Sounds About Town Program Features Music By Corigliano, Bernstein, Didkovsky, Mendelssohn and Grainger
SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2008, AT 7:30 PM
The 2008 Sounds About Town concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall begin on Sunday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m. The California State University Northridge Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Lawrence Stoffel, performs Mendelssohn’s Overture for Band, Grainger’s Colonial Song, and Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes from On The Town. The CalArts New Millennium Brass perform Didkovsky’s Slim in Beaten Dreamers. The USC Thornton Wind Ensemble, under the direction of H. Robert Reynolds, performs Corigliano’s Circus Maximus.
Felix Mendelssohn’s Overture for Band was composed while the 15-year-old boy vacationed with his father in the seaside resort of Doberan on the shores of the Baltic. The score has since been revised and orchestrated to fit a traditional wind ensemble.
Percy Grainger, an Australian composer well-known for his charming works for wind ensemble, has, arguably, contributed more to the quality and creativity of band music than any other composer in the first half of the 20th century. Colonial Song was intimately dear to the composer who dedicated it to his mother.
Three Dance Episodes from On the Town has been arranged for wind ensemble from Leonard Bernstein’s popular Broadway musical. About the three selected dances, Bernstein said they contain the “essence of the whole production.”
Nick Didkovsky is a guitarist, composer, and software programmer. Didkovsky’s Slim in Beaten Dreamers is in 15 short movements for brass quintet and drums. The work was commissioned for the Meridian Arts Ensemble by The Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust with support from Harvestworks.
John Corigliano’s Circus Maximus is the first work the composer wrote for wind ensemble. The work is a depiction of the famous Circus Maximus of ancient Rome where chariot races, hunts, and battles were held in front of 300,000 spectators. Coriligano’s work is written for a large wind ensemble that includes 16 trumpets and several instrumentalists scattered throughout the hall. The piece is in eight movements without pause. This March 30 performance of Corigliano’s Circus Maximus is the California premiere of this significant work.
An Upbeat Live pre-concert event takes place in Walt Disney Concert Hall’s BP Hall one hour prior to the concert, and is free to all ticket holders. Helane Anderson, Artistic Administrator for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, hosts with composer John Corigliano.
The Sounds About Town concerts further the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association's goal of nurturing tomorrow's performers by providing opportunities for leading youth ensembles to perform at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The remaining Sounds About Town concert this season features high school jazz ensembles including Hamilton Academy of Music, Eagle Rock High School, and Downey High School (May 11, 2008).
Among the innumerable collegiate wind ensembles found throughout North America, a select few distinguish themselves from the pack, having established a heritage of musical excellence while keeping a steadfast vision toward a relevant and profound musical future. The CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE WIND ENSEMBLE is among these few, and has long been a hallmark of the excellence associated with the university’s renowned music department. On the verge of a year-long 50th-anniversary season, the band program at CSUN is dedicated to the promotion of concert band literature, performing the finest repertoire and bringing this music to the people of California and beyond. Under the direction of Lawrence Stoffel, the CSUN Wind Ensemble is wholly invested in the university’s mission to be regionally focused and nationally recognized.
The UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THORNTON WIND ENSEMBLE has a long and distinguished career. Currently under the leadership of principal conductor H. Robert Reynolds and resident conductor Sharon Lavery, the USC Thornton Wind Ensemble performed at Carnegie Hall in 2005 and at the Mann Concert Hall at the University of Minnesota in 2003, both for the National Conference of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), as well as musical gatherings in the state of California. Their repertoire ranges from the early brass music of Gabrieli through the serenades of Mozart and Haydn, to the most recent contemporary music written for wind ensembles. Distinguished past conductors of the USC Thornton Wind Ensemble include Lucien Cailliet, William Schaefer, Robert Wojciak, and Douglas Lowry (now Dean of the Eastman School of Music).
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2008, AT 7:30 PM
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
Sounds About Town
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE WIND ENSEMBLE
Lawrence Stoffel, conductor
CALARTS NEW MILLENIUM BRASS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THORNTON WIND ENSEMBLE
H. Robert Reynolds, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Overture for Band
GRAINGER Colonial Song
BERNSTEIN Three Dance Episodes from On The Town
DIDKOVSKY Slim in Beaten Dreamers
CORIGLIANO Circus Maximus
An Upbeat Live pre-concert event takes place in Walt Disney Concert Hall’s BP Hall one hour prior to the concert, and is free to all ticket holders. Helane Anderson, Artistic Administrator for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, hosts with composer John Corigliano.
Tickets ($15-$39) are on sale now online at LAPhil.com, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, or via credit card phone order at 323.850.2000. A limited number of $10 rush tickets for seniors and full time students may be available at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office two hours prior to the performance. Valid identification is required; one ticket per person; cash only. Groups of 10 or more may be eligible for special discounts for selected concerts and seating areas. For all information, please call 323.850.2000.
# # #
Adam Crane, 213.972.3422, acrane@laphil.org; Lisa Bellamore, 213.972.3689, lbellamore@laphil.org; Photos: 213.972.3034