Our program notes are written by the fall semester TRYPOsphere Apprentice Conducting Program students, led by Maestro Brian Worsdale.
Young Peoples Orchestra
Johnson, Lift Every Voice and Sing
By Riley Russell
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was originally a poem written by James Weldon Johnson. James Weldon Johnson was born in Florida in 1871, and he died June 26, 1938. James Weldon Johnson wrote this piece with his brother, John Rosamond Johnson. James wrote the words, and his brother composed the music. It was first performed for President Lincoln’s birthday by an ensemble of Black students. Everyone loved the piece, and the students loved singing it. As they grew up, they sang it to other students, who then became teachers and started teaching it to their students. The song’s popularity spread far, and eventually even to the north. James moved to New York to write more with his brother. He wrote for Broadway for a little bit but then became a U.S. consul to Venezuela. His song was adapted by the NAACP as their official song in 1919, and it became known as the “black national anthem”. He became an author and a professor, and he was the first Black professor appointed by NYU. He was a very accomplished man, and his song moved many people.
Wind Symphony
Mackey, Strange Humors
By Riley Russell
“Strange Humors” was composed by John Mackey in 1998. John Mackey was born in 1973, and he is still alive today. He composed many modern songs with lots of different cultural elements. He wrote “Strange Humors” while pursuing his graduate degree at Juilliard. It was originally composed for a string quartet, but it quickly became adapted for many different groups. It is popularly played by wind groups and was also very popular with dance groups. It became adapted for Parsons Dance Company and many other musical groups.
Mackey wrote the piece to merge musical cultures with European melodies and an African Rhythm section. There is an African drum in the music that is the most identifying element. There are also saxophone and English horn melodies that make it very popular for wind groups at all levels. This piece is very interesting with the syncopated rhythms, cultural mashes, and the incorporation of instruments you would never expect to hear with African Drums.
Thomas, Shenandoah
By Leah Henning
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Omar Thomas is one of the leading composers in wind band literature. With a background in jazz studies, he was praised by Herbie Hancock as showing “great promise as a new voice in the further development of jazz in the future.” He was appointed the position of Assistant Professor of Harmony at Berklee College of Music at the surprisingly young age of 23. Now a Yamaha Master Educator, he is currently an Assistant Professor of Composition and Jazz Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. For his work, Omar was named the 2014 Lavender Rhino Award recipient by The History Project, acknowledging his work as an up-and-coming activist in the Boston LGBTQ community.
Shenandoah is one of the most well-known and beloved Americana folk songs. Originally a river song detailing the lives and journeys of fur traders canoeing down the Missouri River, the symbolisms in this melody have been used by composers to create repertoire for almost all types of genres and ensembles. This specific arrangement by Omar Thomas is contrary to the common arrangement. Instead of depicting a sun-laden valley, Thomas’ arrangement describes a heavily clouded sky with intermittent periods of heavy rainfall. Percussive textures generated from both instruments and the body create a serene rainfall that progresses at the piece’s climax and turns into a light drizzle that finally passes at the end of the piece. This arrangement brings new life to a well-loved folk song, creating not only a unique audible experience but vast imagery for the listener.
Piunno, Postcard from Sequoia
By Ali Smith
Postcard from Sequoia is a piece by Nicole Piunno for wind ensemble, which recently premiered July 27, 2019, at the Ithaca College Summer Music Festival.
Piunno graduated from Michigan State University with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition and Master of Music in Music Theory Pedagogy in 2014, only five years before composing this piece. She was taught primarily by Charles Ruggerio, Ricardo Lorenz, and David Gillingham, just a few of the fabulous composers she worked with. Her work has been celebrated all over the world, including in the Principal Brass Quartet of the New York Philharmonic, as well as chamber and brass music festivals worldwide.
In regards to Postcard from Sequoia, Piunno said, “I often have to travel to new places as a composer. Whenever I spend time in a new location, I enjoy sending my niece a postcard. I do this because she loves getting mail, but also to show her the many places music can take us. I want to increase her imagination and help her dream. I decided to write a musical postcard after my experience hiking at Sequoia National Park.”
We hope you enjoy Postcard from Sequoia, composed by Nicole Piunno and performed by the TRYPO Wind Ensemble.
Ito, Festal Scenes
By Hannah Bedeck
Yasuhide Ito is a Japanese composer best known for his 1990 suite for wind band, “Gloriosa.” “Festal Scenes” was written four years prior and was inspired by a letter sent to Ito from his “wandering philosophical friend”. It read, “Everything seems like a Paradise blooming all together. Life is a festival indeed.” He is a professor at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music and is known for over 200 works, including over 70 band works. Ito is also a talented pianist who received first prize at the Shizuoka Music Competition and third prize at the Japan Music Competition (Composition). As a conductor, he performed with many bands, including the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, as well as conducting the International Youth Wind Orchestra in 1995.
The piece uses four Japanese folk songs from Aomori Prefecture. They originated in the northern regions of Japan. The first is called “jongara-jamisen”, named for the shamisen (a banjo-like instrument with three strings). Hohai Bushi, the second folk song, sounds like “Japanese mountain music”. Tsugaru-aiya-bushi and nebuta festival are the final two songs represented in the piece. The work calls for two Japanese percussion instruments: The Tebiragana, a type of antique cymbal, and the Nebuta-daiko, a large drum played with long bamboo sticks.
Symphonette
Bach, Contrapunctus 1 from The Art of the Fugue
By Riley Russell
Johann Sebastian Bach was a very well-known composer who lived in the 18th century and composed many of the most famous pieces that are still around today. Bach was born March 21, 1686, in Eisenach, Germany, and he died July 28, 1750, in Leipzig, Germany. He played organ, which is what led him to compose his well-known pieces. He developed these pieces through lots of study, reflection, and practice. He was very talented and had a long, successful career. Bach is known for his Baroque style music, including one of his later pieces, Contrapunctus 1, or “Art of Fugue”. Bach started composing Contrapunctus 1 in 1742, and it was left unfinished due to his death. It became adopted by other composers, and it was finally published in 1751. When it was first published, it was not very popular. Many of Bach’s pieces gained popularity after his death. He became more and more known, and almost everyone has heard of Bach today. There are many arrangements of his songs, and orchestras around the world perform his pieces, still today.
Newbold, The Odyssey (Journey of Odysseus)
By Hannah Bedeck
Soon Hee Newbold is an accomplished conductor, composer, and musician, beginning her studies at age five when she began piano lessons. Influenced by the Suzuki method, she found it “accessible and suitable to the beginner but did not sound like elementary music.” To further her musical education, Newbold studied film scoring, orchestration, and audio production at James Madison University in Virginia, where she won the JMU School of Music Competition twice. After graduating, she performed in multiple venues around the nation, including Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center.
Her piece “The Odyssey” depicts the Greek tale of Odysseus’ return from the Trojan War. Along the way, he is faced with many obstacles, including the Lotus Eaters, the Cyclops, the Sorceress Circle, and the Sirens. The storyline is enhanced with compositional techniques such as harmonics and col legno.
Still, Mother and Child for String Orchestra
By Ali Smith
Named the “Dean of African-American Classical Composers,” William Grant Still has written over 200 compositions, each a testament to his wonderful contribution to the classical music world.
Listening to Mother and Child is a beautiful and warming experience. The piece was first composed in 1943, intended for his Suite for Violin and Piano, though he decided to widen the composition to fit a full string orchestra. The piece includes a variety of beautiful melodies and harmonies to take you on an emotional journey. Mother and Child starts out warm and sweet, though quickly turns tense before its gorgeous resolution. The detailed work of Still really shines through with the many musical swells.
From the success of his work, William Grant Still won many accolades and awards both during his life and after his death. He was awarded trophies from the League of Allied Arts in Los Angeles and the National Association of Negro Musicians. He was also given the Richard Henry Lee Patriotism Award, as well as a citation from the governor in Arkansas.
The TRYPO Symphonette hopes you love Mother and Child by William Grant Still just as much as we do.
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Sinfonia I in C
By Leah Henning
Born in 1809, Felix Mendelssohn’s parents recognized his musical talents at a very young age. By the age of 10, Mendelssohn took composition lessons with Carl Friedrich Zelter, who emphasized the importance of studying Baroque and early Classical music. Zelter introduced Mendelssohn to the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, sparking a lifelong love of the fugue.
In his studies, Mendelssohn composed twelve string symphonies between 1821 and 1823, at the ages of twelve to fourteen. Mendelssohn had the advantage of hearing these string symphonies right away, as his home became a gathering place for intellectuals and local musicians. Through these string symphonies, Mendelssohn worked with classical techniques such as sonata form and often toyed with texture, dividing sections of instruments in unconventional ways to create musical effects that had never been heard before.
Mendelssohn’s Sinfonia in C begins with a dark and trudging Grave, which gives contrast to a sprightly Allegro. Rather than using two themes for traditional sonata form, Mendelssohn uses just one. In the developmental section, he reconfigures the theme into a bright fugue showing the influence of Bach on Mendelssohn’s works. Next, the Andante section features a non-standard division of the string orchestra. The movement begins with just the violins divided into four parts for a light and gentle opening. The basses, cellos, and violas are split into two parts and provide a response to the violins that is dark and brooding.
Building layer by layer, the violins return with their original theme while the lower strings are mixed into the texture until the end of the movement. The Scherzo gives way to a musically ‘pastoral’ Trio that gives the symphony its nickname, “Swiss”. The first violins play a well-known Swiss folk song titled “La Suisse’ which was a familiar melody at the time. Mendelssohn’s Sinfonia in C ends with a sprinting Allegro Vivace that constructs yet another fugue before racing to the conclusion.
Young Peoples Orchestra
Strauss, Overture to Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron)
By Leah Henning
Johann Baptist Strauss II was an Austrian composer of light music, specifically dance and operettas. He first made his mark as an orchestra leader at the age of 19, and he quickly emerged as a rival to his more established father, Johann Strauss, Sr. From 1863 to 1871, he served as director of Viennese court balls, just as his father had, and when he relinquished the position, he passed the reins off to his brother Eduard. In his lifetime, Strauss became widely known as “The Waltz King” and is often credited with bringing popularity to the waltz across Europe.
The three-act operetta Der Zigeunerbaron includes a complicated plot that involves the love affair of a young Hungarian boy and a Gypsy set against a background of international intrigue. The Overture to Der Zigeunerbaron (Overture to the Gypsy Baron) is the first movement of the operetta. This piece is filled with unusual harmonic references and colorful touches of orchestration to bring up a beautiful Hungarian-Danube theme. Being a work by Johann Strauss II, the music cannot resist touching down on an ingratiating waltz before galloping off in its high-stepping conclusion, including racing instrumental parts from every section of the orchestra.
Hailstork, Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed
By Ali Smith
“When he died, I think something died in all of us. Something died in America. Each day I think we must find a way, to dream the dream that he dreamed. And build on what he left on all of us.” – Rep. John Lewis
Many people will tell you that on April 4, 1968, America lost one of its greatest heroes we’ve seen in a long time. That was the day of the tragic assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the most well-known civil rights activist possibly of all time. And for good reason.
This piece, composed in 1978 by Adolphus Hailstork, captures the true heartbreak of the loss of King, someone Hailstork held very close to him. Moved by his wonderful speeches and brave integrity, he decided to compose something fitting to commemorate his life and death. A masterpiece was created, which we can all listen to today and look back on the great man that was Martin Luther King Jr.
In an interview with ClassicalFM, Hailstork stated, “I wanted to try to capture the nobility of what he stood for. So the piece starts very quietly, and I had a picture in my mind of people gathering around the graveside. Through the music we can remember the great deeds he did, and the people lift their heads at the end and say that they’re determined to carry on – that’s what the piece means to me and what I tried to represent.”
We hope you all cherish this piece as fondly as we do, as we all remember the honor of the great man it represents.
Williams, “The Flight to Neverland” from Hook
By Hannah Bedeck
In John Williams’ words, “In writing the music for Steven Spielberg’s film version of the story, which he called Hook, I tried to create a clear singing melody that might combine some of the wonder of childhood with the energy and lift required for this famous flight.”
Directed by Steven Spielberg, the 1991 movie Hook told the story of an adult Peter Pan who had no recollection of his childhood and adopted the life of a lawyer. When Captain Hook returns and kidnaps his children, he must fly to Neverland to save them. John Williams, a frequent collaborator with Spielberg, composed the soundtrack inspired by “the countless centuries mankind has dreamed of flying.” Williams’ favorite scene is when Peter Pan and Tinkerbell rise above the rooftops of London and fly off to Neverland.
Throughout “Flight to Neverland”, a steady pulse of eighth notes is maintained and passed between voices. The glissandos and shimmering tremolos resemble the film elements of fairies and magic. Though the movie Hook was not well received, Williams’ score was highly praised.
“This area, the area of fantasy, is the best one that can exist for music.” -John Williams.
Dvorak, Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, “From the New World”
By Brian Worsdale
Born: September 8, 1841, in Nelahozeves, near Kralupy, Bohemia
Died: May 1, 1904, in Prague
Work composed: December 1892 – spring 1893
World premiere: December 15, 1893, with Anton Seidl conducting the New York Philharmonic in a “public rehearsal”; the official premiere took place the following evening at Carnegie Hall
“They want me to come to America for two years! They’re offering me the directorship of the Conservatory and want me to conduct ten concerts of my own works. Should I accept?”
These words were written to Dvorak’s friend Alois Gibol in 1891 after Jeanette Thurber, founder of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City, made this offer and invitation. Dvorak accepted and, upon his arrival in New York, kept himself busy building the school’s reputation and nurturing its young talent, including a young singer/string bassist named Harry T. Burleigh. Burleigh’s fine singing piqued Dvorak’s interest and his conclusion that the spiritual would become the backbone of American music’s development. During this time, Dvorak’s musical output is influenced by these spirituals but is also still very much Czech in its nature and form. At this time, he wrote his famous “American” String Quartet and his Symphony #9 “From the New World.”
The title “From the New World” had given many scholars at the turn of the last century the conclusion that this was an “American” work. And while the influences are there, the title (given by Dvorak) was meant much more as a tongue-in-cheek postscript at the conclusion of the last movement in the autograph of the score. As if to sign it “Sincerely, from the New World.” But there is no mistaking the influence the spiritual and the native American exhibitions Dvorak witnessed had on this work.
In the first movement, we feel that first pull of Dvorak’s native lands and its far away feeling through the exposed cello and woodwind features before we even begin the exposition of a theme that will transform itself throughout the symphony. First announced by the horns, this theme will influence the other melodic ideas throughout the movement. In the movement’s conclusion, Dvorak’s original intention was to end two measures earlier than what is on the score. Anton Seidl, the conductor of the New York Philharmonic (who premiered the work), suggested repeating the final note adding two additional measures. Dvorak’s response at the time was “fine”. Later he commented that the changes to this movement and others reflected his final thoughts on the work as well and that they made a huge difference in the communication of the work to the public.
The second movement is the one most closely associated with the notion that this work is an “American” symphony. Dvorak’s work with Harry T Burleigh on the furthering of the spiritual as an influence in American classical music helped shape this melodic idea. The lyrics titled “Going Home” were added to this theme and motive, turning Dvorak’s symphonic prose into lyrical poetry that is sung during solemn occasions.
To give the melody an otherworldly feel, Dvorak begins the movement with a brass/reed choir that includes the tuba. The tuba only plays this movement of the work and only for this slow, reflective moment that happens at the movement’s beginning and end. The English horn takes the melody, and as the movement develops, almost by accident, Dvorak introduces a walking bass line that is the foundation of a blues jazz line.
The scherzo is typical of the European tradition and has the most identity in the symphony of Dvorak’s Eastern European lineage. With hints of the classical period along with lingering ideas of romanticism, the scherzo then takes us back to the first motive in the introductory movement, reminding us of the influence and reason we are here in the first place. To experience this new work strongly influenced by the New World.
The final movement is a culmination and major celebration of the minor influences that the rest of the symphony displays. The opening seems influenced by Russian ideas similar to that of Moussorgsky’s Baba Yaga movement from Pictures. The work’s melodic idea has a very austere sound to it which is solidly European. As the melody is thrown around, its treatment gives it different identities, from an American idea of Appalachian fiddling to a jazzy feel with some grace notes peppered in the violin parts. The work celebrates all of its ideas and then ends with a diminuendo in an uncharacteristic twist.
The Carnegie Hall premiere was a triumph that forced Dvorak to his feet to accept a prolonged standing ovation. Dvorak wrote, “….the newspapers say that never before has a composer enjoyed such a triumph. I was in a box, and the audience was filled with some of New York’s finest public; the people applauded so much that I had to stand in my box and thank my well-wishers like a king.”