Ecstatic Fanfare – Bryant

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.

Grace Before Sleep – Labarr

Composed in 2011, Grace Before Sleep was inspired by a poem of thanks written by Sara Teasdale. A quiet opening builds into a gorgeous, resounding climax before coming to a more reflective, thankful close. This wind setting, arranged in 2013 by J. Eric Wilson, Director of Bands at Baylor University, draws upon the warm sonorities of the concert band to reflect LaBarr’s musical intent and Teasdale’s poetic sentiments.

How can our minds and bodies be
Grateful enough that we have spent
Here in this generous room, we three,
This evening of content?
Each, one of us has walked through storm
And fled the wolves along the road;
But here the hearth is wide and warm,
And for this shelter and this light
Accept, O Lord, our thanks tonight.

The Shadow of Sirius - Puckett

I have always found comfort in poetry. While in school, I was the guy with a collection of Bukowski under one arm and a collection of Yeats under the other. I have always enjoyed the rhythm of other people’s thoughts and feelings. In the winter of 2009, my wife and I experienced a heartbreak that left me unsure of how to even breathe, let alone grieve.

On March 1st, 2009, I found a copy of W.S. Merwin’s The Shadow of Sirius, and I began to feel myself heal. I have almost no idea what most of this poetry means. But I know that it fills me with a profound sadness that is, at the same time, brimming with hope. I recently heard Mr. Merwin discussing the origin of the title of his collection. He related that scientists have discovered that the star known as Sirius is actually a star system. What looks to our eye like a single object is actually many. Merwin found himself wondering what is on the other side of Sirus, lying in its shadow.

A friend once said to me, “Many concerti explore a virtuosity of technique but not many explore a virtuosity of expression.” It was with that thought in mind that I began work on my The Shadow of Sirius for solo flute and wind orchestra. Each movement offers my reflection on a single Merwin poem from the collection. Although the work is played without pause, the soloist plays unaccompanied solos to separates the individual movements.

A consortium of American wind ensembles led by Michael Haithcock and the University of Michigan commissioned The Shadow of Sirius. The work is dedicated to the fantastic Amy Porter.

Bells for Stokowski – Daugherty

Bells for Stokowski is a tribute to one of the most influential and controversial conductors of the 20th century. Born in London, Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977) began his career as an organist. Moving to America, Stokowski was fired from his organ post at St. Bartholomew's Church in New York in 1908, after he concluded a service with Stars and Stripes Forever. As maestro of the Philadelphia Orchestra (1912-36) he became known for his brilliant interpretations of classical music, his enthusiasm for new concert music, and for taking risks by constantly pushing the envelope of what was acceptable in the concert hall.

In Bells for Stokowski I imagine Stokowski in Philadelphia visiting the Liberty Bell at sunrise, and listening to all the bells of the city resonate.

To create various bell effects, I frame the ensemble with two percussionists positioned stereophonically on the stage performing on identical ringing percussion instruments such as tubular bells, crotales, bell trees, and various non-pitched metals. I also echo Stokowski's musical vision and legacy in order to look to the past and the future of American orchestral concert music. To represent the past I've composed an original theme in the style of Bach. Midway in the composition, there is also brief fantasy where we hear a Daugherty orchestral transcription of a portion of Bach's C Major Prelude from The Well Tempered Klavier introduced by two stereophonic harps. To represent the future I take my original theme composed in the style of Bach and process it through my own musical language in a series of tonal and atonal variations. During the variations I employ complex musical canons, polyrhythms, counterpoints, and move at will between various musical idioms, resonating Stokowski's enthusiasm for music of all styles and cultures. In the last chords of Bells for Stokowski we hear the final echoes of a long legacy of great orchestral performances in Philadelphia at the Academy of Music.

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
WIND ENSEMBLE

* = principal

Flute

Whitney Applewhite*
Parrel Appolis
Andrea Byrd
Allan Cook
Mason Humphrey
Kaylei Malone

Oboe

Nathan Ebbs
Jada Laws
Jessie Wilson*

Bassoon

Ava Kroepler
Austin Hill

Clarinet

Emily Ayers
Anna Hutchinson
Alberto Martinez*
Noah Melvin
Lillian Smith
Troy Weatherford
Joshua Zhou

Saxophone

Sean Keenan (tenor)
Matthew Rhoten* (alto)
Brooklynn Williams (alto)
Benjamin Strobel (bari)

Horn

Rose Capooth
Caleb DeLong
Nichole Hollenbeck
Aaron O’Donnell
James Roddy*

Trumpet

Nathan Coffman
Micah Ireland
Lexy Kilgore*
Thomas Mika
Philip Troutman
Carver Whitson

Tenor Trombone

Alex Boone
Hugh Lindsay*
Jacob Noel
Jarod Schafer

Bass Trombone

Chandler DeArmond
Elijah Hoffmann

Euphonium

Brett Rodgers
Amy Smith

Tuba

Jonathan Bradshaw
AJ Johnson*
Cameron McKenzie

Percussion

Tyler Delaney
Eli Garcia
Trik Gass
Grant Gordon
Caleb Hupp*
Julia Larcoque
Luke Lawley

Piano

Lily Witemeyer

Double Bass

Will Ross