Persistence
University of St. Thomas Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Matthew George, conductor
University of St. Thomas Commission Series, Vols. IV - VI
Innova 812 (3CD set)
How Very Close
Andrew Boysen, Jr. - December Dance
Ralph Hultgren - Concertino for Wind Ensemble
Dana Wilson - How Very Close
Nigel Clarke - Mata Hari
Shamir Tandon - Desi Jhalak
Love and Hope
Victoriano Valencia Rincón - Suite No. 4 For Band
Boris Pigovat - Lights From the Yellow Star: Music of Sorrow and Love
Duende
Luis Serrano Alarcón - Duende
Jesús Santandreu - Oneiric Discourse
Aldo Raphael Forte - Dalí
The UST Bands are made up of students who are serious musicians, but whose major course of study may vary from music to engineering, business, biology or foreign affairs. Students may participate in a variety of musical groups – from small chamber ensembles to larger symphonic ensembles. UST Band opportunities include the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Chamber Winds and a full complement of woodwind, brass and percussion chamber ensembles.
While members of the UST Bands study and perform standard and contemporary band music as well as transcriptions of other musical genres, the program is dedicated to bringing new literature to the band repertoire. Each year, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble actively commissions and premieres new music by significant national and internationally renowned composers. Since 1991, the UST Symphonic Wind Ensemble has commissioned and premiered over 80 new works for band. This music is being recorded for commercial distribution and appears on the innova record label.
The UST Symphonic Wind Ensemble has performed highly acclaimed concerts before the Minnesota Music Educators Association, the College Band Directors National Conference North Central Division and the Music Educators National Conference National Biennial Conference. The UST Bands have toured throughout the United States and abroad, having performed in venues such as Eugene Goosens Hall and Town Hall (Australia) and the national theaters of Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, Japan China and Italy. Live national radio broadcasts include appearances on National Public Radio (United States), IMER (National Mexican Radio) and the Australia Broadcast Company. They have been televised nationally on PBS.
Grand Symphonic Winds, or GSW, is a Twin Cities based civic wind ensemble with a reputation for excellence, and is well known for bringing original music to a diverse audience. It strives to expand and redefine the perception of what constitutes a concert band. GSW has made the conscious decision to challenge both its members and audience with a wide range of musical styles. During its 25-year history, it has championed new music, including premieres and commissions of dozens of unique compositions from across the globe. Several prominent national and international soloists from around the world have appeared with the Group. Under the baton of Matthew George for the past 21 years, GSW has appeared at state, national and international conferences, including the Midwest Clinic, the Minnesota Music Educators Association conference, the Shanghai (China) International Music Festival and the Ouro Preto (Brazil) International Music Festival. GSW was also the first foreign wind band to ever perform at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (the “Egg”) in Beijing, China.
How Very Close
1. December Dance – 7:54
Andrew Boysen, Jr.
Concertino for Wind Ensemble
Ralph Hultgren
2. 1 - Con Forza – 3:25
3. 2 - Semplice – 4:15
4. 3 - Con Brio – 4:04
How Very Close
Dana Wilson
Carrie Henneman Shaw, soloist
5. I. The Sweet Murmur – 2:34
6. II. How Very Close – 5:57
7. III. I Cannot Hold You – 2:26
8. IV. Wild Nights! – 2:30
9. V. We’ve Made A Great Mess of Love – 2:55
10. VI. Remember – 3:45
Mata Hari
Three Symphonic Scenes for Concert Band
Nigel Clarke
11. Scene 1. Dancer in the Shadows – 4:22
12. Scene 2. Deceit and Seduction – 7:11
13. Scene 3. Evasion and Capture – 4:58
14. Desi Jhalak – 11:20
Shamir Tandon
Total - 67:45
Love and Hope
Suite No. 4 For Band
Sinú (Orígenes)
Victoriano Valencia Rincón
1. I. Melxión – 4:05
2. II. Adán – 4:10
3. III. Obatalá – 3:34
4. IV. Apocalypsis – 4:59
Lights From the Yellow Star:
Music of Sorrow and Love
Boris Pigovat
Casy (Johnson) Barker, vocalist
5. I. Introduction – 8:36
6. II. When the Stones Weep – 12:49
7. III. 1956 – 8:42
8. IV. Silent Music – 5:49
9. V. Song of Love and Hope – 5:22
Total – 58:11
Duende
Duende
Four Preludes for Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Luis Serrano Alarcón
Performed by Special Guests – Grand Symphonic Winds
1. I. Allegro giusto – 3:27
2. II. Animato – 3:59
3. III. Cadenza a piacere - Lento e evocative – 8:47
4. IV. Tempo di Bulería – 3:40
5. Oneiric Discourse – 19:55
Concertante for Tenor Saxophone and Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Jesús Santandreu
Jesús Santandreu, soloist
Dalí
Aldo Raphael Forte
6. I. The Unicorn – 4:35
7. II. Don Quijote – 2:43
8. III. Elephant Spatial – 2:32
9. IV. The Persistence of Memory (melting clocks) – 3:15
10. V. Dante’s Inferno – Dalí’s Ghastly Images – 4:26
Total - 57:24
December Dance
Andrew Boysen, Jr.
This is the fourth original work that I have composed for the University of St. Thomas; the first three were my Scherzo, Symphony No. 2, and Lullaby. December Dance is a single movement in sonata form using melodic material from a previous work of mine, Three Pieces for Soprano and Tuba. The piece is meant to celebrate everything that is wonderful about life while at the same time serving as a huge thank-you and congratulations to Matthew George and his wonderful ensemble.
– Andrew Boysen, Jr.
Andrew Boysen, Jr. is presently a professor in the music department at the University of New Hampshire, where he conducts the wind symphony and teaches conducting and composition. He maintains an active schedule as a composer, receiving commissions from festival, university, and high school concert bands across the United States.
Concertino for Wind Ensemble
Ralph Hultgren
1 - Con Forza
2 - Semplice
3 - Con Brio
My endeavor with Concertino was to write a work that had a feature for each section of the wind orchestra only with a finale embracing them all.
The first movement, Con Forza, is about power. It is not about aggression but about potency. The drums are foreboding, like parade ground drums, and not marching band drums. The brass themes resonate with power - loudness is not the demand but power is. The woodwinds spurt out flourishes, outline the brass force, giving energy to the lines of power presented.
Semplice is about simplicity in melody; the melodic material is never fast; it simply floats and glides around gently. Flute in its lowest register is a delight to me. It has a quality very close to the voice, I think. This movement is like chamber music and the brass and percussion just add occasional depth and fullness.
Finally, movement three, Con Brio - with vigor indeed! Here the ensemble join forces to present ideas, dispute outcomes, decide direction and mull over previous thoughts. The melodic material is connected solidly to the music of the previous two movements. The melody that is present in oboe midway through the movement is a variation of the melody in the opening flute line of the second movement, but dressed more vibrantly and singing with more joy – less pensive, in fact. The melody at the end that starts in the horns is from movement one-power and potency returns to dominate but not to crush. This is energy - vigor - and flashes of color interspersed with jabs of light and dark. – Ralph Hultgren
Ralph Hultgren’s professional music career has spanned a number of decades and includes work as a trumpet player, composer, conductor and teacher. Dr Hultgren recently retired as Head of Open Conservatorium at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University in Australia where he provided academic and artistic leadership to the Young Conservatorium, conducted the Queensland Conservatorium Wind Orchestra, and lectured in conducting and instrumental music education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Since commencing his composition life he has written works that span the broad spectrum of performance, from educational and amateur performing groups to the professional studio and stage.
How Very Close
Dana Wilson
Carrie Henneman Shaw, soloist
I. The Sweet Murmur
II. How Very Close
III. I Cannot Hold You
IV. Wild Nights!
V. We’ve Made A Great Mess of Love
VI. Remember
The topic of love has always served to inspire composers for the reasons that we all know so well: love can be inspiring and frustrating, endearing and troubling, familiar and overwhelming, and sometimes all of these at once. It is perhaps the most complex human emotion.
So this set of meditations on the subject draws upon aspects of love very different from each other, at least on the surface, and from very different lands and historical periods. “A sweet murmur” by 5th Century B.C.E. Greek poet Sappho beautifully captures the emotion of being so overwhelmed in the presence of someone she’s drawn to that “at such times, death isn’t far from me.” Rumi (13th Century Persian) declares profound connection in declaring with quiet passion “hold me close, I am love and I’m always yours.” Juana Ines De La Cruz (17th Century Spanish), totally frustrated, complains that she “cannot hold you and cannot leave you,” while Emily Dickinson (19th Century American) fantasizes about wild nights. D.H. Lawrence (early 20th Century English) asserts right at the beginning that “we’ve made a great mess of love”, and Christina Rossetti (19th Century English) asks her loved one that she be remembered after she dies, though if she is forgotten for a while, it’s “better by far that you should forget and smile than remember and be sad.” – Dana Wilson
The works of Dana Wilson have been commissioned and performed by such diverse ensembles as the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Xaimen Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Memphis Symphony, Dallas Wind Symphony, Voices of Change, Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Syracuse Symphony, and Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. Dana Wilson has received grants from, among others, the National Endowment for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, New York State Council for the Arts, Arts Midwest, and Meet the Composer. His compositions have been performed throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia, and are published by Boosey and Hawkes and Ludwig Music Publishers. They have received several awards, including the International Trumpet Guild First Prize, the Sudler International Composition Prize, and the Ostwald Composition Prize, and can be heard on Klavier, Albany, Summit, Centaur, innova, Meister Music, Elf, Open Loop, Mark, Redwood, Musical Heritage Society, and Kosei Recordings. He is currently the Charles A. Dana Professor of Music in the School of Music at Ithaca College.
1. The sweet murmur (Sappho)
The sweet murmur of your voice,
the enticing laughter that makes my heart beat fast.
If I meet you, suddenly I can’t speak—
my tongue is broken.
A thick flame runs under my skin;
seeing nothing, hearing my own ears
drumming.
I drip with sweat; trembling shakes my body and I turn paler than dry grass.
At such times death isn’t far from me.
2. how very close (Rumi)
how very close
is your soul with mine
i know for sure
everything you think
goes through my mind
i am with you
now and doomsday
not like a host
caring for you
at a feast alone
with you i am happy
all the times
the time i offer my life
or the time
you gift me your love
offering my life
is a profitable venture
each life i give
you pay in turn
a hundred lives again
in this house
there are a thousand
dead and still souls
making you stay
as this will be yours
a handful of earth
cries aloud
i used to be hair or
i used to be bones
and just the moment
when you are all confused
leaps forth a voice
hold me close
i’m love and
i’m always yours
3. I cannot hold you and I can’t leave you (Juana Ines De La Cruz)
I cannot hold you and I can’t leave you,
and sorting the reasons to leave you or hold you,
I find an intangible one to love you.
As you won’t change, not let me forgo you,
I shall give me heart a defense against you,
so that half shall always be armed to abhor you,
though the other half be ready to adore you.
Then, if our love, by loving flourish,
let it not in endless feuding perish;
let us speak no more in jealousy and suspicion.
He offers no part, who would all receive –
so know that when it is your intention
mine shall be to make believe.
4. Wild nights! (Emily Dickinson)
Wild nights! Wild nights!
Were I with thee,
Wild nights should be
Our luxury!
Futile the winds
To a heart in port,
Done with the compass,
Done with the chart.
Rowing in Eden!
Ah! the sea!
Might I but moor
To-night in thee!
5. The Mess of Love (D. H. Lawrence)
We’ve made a great mess of love
Since we made an ideal of it.
The moment I swear to love a man, a certain man, all my life
That moment I begin to hate him.
The moment I even say to a man: I love you! —-
My love dies down considerably.
The moment love is an understood thing between us, we are sure of it,
It’s a cold egg, it isn’t love any more.
Love is like a flower, it must flower and fade;
If it doesn’t fade, it is not a flower,
It’s either an artificial rag blossom, or an immortelle, for the cemetery.
The moment the mind interferes with love, or the will fixes on it,
Or the personality assumes it as an attribute, or the ego takes possession of it,
It is not love any more, it’s just a mess.
And we’ve made a great mess of love, mind-perverted, will-perverted,
ego-perverted love.
6. Remember (Christina Rossetti)
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you planned:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
Mata Hari
Three Symphonic Scenes for Concert Band
Nigel Clarke
Scene 1. Dancer in the Shadows
Scene 2. Deceit and Seduction
Scene 3. Evasion and Capture
I have written Mata Hari as three speculative scenes from her life. 1. Dancer in the Shadows —focuses on Mata Hari, the dancer, entertaining the troops at the outbreak of the Great War. 2. Deceit and Seduction — describes Mati Hari, the seductress, wooing her lovers to gain that vital piece of pillow talk. 3. Evasion and Capture – depicts Mata Hari in the eye of the storm with hostile forces moving against her. I have given Mata Hari a triumphant ending to reflect her final defiant moments.
Margaretha Geertruida Zelle-McLeod, better known as Mata Hari, was born in Holland in 1876 and executed by a French firing squad as a spy on October 15 1917. Myth and truth start to mix when she moved to France at the beginning of the 20th century and became an exotic dancer. Her beauty was legendary and her star quality evident in the glamour pictures of her that have survived. Her lifestyle led her to move in Europe’s highest circles, including having an affair with the Crown Prince of Germany. She began to associate with men that would have had access to intelligence sought after in the murky world of espionage. It is known that she was under surveillance by British MI5 by 1915, while also under the watchful eye of the French authorities. At her trial she is known to have confessed to being the German spy known as ‘H21’, although the truth of this confession has never been validated.
At her execution she was reputedly defiant to the end. She refused to have a blindfold and was said to have maintained a smile at the soldiers who were the traditional twelve paces away from her. On the order they shot her in the body with an officer firing one shot behind her ear. Though her life ended at 41, Mata Hari’s memory lives on as the most famous seductress and spy of the 20th Century. – Nigel Clarke
Nigel Clarke studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music with Paul Patterson, winning the Josiah Parker Prize (adjudicated by Sir Michael Tippett) and the Academy’s highest distinction, the Queen’s Commendation for Excellence. He gained his Doctor of Musical Arts from University of Salford. Nigel has previously held positions as Young Composer in Residence at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Composition and Contemporary Music Tutor at the Royal Academy of Music, London, Head of Composition at the London College of Music and Media, visiting tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music, Associate Composer to the Black Dyke Band, Associate Composer to the Band of HM Grenadier Guards and Associate Composer to the Royal Military School of Music and Associate Composer to Brass Band Buizingen (in Belgium). In 1997 Nigel joined the United States International Visitor Leadership Program sponsored by the US Information Agency. He is currently Composer to Bands Middle Tennessee State University Bands, Composer-in-Residence to the Marinierskapel der Koninklijke Marine (Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy and International Composer in Association to the world famous Grimethorpe Collery Band in the UK.
Desi Jhalak
Shamir Tandon
We in India have our own style of music, and since India is very diverse, we have a wide range of art and culture across various states. It is very difficult to showcase all of India in one piece, but here is a modest attempt to give a whiff of our music. While we do use a lot of woodwind and brass instruments in our music, composing exclusively for a symphonic wind ensemble is not something we normally do. This type of ensemble is fresh and different for our part of the world. So it has been an exciting journey to put together this piece together for symphonic wind ensemble in association with the respected and meticulous Matthew George. – Shamir Tandon
Shamir Tandon is a young, vibrant music director, scoring music for Bollywood films. His credits include scoring music for two national award-winning Indian films, more than a dozen commercially successful feature films, and over 50 advertising films in a very short span. His collaborative efforts with artists from round the globe include the likes Enrique Iglesias, Boy Band Blue, Robbie Williams and Australian cricketer Bret Lee. He is the only composer of his generation who has been blessed by all the legendary singers in India and who have lent their voices for some of his songs. Tandon regularly consults for artists and repertoire for global companies such as Universal Music and EMI Virgin Music. Among his recent releases in India is the album of the top 4 (Indian) Idol winners.
Suite No. 4 For Band
Sinú (Orígenes)
Victoriano Valencia Rincón
I. Melxión
II. Adán
III. Obatalá
IV. Apocalypsis
The Suite No. 4 For Band tells the history and myths of the indigenous Zenúes, a Caribbean language-speaking people from northern South America. The Zenúes were responsible for the invention and construction of a complex system of irrigation canals that provided for their crops and ran for almost two thousand years until the Spanish arrived in 1500.
The Suite is built in four movements and tells the story of how the races and cultures came together in this region and therefore, the story of Zenúes is also the history of the New World. Based on the meeting of the Zenúes (native), Spanish (conquistadors), and Africans (slaves brought to America for the exploitation of resources), the work attempts to represent landscapes of the Sinú region (one of the main rivers of the region, crucial for the development of culture of Zenúes) and the painful scenes of the Spanish conquest process that overpowered the native culture.
Movement I
Melxión traces the mythical scenes of this pre-Columbian tribe. At first it shows the source of the Rio Sinú in the Nudo del Paramillo mountain range that marks the end of the high Andes. From this landscape comes the main theme of the Suite, first presented in solo piccolo, an instrument that becomes the narrator of the story and appears in subsequent movements. Later, an oboe improvisatory solo in the pentatonic mode presents a looming environment. This leads to a festive ritual Zenú celebration. The first movement directly segues into the second movement.
Movement II
Adán bursts with a cluster on the Indian party. Dark chords set the mood, and a drummer who is joined by frantic percussion, march forth as conquering armies. In this flux, a dense variation of the Zenú theme emerges, representing Aboriginal resistance. However, the inexorable Spanish conquest progresses and is accompanied by voices in Latin with the words: “Terra nova, vita nova, ipsa mors” – “New land, new life, same death.” Soon the march, overwhelming and devastating, stops at a dark place. Catholic Bells announce a death chorale and celebrated the end of the first war.
Movement III
The Obatalá scene occurs at sea. Oblivious to the death that awaits them on the American mainland, chained slaves row in a coordinated manner. On the push away from Africa, evocations of the Yoruba solo and chorus responsorial grows progressively until, ironically, evocations of a party takes place in the bowels of the ship. As the ship approaches the American coast, the echo of this party is heard. The slaves’ voices, now in Castilian are heard singing: “New land, new life, same death.” This movement segues directly into the final movement.
Movement IV
Without interruption, Apocalypse takes up the atmosphere of war and the march of the Spanish army overcomes the African slaves trying to escape making this second war, which is even bloodier than the first. Few of the slaves make it to the deep forest. For those who do make it there, they hear a trio of flutes introducing them to the song of the end of the world. Shortly thereafter, the fanfare of the first movement, glorious and imposing, illuminates and exorcises the death of the territory that was once Zenú. – Victoriano Valencia Rincón
Focused on creative production, Victoriano Valencia Rincón bases his compositions on popular Columbian and Latin genres. He has advised the Ministry of Culture of Colombia and national institutions of higher education in the field of wind bands and traditional music of Colombia. Addressing popular languages, his symphonic and contemporary works have been published in Colombia (SCOREMUSICAL), Spain (Editorial Piles) and USA (Ludwig Masters) and have been performed by groups in more than 15 countries in America, Europe and Asia. His works also appear on several international band competition lists.
Lights From the Yellow Star: Music of Sorrow and Love
Boris Pigovat
Casy (Johnson) Barker, vocalist
I. Introduction
II. When the Stones Weep
III. 1956
IV. Silent Music
V. Song of Love and Hope
Lights From the Yellow Star: Music of Sorrow and Love was written as a featured event for the Twin Cities interfaith art pARTners series held throughout 2011 in Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN. This work was written for a gala event featuring the art and commentary of Dr. Robert Fisch, noted physician and artist who was a survivor of Nazi concentration camps. The theme of the event was “Remain Humane Even in Inhumane Circumstances.” Boris Pigovat’s five movements were written as a musical representation tracing the horrors and triumphs of Fisch’s life as a young Hungarian boy losing his family to the Holocaust, to liberation, to the communist crackdown in Hungary of 1956 to his ultimate move to the United States.
Boris Pigovat studied at the Gnessin Music Institute (Academia of Music) in Moscow before his immigration to Israel in 1990. In 1995 he won the ACUM Prize (Israeli ASCAP) for his composition Requiem “The Holocaust.” He won the same prize in 2005 for his Song of the Sea. Notable artists have performed many of his works throughout the world. His work Music of Sorrow and Hope (2011) was commissioned and premiered by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Zubin Mehta for the IPO’s 75th Anniversary. The symphonic portrait “Wind of Yemen” was performed at the Asian Music Festival 2003 in Tokyo and at the WASBE 2009 Conference in Cincinnati (USA). Three of his pieces were performed in New York’s Carnegie Hall: “Prayer,” “Song of the Sea” and “Jerusalem Voices.”
Duende
Four Preludes for Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Luis Serrano Alarcón
Performed by special guests – Grand Symphonic Winds
I. Allegro giusto
II. Animato
III. Cadenza a piacere - Lento e evocativo
IV. Tempo di Bulería
The term Duende is used in flamenco to refer to a state of inspiration and supreme perceptiveness, almost magic, which is only reached by the performer on few occasions. It is also used, in extension, to define a person when someone has a special grace, something difficult to define but what makes him different from the rest. The use of the word “Duende” as the title of this collection of symphonic preludes, independent of its poetic significance, is mainly based on the fact that I found my principal inspiration for this composition in Spanish popular music. Listening to the piece, one can hear among other features, the symphonic energy of de Falla’s scores, the intimacy of Iberia by Albeniz, the magic of the guitar played by Tomatito or Paco de Lucía, or the festive happiness of Granadian Sacromonte (a popular flamenco neighborhood in Granada). However, I insist that in this work, there are the obvious nods to other musical styles, such as jazz and Latin music. With this stylist fusion, I wanted to reflect in a symbolic way where our Spanish society stands for nowadays; a society with many traditions, but at the same time a cosmopolitan and modern community which cannot be contrary to the modern times we are now living. - Luis Serrano Alarcón
The works of Luis Serrano Alarcón have been performed in over 30 countries, many of which he has himself conducted such as in Spain, Italy, Singapore, USA, Colombia and Hong Kong. He has received commissions from major organizations such as the Instituto Valenciano de la Música, International Band Competition Villa de Altea, Certamen Internacional de Bandas de Música of Valencia, the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), The Philharmonic Winds (Singapore) and the Hong Kong Band Directors Association, among others. In 2012, the Southeastern Conference Band Directors Association, a consortium of 14 universities from USA, commissioned his first Symphony for Wind Orchestra, which was premiered in October 2013. In 2011, Duende received the prestigious award for Best Classical Piece, given by the Spanish Academy of Arts and Music Sciences.
Oneiric Discourse
Concertante for Tenor Saxophone and Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Jesús Santandreu
Jesús Santandreu, soloist
Generally speaking, this piece has its roots in the jazz idiom. Most of its musical substance and syntax has been assigned to the instrumental ensemble whereas the solo part contains virtuosic writing, full of arabesques and long flurries of notes. After the large first introduction of the main motif, five large consecutive sections follow. Although some of these sections hint back to the initial germ, they all mostly move along quite independently from it, both rhythmically as well as in terms of mood. It is only in the final episode where there is a strong reintroduction—a clear, albeit accommodated version, of the main motif. A prevailing feature throughout the whole piece is the vertical writing, which helps create clean, clear rhythms and harmonies, as well as a wide range of dynamics. These combine to generate many moods and could be described as “spatial perspectives” with a tangible sensuality. A large part of the artistic consistency of the piece falls upon such aspects as timbre and sound. - Jesús Santandreu
Jesús Santandreu began his studies at the Conservatorio Mestre Vert, in Carcaixent, Valencia. He studied with Manuel Miján at the Conservatorio Profesional Amaniel and the Conservatorio Superior. He graduated magnum cum laude from Berklee College of Music (Boston, Massachusetts) in 2000 and completed his master’s degree in conducting from MTSU in 2013. Santandreu has been commissioned to write for multiple ensembles including, but not limited to, the Adolphe Sax Saxophone Quartet, the Spanish Brass Luur Metalls, Sedajazz, Orquesta Azahar de Castellón, IV Congreso Iberoamericano de Compositores, and Bläserphilharmonie Heilbronn. His music has been performed throughout Europe and the United States. Santandreu is among Spain’s most important jazz musicians. He began performing when he was only fourteen, as a member of the Jove Jazz Band, where he is currently the artistic director. He also currently serves as Composer in Residence with the Dunshan Symphonic Wind Orchestra (China).
Dalí
Aldo Raphael Forte
I. The Unicorn
II. Don Quijote
III. Elephant Spatial
IV. The Persistence of Memory (melting clocks)
V. Dante’s Inferno - Dalí’s Ghastly Images
Dalí was inspired by contrasting sculptures and paintings of the Spanish artist Salvador Dalí.
“The Unicorn” opens with a depiction of the 1977 bronze sculpture of the same name. The music weaves material which is at once sentimental, solemn, tragic, and passionate into a musical web of sorrow. Tranquil and introspective music is contrasted by a few impassioned outbursts. This is the expressive core of the composition. “Don Quijote” is the technical “tour de force” movement of the work. It abounds in Spanish-isms symbolizing the gallant knight who is the subject of Dalí’s painting and drawings on the Miguel de Cervantes’s novel.
As the tempo indication states, “Elephant Spatial” is sassy and outrageous through and through! The comical looking sculpture of the elephant with huge spindly legs and a pyramid on its back has my music concentrating totally on depicting the absurd and humorous nature of this creature. The music contrasts high tones (the elephant’s spindly legs) with low tones (the elemental heaviness of all elephants).
“The Persistence of Memory” is one of Dalí’s most popular paintings. It includes the first appearance of what is perhaps his most enduring image: the “soft watch” or “melting clocks”. Musically, persistent rhythms of mostly quarter and eighth notes denote the consistent ticking of the melting clocks while the modal harmonies symbolize the painting’s bleak, barren, and lifeless landscape. There is intentionally relatively little bass register in this movement in order to better accentuate the transparency and uncomplicated nature of the painting.
The finale, “Dante’s Inferno-Dalí’s ghastly images” is a collection and collage of horrific soundscapes depicting not only the Dante’s Inferno series but also Dalí’s other bizarre paintings like “The Horseman of Death,” “The Face of War,” and “The Invention of Monsters.” Different thematic ideas and harmonic systems are constantly tugging with each other to create a sound inferno of sorts. Menacing themes accompanied by pounding percussion (as in the beginning of the movement) compete with tragic thematic material that feature harmonies of minor and augmented triads. After a huge development of all this material, everything is finally resolved in a collaged recap, including some burlesque glissandi from the trombones symbolizing the outrageous nature of many of the artist’s works. – Aldo Forte
Now completely retired from composition, Aldo Rafael Forte had a distinguished 26-year career as Composer/Arranger in the United States Air Force. Among the ensembles that have performed his music are “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band, Militar Musik der Voralberg (Austria), National Dutch Youth Wind Band, the Wind Symphony of the Queensland Conservatorium, North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, Bohuslav Martinu Orchestra of the Czech Republic, and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Michoacan, Mexico. Numerous university bands including University of North Texas, Arizona State University, and the University of St. Thomas, as well as many All-State and municipal bands have performed his works. His compositions appear on over 35 CD recordings on such labels as Klavier, Summit, Polyphonic (UK), and Deutsche Schallplatten Berlin (Germany).
Matthew J. George holds a D.M.A. degree in conducting from the University of North Texas, a M.M. degree in music education from Southern Methodist University, and a B.M. degree in music education and trumpet performance from Ithaca College. Dr. George is Professor of Music, John Ireland Distinguished Professor, Director of Bands and Orchestra and Chair of the Department of Music at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Recently, he was named the 2013-14 Professor of the Year at UST. In addition, he has served as consultant, guest lecturer and conductor for the Music Education Center at Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, China. He has taught in public schools in New York and in Texas as well as at the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University.
Dr. George is active as a conductor and clinician/lecturer which have taken him across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, continental Europe, Ireland and the UK, Australia, Japan, China, Thailand, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and India. He maintains a busy schedule as a conductor in both professional and educational settings, and is currently Music Director of Grand Symphonic Winds. He is also the founder and past Music Director of the Banda Sinfonica at the Escuela Nacional de Musica in Mexico City, Mexico. Appearing as a guest conductor throughout the world, he regularly works with professional orchestras and bands as well as festival groups of all ages. Some such groups include the Brazilian Wind Orchestra, The São Paulo State Band, Orquesta Ouro Preto (Brazil), Orquesta Sinfónica de Guanajuato (Mexico), the National Youth Wind Orchestra of Great Britain, Queensland Conservatorium Wind Symphony (Australia), Birmingham Symphonic Winds (UK), the Banda de Madrid, the Banda de Bilbao Musika (Spain), the National Symphony Orchestra of Paraguay, and the Band of the People’s Liberation Army (China). George has served as the Artistic Director of several international music festivals, including events held in England, Australia and China in such prestigious venues as the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, the Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai and the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing.
Dr. George regularly leads his ensembles to performances at major music conferences including those for the Minnesota Music Educators Association, the College Band Directors National Association, the Music Educators National Association and The Midwest Clinic. He has led his ensembles on performance tours throughout the United States and abroad, having performed in such venues as the Sydney Opera House (Australia), in the National Theatres of Mexico, Cuba and Costa Rica, The National Center of Performing Arts (The “Egg”) in China as well as some of the finest concert halls in Japan and Italy. Live national radio broadcasts include appearances on National Public Radio (US), IMER (National Mexican Radio) and the Australia Broadcast Company. His ensembles have also appeared on PBS television in the United States. Under his direction, the UST Symphonic Wind Ensemble appears on the innova record label, distributed by Naxos with six compact discs - Road to the Stars, Out of Nowhere, From All Sides, Persistence (How Very Close, Love and Hope, Duende).
Active as a clinician and lecturer, Dr. George regularly appears at music conferences throughout the world, such as The Midwest Clinic, speaking on subjects of conducting pedagogy, the performance of wind literature and commissioning new music. He is sought internationally to sit on adjudication panels and has done so for such events as the National Concert Band Festival of Great Britain, the Chinese National Band Festival, the Shanghai International Music Festival, the St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin, Ireland and the Certamen de Valencia in Spain.
Dedicated to the creation of new works for wind band, his credits of commissioned works by prolific national and international composers number near eighty. Included among the composers commissioned are Luis Serrano Alarcón (2), William Banfield, Norman Bolter, Andrew Boysen (5), James Callahan (2), Loris Chobanian, Nigel Clarke (3), Roger Cichy (4), Randall Davidson, Nicholas D’Angelo, Martin Ellerby (5), Aldo Forte, Cary John Franklin, Gregory Fritze, John Gibson (2), David Gillingham, Joan Griffith, Kenneth Hesketh, Ralph Hultgren (5), Stephen Jones, Timothy Mahr, Dale McGowan, Martha Mooke, Luis Nani (2), Hudson Nogueira, Boris Pigovat, Chen Qian (2), Victoriano Valencia Rincon, Rolf Rudin, Jesús Santandreu, Lawrence Siegel, Dean Sorenson (3), Philip Spark, James Stephenson (2), Shamir Tandon, Frank Ticheli, Kit Turnbull (2), Dana Wilson and Guy Woolfenden. Consortium commissions include music by Warren Benson, Carol Barnett, Robert Bradshaw, Andrew Boysen, Chen Yi, Mary Ellen Childs, Todd Coleman, Adam Gorb, Shelly Hanson, Jennifer Higdon, Daniel Kallman (3), David Maslanka, Clark McAllister, Stephen Paulus, Rolf Rudin and Jack Stamp.
A participating member in several professional scholarly organizations, he currently serves as the chair of the New Music Committee for the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) and he served as president of the North Central Conference of CBDNA. He was also on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Band Directors Association. He is an elected member of two honorary fraternities, Pi Kappa Lambda and Phi Beta Mu. He is also an active member of the Conductor’s Guild, American Composers Forum, National Band Association, Music Educators National Conference, the Minnesota Music Educators Association and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.
Works Commissioned by the University of St. Thomas
2015 – Nigel Clarke - Mysteries of the Horizon
2015 – Martha Mooke - Skandhas
2014 – Luis Serrano Alarcón - B-Side Concerto
2014 - Chen Qian - The Flames of Mind
2013 – Roger Cichy - Ring the Bells in Jubilation
2013 – Dana Wilson - How Very Close
2012 – Shamir Tandon - Desi Jhalak
2012 - Victoriano Valencia Rincon - Suite No. 4, Sinú
2011 – Jesús Santandreu - Oneiric Discourse
2011 – Ralph Hultgren - Concertino
2011 – Boris Pigovat - Light from the Yellow Star: Music of Sorrow and Love
2010 – Luis Serrano Alarcón - Duende
2009 – Martin Ellerby - A Little Symphony of English Carols
2009 – Chen Qian - Ambush! From All Sides
Appears on the innova #765 recording From All Sides
2009 – Luis Nani - Lost Forest
Appears on the innova #765 recording From All Sides
2008 – Kit Turnbull - Scenes from Childhood
Appears on the innova #765 recording From All Sides
2008 – Rolf Rudin - Out of Nowhere
Appears on the innova #728 recording Out of Nowhere
2008 – Philip Sparke - Deserts
Appears on the innova #728 recording Out of Nowhere
2007 – Roger Cichy - Dazzling Lights
2007 – Martin Ellerby - Mass of St. Thomas Aquinas
Appears on the innova #728 recording Out of Nowhere
2006 – Loris Chobanian - Armenian Rhapsody for Guitar and Wind Ensemble
Appears on the innova #728 recording Out of Nowhere
2005 – Hudson Nogueira - Brasilerismos No. 1
2005 – Andrew Boysen, Jr. - December Dance
2005 – Guy Woolfenden - Bohemian Dances
Appears on the innova #651 recording Road to the Stars
2005 – Nigel Clarke - Gagarin
Appears on the innova #651 recording Road to the Stars
2004 – Kenneth Hesketh - Infernal Ride
Appears on the innova #728 recording Out of Nowhere
2003 – Martin Ellerby - Via Crucis
2003 - Timothy Mahr - and in this dream there were eight windows . . .
2003 – Aldo Forte - Dali
2002 – Nigel Clarke - Mata Hari
2002 – Roger and Rebecca Cichy - Sounds, Sketches and Ideas
2001 – Martin Ellerby - Dreamscapes
2001 – Ralph Hultgren - Bright Sunlit Morning
2001 – John Gibson - Gates Pass
2000 – Dale McGowan - The Heretic
2000 – Arturo Marquez/tr. Boysen - Danzon No. 2
Appears on the innova #651 recording Road to the Stars
2000 – Roger Cichy - Bugs
Appears on the innova #651 recording Road to the Stars
1999 – Andrew Boysen, Jr. - Two Lullabies
1999 – Ralph Hultgren - Whirr, Whirr, Whirr!
Appears on the innova #765 recording From All Sides
1999 – Andrew Boysen, Jr. - Symphony No. 2 for Baritone, Winds and Percussion
1998 – Norman Bolter - Timeline Contemplations for Trombone and Band
1998 – Norman Bolter - A White Company Overture
1997 – Ralph Hultgren - Masada
1997 – Dean Sorenson - Summit Fanfare
1997 – James Callahan - Nocturne and Passacaglia
1996 – William C. Banfield - Concerto for Wind Symphony
1996 – Dean Sorenson - The Sea of Time
1996 – Randall Davidson - Great River
1996 – William C. Banfield - Mahalia: Spiritual Song for Wind Ensemble
1995 – Ralph Hultgren - Of Questions and Answers
Appears on the innova #651 recording Road to the Stars
1995 – Andrew Boysen, Jr. - Scherzo
Appears on the innova #651 recording Road to the Stars
1995 – Cary John Franklin - Fantasy for Electric Guitar and Wind Ensemble
1995 – Lawrence Siegel - Notes to Myself
1994 – Stephen Jones - May Day!
1994 – Nicholas D’Angelo - Capriccio and Improvisations
1993 – John Gibson - American Savannah
1992 – James Callahan - Concerto for Clarinet and Band
Consortium commissions
2014 - Christopher Neiner - The Hinz Waltz 2
2013 - Greg Sylvester - Ytterbium
2012 – Andrew Boysen - Star-Crossed
2011 – Susan Botti - Terra Cruda
2011 – Sarah Higdon - Road Stories
2010 – Chen Yi - Dragon Rhyme
2010 – Stephen Paulus - Three Moods for Band
2009 – Daniel Bukvich - Inferno
2009 – Robert Bradshaw - Parables
2008 – Shelly Hanson - Dances with Winds
2008 – Carol Barnett - Tirana
2007 – Todd Coleman - Pulse
2006 – Jack Stamp - Symphony #1
2006 – Daniel Kallman - Streets of Honor
2006 – David Maslanka - Percussion Concerto
2005 - Mary Ellen Childs - Green Light
2004 – Adam Gorb - French Dances Revisited
2003 – Daniel Kallman - An American Tapestry
2003 – Daniel Kallman - The Jig is Up
2001 - Clark McAlister - Woodscapes
1992 – Warren Benson - Shadow Wood