music Education. Dr. Lake is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. while also serving as the national vice president for professional relations for Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc. He is also honored with membership in Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc., and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Sarah McKoin
Dr. Sarah McKoin serves as director of bands, professor of music, and chair of the Conducting and Ensembles Area at Texas Tech University, where she leads the graduate conducting program and oversees a vibrant and comprehensive band curriculum. Under her direction, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble has been featured at prestigious events including The Midwest Clinic, Texas Music Educators Association, North American Saxophone Alliance, College Music Society, and CBDNA conferences. Her ensembles are featured on commercial recordings with Naxos, Albany, and Mark Records, including the world premiere recording of Chen Yi’s Suite for Cello and Wind Ensemble, a project praised widely for both its artistic merit and execution. One reviewer noted, “The playing of the Texas Tech University Symphonic Wind Ensemble is strikingly good, even in the complexities Chen poses.” Additionally, she premiered the recorded version of Narong Prangcharoen’s Chakra on his debut commercial release, Phenomenon, a collection featuring works for piano, strings, orchestra, and winds. A passionate advocate for contemporary music and education, Dr. McKoin has collaborated with some of today’s most significant composers and artists, including Viet Cuong, Michael Daugherty, Michael Colgrass, John Mackey, Steven Stucky, Nicole Piunno, Will Healy, David Biedenbender, Steven Bryant, Lindsey Kesselman, Joseph Lulloff, and the Aruna Saxophone Quartet, among others. Recent recordings of Cuong’s Deciduous and Second Nature, performed with the Aruna Saxophone Quartet, can be heard on the composer's website as reference performances. Highly sought as a guest conductor and clinician, Dr. McKoin's work has taken her across the United States and internationally to Australia, Canada, China, Thailand, Taiwan, and Israel, where she served as producer for the world premiere recording of Roberto Sierra’s Fantasia Correliana with the Castellani-Andriaccio Guitar Duo and the Israeli Chamber Orchestra. She regularly teaches at the Interlochen Arts Academy and recently joined the faculty for Music in the Marche, a summer opera training program in Mondavio, Italy, where she is launching a new chamber music initiative for instrumentalists. Prior to her appointment at Texas Tech, Dr. McKoin held positions at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Fredonia, and the Brevard Music Center. She is a Yamaha Master Educator, a past president of the Southwest Division of the College Band Directors National Association, and former president of the Big 12 Band Directors Association. Her professional affiliations include the American Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Phi Beta Mu, and Pi Kappa Lambda. She also serves as faculty sponsor for the service fraternities Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma.
John R. Locke
Dr. John R. Locke served on the UNCG School of Music Faculty as director of bands, director of summer music camps, conductor of the Wind Ensemble, and conducting teacher from 1982 until his retirement in December 2018. He holds bachelor and Master of Music degrees from West Virginia University and a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Illinois. Previously, Dr. Locke held band conducting positions in at West Virginia University and Southeast Missouri State University. He has conducted band performances throughout the world, including national conventions of the Music Educators National Conference, College Band Directors National Association, American Bandmasters Association as well as leading performances in the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Strathmore Center in Bethesda, MD, Lincoln Center in New York City, Dvořák Hall in Prague, Czech Republic, Innsbruck, Austria, and Bologna and Rome, Italy. Under his direction, the UNCG Wind Ensemble released twenty-one commercially available compact discs. Dr. Locke is past president of the North Carolina Music Educators Association representing 2,200 members. Dr. Locke is also past president of the Southern Division of the College Band Directors National Association and hosted the Southern Division Convention at UNCG in February 2000. In 2005, Dr. Locke was elected president of the American Bandmasters Association and received the Albert Austin Harding Award from the American School Band Directors Association. In 2007, he received The Old North State Award from North Carolina Governor Mike Easley “for dedication and service beyond excellence to the state of North Carolina.” In 2009, Dr. Locke became editor of the ABA’s Journal of Band Research, the premiere scholarly band publication in the world, begun in 1964. In July 2012, Dr. Locke was honored by North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue with The Order of the Longleaf Pine, the highest civilian honor in North Carolina. In 2014, Locke was named the Marion Stedman Covington Stedman Distinguished Professor of Music at UNCG. At UNCG, Dr. Locke is the founder of the Summer Music Camp program, the largest university music camp in America on a college campus, enrolling over 2,000 students annually and served by a staff of 170 professionals. He is also the founder of the Carolina Band Festival and Conductors Conference. Since 1977, he has administered summer music camps for over 67,000 students.
Robert Young
Dr. Robert Young is a saxophonist known for his virtuosity, musicianship, and authenticity. Praised by The Saxophonist for his “effortless expression and facile technique,” Dr. Young maintains an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. He has performed and recorded with such esteemed ensembles and artists as the PRISM Quartet, The Crossing, Chris Potter, Ravi Coltrane, and Uri Caine. A passionate chamber musician, Dr. Young appeared on the GRAMMY™-award-winning album Gavin Bryars: The Fifth Century with The Crossing and PRISM Quartet, earning praise from the New York Times for a “superb” and “eloquent” performance. He has collaborated with PRISM on albums including The Curtis Project, Heritage/Evolution- Volume 2, and The Book of Days. As a soloist, Dr. Young’s recent concerto appearance of Guillaume Connesson’s A Kind of Trane with the Berkeley Symphony was hailed as “uncommonly expressive…and technically prodigious” (San Francisco Classical Voice). He has also performed concertos with the United States Navy Band, The Florida Orchestra, Rock Hill Symphony, and Zagreb Soloists (Croatia). An experienced educator, Dr. Young currently served on faculty the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, State University of New York at Potsdam – Crane School of Music and Wichita State University. His students have excelled in competitions and festivals nationwide. Dr. Young holds a Master of Music (MM) and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Saxophone Performance from the University of Michigan. He earned a Bachelor of Music (BM) in Saxophone Performance from the University of South Carolina. A Conn-Selmer and D’Addario artist, he performs exclusively on Selmer saxophones and D’Addario reeds.
Jonathan Caldwell
Dr. Jonathan Caldwell is director of bands and associate professor of conducting at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he conducts the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band and teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting. Prior to his appointment at UNCG, Dr. Caldwell held positions at Virginia Tech, the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, and Garner Magnet High School (Garner, NC). Ensembles under Dr. Caldwell’s guidance have performed for the College Band Directors National Association, the North Carolina Music Educators Association, the National Band Association–Wisconsin Chapter, and in Carnegie Hall. His writings have been published in the Journal of Band Research, the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series, and the International Trombone Association Journal. Original Études for the Developing Conductor, written in collaboration with Derek Shapiro, was published in 2023. The book was awarded “Highly Commended” in the inaugural Impact Award category by the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (UK). Dr. Caldwell has given presentations for the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the College Band Directors National Association, the Internationale Gesellschaft zur Erforschung und Förderung der Blasmusik (IGEB), and music educator conferences in North Carolina and Virginia. He is a member of the editorial review board for the Journal of Band Research and the Journal of the International Conductors Guild. Dr. Caldwell’s conducting teachers include Michael Haithcock, Michael Votta, Jerry Schwiebert, James Ross, and Tonu Kalam. He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, the National Band Association, the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (Alpha Rho), Tau Beta Sigma (Beta Eta), Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Kappa Phi.