Program Notes
This page contains additional program notes for select LSU College of Music & Dramatic Arts events. These notes may include biographies, information about the works performed, or thematic context about a performance.
Click here to view the programs themselves.
Music of Mara Gibson
April 4, 2024 // 7:30 p.m. // School of Music Recital Hall
Pranayama (2021) is inspired by this painting titled “Ringing Lung” by longtime friend and artist extraordinaire, Anne Austin Pearce. The work shouts breath to me. From the lower end of the painting, lungs come to mind, slightly imbalanced to represent the registers of the flute and clarinet expanding at different speeds through swells of inhalation and exhalation. For me, the pink line represents to triplet idea emerging and we will eventually get to the chromatic runs (blurring lines as you move to the top of the artwork) that will take us back to the meditative start, though switched with modified parts. The flute and clarinet have a wonderful ability to swap acoustical worlds which I hope to exploit. After a slow introduction intended to mimic the sound of breath, “Lion’s breath” gradually emerges and develops with more blurring between the instrumental timbres. Finally, a return to calmness and, eventually, shavasana. Pranayama (from yoga) where Prana refers to the universal life force and ayama means to regulate or lengthen.
LSU alum, Thomas Kim and Melody Wan originally commissioned the piece for Chamber Music America in 2021. Since then, the piece has had nine performances by Melody and Thomas and new performers. We recorded the piece in the studio at LSU (November 2023) with Thomas and Melody for my new CD to release coming summer/fall 2024. This performance features new choreography by LSU’s Professional in Residence and co-head of dance, Claudio Ribeiro da Silva.
Folium prime (2015) and Folium cubed (2016) was originally commissioned by Luisa Sello (Italian flute player extraordinaire) for viola and audience featuring Michael Hall. The piece quickly emerged into three iterations: Folium – prime, Folium – squared for flute and cello and Folium – cubed for soprano sax. All three pieces in series were inspired by a poem by Luisa Sello. “Let Clover be Aid” is Luisa’s only poem in English.
While each piece can be performed separately, all three pieces in the series reflect a similar concept. The inspiration for the pieces is derived from a clover leaf, to include both the biological form as well as the geometrical equation representing the “infinite.
Both the prime and cubed versions integrate improvisation and theater. Folium prime is also built around audience participation. Folium cubed is featured on Gibson’s ArtIfacts CD. Both Folium versions have been performed internationally.
I did not ask
I only stand in fears
I am you, me, them
I did not ask
I have no name
I do not want to go and die
of forgotten boys
I still remember
those silent cries
of girls abused,
the sky is dark
their dreams confused
betrayed and lost
the life has no worth
for a part of them most
that life is a way
to redress and repair
what others have made
of love and support
in order to aid
the children in the world
Moments (2013/15) is inspired by the following quote:"Moments (2013/15) is inspired by the following quote: “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”-–Confucius
Moments is comprised of five methods. Methods I, II, and III are further subdivided by additional improvisations, which are more loosely notated, creating eight movements in total. Method I and Improvisation I (for clarinet) represent reflection. Method II and Improvisation II (for viola) and Method III and Improvisation III (for piano) represent imitation. Method IV and Method V represent experience. Moments was composed for Michael Hall and ensemble, performed internationally, and recorded on Gibson’s ArtIfacts, portrait CD.
Snowball (2021/rev 2024 for trumpet duo) was inspired by the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage. Originally, this piece was specifically composed for LSU trumpet major, Hollyn Slykhuis who commissioned several pieces by female composers a part of her final Honor’s College project at Louisiana State University. Several of my composition students wrote for her recital. Hollyn was a double major in music education and trumpet performance and is a part of the high achieving Ogden Honor’s College.
For the piece, I took the quote by women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) to heart: "The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to have the world. I am like a snowball – the further I am rolled, the more I gain."
Words to live by. I can only hope to accomplish as much as she.
Program notes by composer, Mara Gibson. Mara’s work can be found through her website:
http://maragibson.com/
Her complete biography can found in the program or on her website. She has 3 CDs and her fourth featuring new works between 2021-23 will be released in summer/fall 2024. She is currently working on an opera with librettist Ann McCutchan based on “The Devil’s Dream” by novelist Lee Smith, a new piece for loadbang and a guitar concerto for D.J. Sparr.
Anthems, Odes, and Impressions
April 23, 2024 // 7:30 p.m. // Union Theater
Paul Creston - Celebration Overture (1954) 7.5’
Paul Creston, born Giuseppe Guttoveggio to Sicilian immigrants in New York City, overcame humble beginnings to become a renowned American composer. Despite financial constraints, he pursued his musical talents, teaching himself piano and composition. Working various jobs, he continued to study music tirelessly, even teaching himself the violin. Adopting the name Paul Creston, he found his first job as an organist and later became organist at St. Malachy’s Church. His career as a composer took off in 1939 when he won a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and further recognition followed, though his tonal style fell out of favor with the rise of serialism.
Creston's fascination with rhythm was profound, a theme he explored extensively in his writings. This shines brightly in his composition Celebration Overture. Filled with unexpected accents and delightfully irregular phrases, this festive piece, commissioned by the renowned bandleader Edwin Franko Goldman and the American Bandmasters Association, showcases Creston's adeptness at harnessing rhythmic energy. It revels in the clarity of its distinct and purely musical components, embodying Creston's philosophy of composition. In his own words, Creston expressed, “I was preoccupied with matters of melodic design, harmonic coloring, rhythmic pulse, and formal progression, not with limitations of nature or narrations of fairy tales. The intrinsic worth of a musical work depends on the interrelation of musical elements toward a unified whole.”
- Program Note by Lawrence Williams
Katahj Copley - Starlight (2019) 5’
I believe that music is the ultimate source of freedom and imagination and 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.
When looking up in the sky, the stars are ever so freeing. Filled with wonder and filled with hope, they are the sketches of the universe. With this lyrical piece, a melody is brought and it evolves into something stellar. I've written many pieces about the sky, and this one has a different theme to it this time: what joys and wonders can a star and its light bring to a night sky. The opening clarinet is our first star, and from the opening motif begin to show up until the climax where the sky is at its brightest. After the climax the sky begins to settle in for the end of the night -- the stars begin to fade as the sun appears. This piece is an ode to the colors, the worries, and the joys of wonder. This is Starlight.
- Program Note by Composer
Henry Dorn - Harper's West (2020) 10’
The namesake for this work is my daughter, Harper. She has a playful spirit. For all of her shyness, she has an incredibly warm personality for a toddler. When she was four months old, she was diagnosed with a rare seizure disorder called Infantile Spasms, or also known as “West Syndrome.” When she first began to have seizures, it was as if the light left her eyes and all of her joy with it. As she grappled with the seizures, she would endure clusters of episodes where she would briefly come out of the haze in a panic – knowing that something was terribly wrong – before being consumed by the seizure again.
These were difficult to watch and endure, but what has been inspirational is watching the way in which she has learned to cope and even thrive intellectually despite these challenges. This work represents my best effort to re-create what she appeared to experience, going from playing to descending into these frightening episodes.
The premiere performance was presented on March 1, 2022 at Libby Gardner Concert Hall at The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT with The University of Utah Wind Ensemble, Dr. Rebekah Daniel conductor.
- Program Note by Composer
Donald Grantham - Southern Harmony (1998) 10’
In 1835, William "Singin' Billy" Walker's songbook Southern Harmony was first published. This remarkable collection contains, according to its title page, "a choice collection of tunes, hymns, psalms, odes and anthems; selected from the most eminent authors in the United States." In fact, few of the numbers in the book are identified as the work of a particular composer. Many are folk songs (provided with religious texts), others are traditional sacred tunes, while some are revival songs that were widely known and sung throughout the South. The book was immensely popular, selling an amazing 600,000 copies before the Civil War, and was commonly stocked "along with groceries and tobacco" in general stores across the American frontier. From 1884 until World War II, an annual all-day mass performance of selections from Southern Harmony, called the "Benton Big Singing", was held on the Benton, Kentucky, courthouse lawn. The event drew participants from Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois.
The music of Southern Harmony has a somewhat exotic sound to modern audiences. The tunes often use modal or pentatonic rather than major or minor scales. The harmony is even more out of the ordinary, employing chord positions, voice leading and progressions that are far removed from the European music that dominated concert halls at the time. These harmonizations were dismissed as crude and primitive when they first appeared. Now they are regarded as inventive, unique, and powerfully representative of the American character.
In his use of several tunes from Southern Harmony, the composer has attempted to preserve the flavor of the original vocal works in a setting that fully realizes the potential of the wind ensemble and the individual character of each song.
Southern Harmony was commissioned by the Southeastern Conference of Band Directors.
- Program Note by Composer
Frank Ticheli - Angels in the Architecture (2009) 14’
Angels in the Architecture was commissioned by Kingsway International and received its premiere performance at the Sydney Opera House on July 6, 2008, by a massed band of young musicians from Australia and the United States, conducted by Mathew George. The work unfolds as a dramatic conflict between the two extremes of human existence -- one divine, the other evil. The work's title is inspired by the Sydney Opera House itself, with its halo-shaped acoustical ornaments hanging directly above the performance stage.
Angels in the Architecture begins with a single voice singing a 19th-century Shaker song:
I am an angel of Light
I have soared from above
I am cloth'd with Mother's love.
I have come, I have come.
To protect my chosen band
And lead them to the promised land.
This "angel" – represented by the singer – frames the work, surrounding it with a protective wall of light and establishing the divine. Other representations of light, played by instruments rather than sung, include a traditional Hebrew song of peace ("Hevenu Shalom Aleichem") and the well-known 16th-century Genevan Psalter, Old Hundredth. These three borrowed songs, despite their varied religious origins, are meant to transcend any one religion, representing the more universal human ideals of peace, hope, and love. An original chorale, appearing twice in the work, represents my own personal expression of these aspirations.
Just as Charles Ives did more than a century ago, Angels in the Architecture poses the unanswered question of existence. It ends as it began: the angel reappears and sings the same comforting words. But deep below, a final shadow reappears – distantly, ominously.
- Program Note by Composer
eMotions
April 24, 2024 // 7:30 p.m. // Union Theater
Steven Bryant - Ecstatic Fanfare (1954) 3’
Ecstatic Fanfare is based on music from movement I of my Ecstatic Waters. One day in May 2012, I mentioned to my wife that it might be fun to take the soaring, heroic tutti music from the earlier work and turn it into a short fanfare someday. She goaded me into doing it “immediately,” and so in a panicked three-day composing frenzy, I created this new work, which was premiered by Johann Mösenbichler with the Polizeiorchester Bayern just three short weeks later, followed immediately by my wife, Verena, conducting it with the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project in July 2012. This has to be a record time for conception-to-premiere for a large ensemble work.
The work unfolds with a flurry that can best be described as aggressive jubilation that winds down into a quiet, pure, pastoral melody marked by descending fourths in the clarinets. The use of open harmonies and descending fourths provide a sense of innocence and simplicity to this music, giving the listener something familiar to connect with, reminiscent of the music of Aaron Copland. This quiet music is eventually transformed into a powerful statement by the horns, marked “aggressive and celebratory.” This moment of celebration explodes into elation and the work rallies toward an energetic, powerful conclusion.
- Program Note by Composer
Dwayne Milburn - Meditation 5’
In early 2004, I was contacted by Mr. Jeff Looman, director of instrumental music for the Calvin Christian Schools in Michigan. Looman entrusted me to create a special composition in memory of a former student, Nick Stegeman, who had lost his life several years earlier. Meditation combines two tunes, the Lutheran hymn If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee and the American folk song Poor Wayfarin’ Stranger. It is actually the second of three movements that comprise a suite entitled Music for Bright Youth. The title refers not only to Nick, but all the young musicians with whom it has been my pleasure to work over the years as well. In February of 2005, the combined bands of the Calvin Christian Schools, under the direction of Mr. Looman, premiered the entire suite as a part of their annual winter concert.
- Program Note by Composer
Benjamin Horne - Scrapin 3’
Scrapin' is a work for young band. The work evokes the scene of some type of argument or scrap. The work includes influences of trap music while also providing an educational opportunity with aleatoric music. A brief section before Letter A is intended to allow the players to improvise with the options in the "rhythm bank" to create a cacophony of sound. In these 4 non-metered measures a different group adds to the sound in every bar while gradually growing in volume. Each bar should last approximately 5-8 seconds.
- Program Note by Composer
Omar Thomas - Caribana Afterparty 3’
A further exploration and study of the dance styles at heart of my larger work Caribana, Caribana Afterparty (the second “a” in the word Caribana is bright, as in the words “ant” and “after”) brings soca and calypso music within reach of younger musicians, as well as musicians just beginning their exploration of Caribbean dance music. Caribana is the former name of the largest Caribbean carnival celebration outside of the Caribbean itself, which takes place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Titling this piece an “afterparty” gave me space to incorporate themes from the original work while developing new and different grooves from the region, reimagining them in a more accessible context.
The main melodic material of Caribana Afterparty is taken directly from its older sibling Caribana, and is presented in this work, in part, as a lush opening statement, before quickly giving way to the full theme over an easy calypso groove. As the piece progresses, we are carried from the easier, more calming stylings of calypso music to the more jumping rhythms of soca music. Complete with a “riddim section” breakdown section that calls for all winds to use either their body or their music stands to add to the celebratory groove, this work promises to be a blast to listen to and play, while providing pedagogical richness and stylistic diversity to your program.
- Program Note by Composer
Yukiko Nishimura - Starship 5’
Nishimura’s Star Ship is a work for band inspired by a Japanese story of two star-crossed lovers. According to the legend, two ancient deities fell deeply in love but were forbade to see each other save one day of the year, the seventh day of the seventh month. In Japan, Tanabata, the star festival, is annually celebrated on July seventh to celebrate the lovers who can at last be together. People hope for good weather on the day of the festival, for it is said that the deities can only find one another in clear skies.
Star Ship musically expresses the longing that the lovers feel when apart, as well as the joy experienced when they meet. The piece’s flowing melody and lush lyricism beautifully illustrate this age-old and universally appreciated tale of love lost and found.
- Program Note by Scotty Hall for the University of Georgia University Band concert program, 26 February 2018
Itaru Sakai - The Seventh Night of July 9’
In Japan, July the 7th is a holiday known as Tanabata, for which large celebrations are held throughout the country. The holiday is based on a legend about a young man and a young woman who are separated by the Milky Way and can only see each other once a year on this night. The Seventh Night of July is Itaru Sakai’s musical interpretation of this romantic legend. The alto saxophone and euphonium solos during the middle movement represent the two main themes from the legend.
- Program Note from publisher
LSU Symphony Orchestra
April 26, 2024 // 7:30 p.m. // Union Theater
Joseph Haydn - Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major, Hob. VIIe:1
Joseph Haydn composed a total of 29 concertos, with the Trumpet Concerto being a favorite among classical music enthusiasts. The concerto was a well received innovation written to help establish a new valve system technology thanks to the experimentation of Anton Weidinger, trumpeter in Vienna's Imperial Court Orchestra. These new features increased the trumpet's capabilities by enabling the production of previously impractical chromatic tones.
The third movement played this evening combines elements of sonata and rondo, with a recurring main and secondary theme, a development section exploring different tonalities, a recapitulation, and a victorious coda. The virtuosity of the solo trumpet part is showcased with quick trills, complex melodic leaps, and chromatic passages that were previously thought impractical for the trumpet.
The orchestra starts this energetic allegro movement with an introduction presenting the memorable first and second themes. Then the solo trumpet takes the forefront, restating the bright exposition. At the development stage, these melodies will undergo harmonic shifts to Ab major and F minor, demonstrating the innovative valve system's versatility while taking the listener on a journey through different tonal centers. Both the primary and secondary themes return in the tonic key of E flat, with subtle modifications added to each, such as legato passages in the strings or light woodwind textures. In this final coda, we see an organized abundance of compositional techniques, including trumpet trills combined with smooth dove-tailing strings, fortissimo to pianissimo contrasts and a dramatic pause of two measures, all followed by a victorious cadential fanfare with the soloist and orchestra meeting for this heroic ending in tonic E flat.
- Program notes by Carlos Eduardo Orta
Édouard Lalo - Cello Concerto in D minor
Édouard Lalo, a native of France, is renowned for his Symphonie Espagnole, a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra. One year later, he composed his Cello Concerto in D minor, another great concerto in the cello repertoire.
The finale of the cello concerto begins with the tutti cello and bass establishing a backdrop harmony within the key of B-flat minor. The cello solo enters with a cadenza-like passage, flowing in its timeless expressivity. As the lower strings develop a harmonic direction, the music’s pulse becomes more settled, leading into the Allegro Vivace section with a tutti ensemble.
The fast section commences in F major and later modulates to D minor. This movement showcases Lalo’s skillful blending of sonata, rondo, and concerto forms. The primary theme emerges upon the cello solo’s return, firmly rooted in D major. With the tarantella-style rhythm as the predominant motif, the movement highlights the soloist’s virtuosity. Through the interplay between the solo cello and the tutti orchestra, themes are reprised in various orchestrations, highlighting the rondo form. The piece concludes by featuring the soloist and brass section, culminating in an exciting tutti conclusion.
- Program notes by Francis Ku
Jean Sibelius - Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43
Jean Sibelius is widely regarded as the greatest composer of Finland, renowned for his works such as Finlandia, Karelia Suite, Valse Triste, Violin Concerto, and the seven symphonies. Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2 in D major was composed in 1901, about a year after the success of Finlandia. This period was notable as Finland was in the process of becoming independent from Russia, and the composer was suffering from personal tragedy as he lost his youngest daughter. Following this difficult time, Sibelius embarked on a two-month journey to Italy with his family and began sketching this symphony.
Sibelius’ works offered distinct soundscapes. His masterful use of instrumentation within the framework of the sonata form showcased his ability to weave thematic ideas into melodies that narrate the musical throughline. The second symphony opens with Allegro in 6/4 time, repeated notes in unison at the strings section, creating a pastoral atmosphere. A melodic tune is then introduced by the oboe and clarinet, later joined by the horn chorus. This captivating opening highlights Sibelius’s distinct use of strings, woodwinds, and brass throughout the work, painting vivid scenes of nature, both sunny and icy.
The second movement, Andante, begins with timpani, followed by pizzicato passages by the double bass then cello, leading to the entrance of duo bassoons. Sibelius infuses the movement with a sense of uncertainty through sweeping gestures, hemiolas, and powerful brass passages punctuated by moments of silence.
The third movement embodies Sibelius’s scherzo style, demanding virtuosity from the strings in Vivacissimo tempo. It is followed by a slow section, led by the oboe and accompanied by the rest of the woodwinds. The movement is constructed with a repeated fast-slow section. In the second slow section, it incrementally builds momentum, setting the stage for the grandeur arrival of the fourth movement.
Continuing seamlessly from the third movement, the finale begins distinctly in D major, employing full instrumentation to present a variation of the three-note theme from Movement I. This is followed by repeating eighth notes in the violas and celli, providing the foundation for the dark secondary theme in F-sharp minor. The theme reprises, initially by the woodwinds, and gradually intensifies with dynamics, instrumentation, and texture. The symphony closes with a grand climax to the work, indicating an epic conclusion to the musical journey.
- Program Note by Program notes by Francis Ku
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