Bob Young - Junior Recital
This Junior Recital is in partial fulfillment of a B.M. in Music Education.
Scirocco was written during the summer of 2001 and premiered at the Leigh Howard Stevens Summer Marimba Seminar in June of that year. The piece is dedicated to my dear friend and marimba virtuoso She e Wu who implored me to write something “over the top”. From this characterization I drew inspiration from the virtuosic compositions of Paganini. I’m not sure if Scirocco meets Wu’s challenge, but one could certainly say there is a density of notes in a relatively short period of time. Scirocco means “hot desert wind” and refers to the intense swirling character of the melodic lines. Notes by Michael Burritt.
Moby Dick is a solo found in John Pratt’s newest book, Rudimental Solos for the Accomplished Snare Drummer. It is dedicated to Robin Engleman of the University of Toledo.
Ron Coulter received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music Performance from the Dana School of Music. In his notes for the piece, Coulter jokingly requests “if possible, players 1 and 3 should both be named Nate. The piece was composed for and is dedicated to two of my students, Nathan Staley and Nathan Kingery”.
I. Song for Davy – The Old Year is Past
III. Hymn Tune with Four Variations
VI. Song for Alison
VII. Evening Song
Song Book was commissioned by Steven Jordheim and Dane Richeson of the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, and was composed in the summer of 1998. The movements of Song Book are relatively brief. They have a particular thing to say, a particular mood and attitude to express, and then they are done. I think of the pieces as emotional scenes.
“Song for Davy” is a reworking of the chorale melody Das alte Jahr vergangen ist (“The Old Year is Past”). This is a song for my young self, written at a time of personal transition. The music touches a very old memory chord and has a wistful and haunting character.
“Hymn Tune with Four Variations” is the only movement that uses a hymn tune verbatim. The melody is Werde munter, mein Gemute (“Be Strong, My Heart”). Each variation is a successive speeding up of the chorale statement, with the last being a chaotic scramble.
“Song for Alison” is for my wife, who has been a grounding influence on me for many years. She is not a musician, but has, through her kindness, steadiness and love, provided a safe haven for my flights of fancy.
“Evening Song” brings to mind some of my favorite music, the op. 116 Intermezzos for piano by Brahms. “Evening Song”, like other pieces in the set, is an openly Romantic music. It is ultimately quiet and resigned, but has, over its course, an urgent and passionate statement to make. Notes by David Maslanka
It Might as Well Be Spring is a song from the 1945 film State Fair. With music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year. State Fair was the only original film score by Rodgers and Hammerstein. In the film the song was sung by Jeanne Crain, who played Margy Frake. Dick Haymes, the original Wayne Frake, made the first hit recording of the song, followed by another hit recording by Frank Sinatra on his 1961 album Sinatra & Strings.
John Riley has a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz education from the University of North Texas and a Master of Music in jazz studies from Manhattan School of Music. He is on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music, and SUNY Purchase, and is an Artist in Residence at Amsterdam Conservatory, Holland. John is also the author of The Art of Bop Drumming, Beyond Bop Drumming, The Jazz Drummer's Workshop, and has taught master classes around the world. What is this Thing Called? is a feature track on the accompanying CD of The Art of Bop Drumming, and features Bob Mintzer on tenor saxophone, Phil Markowitz on piano, and James Genus on bass.
Land was written for marimbist Momoko Kamiya. This beautiful and elegant piece incorporates a very rubato tempo, allowing the performer to be very expressive within the framework laid out by Muramatsu. The main theme is presented over a gently pulsating accompaniment after a brief free section to begin the piece. The middle of the piece incorporates this theme into triplets that creates a sort of "rolling" effect. The piece closes with the original theme material in a new key with some additional variations.
Bob Young is a junior music education major at Youngstown State University’s Dana School of Music. Born and raised in Austintown Ohio, Bob has studied percussion since age nine under Bill Gonda. He is a 2007 graduate of Austintown Fitch High School where he performed in the Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, and Marching Band. He also performed with the Stambaugh Youth Concert Band and the Youngstown Symphony Youth Orchestra.
At Dana, Bob has studied under Glenn Schaft, Rob Ferguson, Josh Ryan and Nathan Douds. He is currently a member of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and a jazz combo. He has also performed with the Concert Band, Dana Symphony Orchestra and the Marching Pride. He also serves as secretary of the Youngstown Percussion Collective, and was a winner of this year’s Youngstown Music Teachers Association scholarship competition.
Outside of Dana, Bob was a member of Matrix Indoor Percussion Ensemble during the 2008 season and the Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps in their 2009 season.