Percussion Ensemble Program Notes

Novotney’s Scratch features four players playing scrapers or guiros. The piece is constructed with three accompaniment lines and a “soloist” playing a “melodic” line. Eugene Novotney was raised in Mentor Ohio and experienced jazz, classical, and symphonic repertoire as a young child but soon became heavily influenced by Motown and the sound of rock & roll. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, he chose to continued his studies at the University of Illinois where earned the Master of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts. Eugene is Professor and Director of Percussion Studies at Humbolt State University in Arcata California.

Mallet Quartet (2009) is scored for two vibraphones and two five octave marimbas. The piece is in three movements, fast, slow, fast. In the two outer fast movements the marimbas set the harmonic background which remains rather static compared to recent pieces of mine like Double Sextet (2007). The marimbas interlock in canon, also a procedure I have used in many other works. The vibes present the melodic material first solo and then in canon. However, in the central slow movement the texture changes into a thinner more transparent one with very spare use of notes, particularly in the marimbas.

Mallet Quartet is about 15 minutes in duration. It was co-commissioned by the Amadinda Quartet in Budapest, on the occasion of its 25th Anniversary, Nexus in Toronto, So Percussion in New York, Synergy Percussion in Australia, and Soundstreams in Canada. The world Premiere was given by the Amadinda Quartet in Bela Bartók National Concert Hall on December 6, 2009. The American Premiere was given by So Percussion at Stanford University Lively Arts in California on January 9, 2010. Notes by Steve Reich

Kpanlogo is a recreational dance and music style from Ghana, West Africa. It was first played by the Ga ethnic group, most of whom live in and around the capital city, Accra, but is now performed and enjoyed throughout the country. It began in the early 1960s as an innovative dance form, influenced by American rock and roll, and giving the younger Ga generations a point of distinction from their elders. Ghanaian master drummer C.K. Ladzekpo states that kpanlogo "is essentially an urban youth dance-drumming and a symbol of the commitment of a rapidly growing Ghanaian urban neighborhood youth in advocating their perspective in shaping the political vision of post colonial Africa" (1995: web).[1] The kpanlogo dance is often performed low to the ground, with bent knees and bent back, and frequently features sexually suggestive motions. Wikipedia

Concert Band Program Notes

The works of Dana Wilson have been commissioned and performed by such diverse ensembles as the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Formosa String Quartet, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Buffalo Philharmonic, Xaimen Symphony, Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Syracuse Symphony, and Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. Solo works have been written for such renowned artists as hornists Gail Williams and Adam Unsworth, clarinetist Larry Combs, trumpeters James Thompson and Rex Richardson, and oboist David Weiss.

Shortcut Home is a rousing and rather elaborate fanfare that features each section of the ensemble. Drawing upon various jazz styles, the music proclaims and cascades, always driving towards the “home” of the final, C major chord. Notes by Dana Wilson.

Commissioned by Edwin Franko Goldman and the Goldman Band, Ballad for Band is a work inspired by African-American spirituals. In an interview with Dr. Thomas Stone, Gould offered insight on how the spiritual influenced his music:

I have always been sensitive to and stimulated by the sounds that I would call our “American vernacular”—jazz, ragtime, gospel, spirituals, hillbilly. The spirituals have always been the essence, in many ways, of our musical art, our musical spirit. The spiritual is an emotional, rhythmic expression. The spiritual has a universal feelings; it comes from the soul, from the gut. People all over the world react to them. I am not aware of the first time I heard them. It was undoubtedly a sound I heard as a child, maybe at a revival.

Unlike the approach Gould employs in works such as “American Salute” or Jericho Rhapsody, there is no direct quotation of a pre-existing melody in Ballad for Band. The allusions to the style of the spiritual are subtler and more oblique, such as the use of the pentatonic scale characteristic of spirituals and folk music. Gould relies heavily on harmonies constructed on the “open” intervals of fourths and fifths, resulting in a distinctively transparent quality. When asked about the contrasting fast middle section of the work, the composer offered a typically sardonic observation, “You stop contemplating your navel, and you start to dance.” Notes from CD booklet, Morton Gould: An American Salute by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band.

The idea with Foundry was to make a piece that celebrates the fact that percussionists have this ability to make just about anything into an "instrument." Snare drums and bass drums are great, but why not write a whole piece featuring non-traditional percussion — things like salad bowls and mixing bowls and piles of wood?

In some cases, I was specific about what instrument to play (timpani, xylophone, etc.). With many of the parts, though, I only described what sound I wanted (play a "clang" — a metal instrument, probably struck with a hammer, that creates a rich "CLANG!" sound), and allowed the percussionist to be creative in finding the best "instrument" to make the sound I described.

It won't be surprising that Foundry, for concert band with "found percussion," much of it metallic, ends up sounding like a steel factory. The composer thanks the required 10–12 percussionists for allowing his ridiculous requests to continue. Clang. Notes by John Mackey.

A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1947 Peter Mennin was appointed to the composition faculty of the Julliard School, a position he retained for ten years. In 1958, he became Director of the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore Maryland. He held the post for four years, introducing many new ideas into the disciplines of conducting, opera production, concert structure, and administration.

Canzona is a short, brisk work, which opens with a declamatory idea expressed in massed sonorities. Next, a broad melodic line is introduced and supported by powerful rhythmic figurations. This is followed by a cantabile section. These materials are developed and expanded, and the piece closes with the opening statements brought back in a more dramatic presentation. Notes from score to Canzona.

Sousa’s operetta El Capitan was one of the earliest musicals by an American composer to have a successful run on Broadway. Set in colonial Peru, it tells a farcical story of the Viceroy of Peru posing as a fearless rebel leader fighting to unseat himself. The selection comprises the Prelude, I’ve a Most Decided Notion, Beautiful Land of Spain, Finale Act 2, A Typical Tune of Zanzibar, and Finale including the main themes of Sousa’s popular El Capitan March.

ABOUT THE CONDUCTORS:

GLENN SCHAFT is Professor and Director of Percussion Studies at Youngstown State University. He is the advisor/co-founder of the Youngstown Percussion Collective and an artist with Avedis Zildjian Co., Innovative Percussion Inc., Remo Inc., and a member of the Black Swamp Percussion Educators Network. Glenn earned the DMA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the MA from Eastern Illinois University, and the BM from Baldwin Wallace University. He pursued post doctoral studies in contemporary music and orchestral percussion at Cleveland State University, Afro-Cuban music in Havana, Cuba and world percussion at the Berklee School of Music World Percussion Festival. Glenn’s teachers include John Hollenbeck, John Riley, Tom Freer, Jay Burnham, Lewis Nash, Ted Piltzecker, Tom Siwe, Johnny Lee Lane, George Kiteley, Harold Damas, Linda Pimentel, and Ruben Alvarez. A member of the Percussive Arts Society, Glenn serves on the Drumset Committee and has appeared as performer, lecturer, and panelist at PAS international conventions.

Glenn’s career spans idioms such as classical, new music, world music, jazz, blues, rock, reggae, funk, Brazilian, West African, and Afro-Cuban. Glenn has recorded and served as executive producer with the Youngstown Percussion Collective, Dave Morgan, Ron Coulter, John Hollenbeck, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Scott Wyatt, Amanda Powell, Air Force Band of Mid-America, Youngstown State University Wind Ensemble, and myriad jingles.

His credits include conductors Giora Bernstein, Jeffery Siegel, Anton Coppola, Edwin London, Gunther Schuller, Paul Martin Zonn, Peter Schickele, aka P.D.Q. Bach ensembles such as Colorado Music Festival, Skaneateles (NY) Chamber Music Festival, "Artist In Residence" at Baldwin-Wallace University with BATTU contemporary/world percussion group, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Cleveland Ballet, Ohio Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Opera, Robert Page Singers, Akron Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Springfield (IL) Symphony, Youngstown Symphony, Duluth-Superior Symphony, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, Dance Theater of Harlem, Cleveland Dance Collective, and artists such as Paul Sperry, Julie Newell, Robert Weirich, Robert Van Sice, Peter Erskine, and Ben Toth.

Glenn drumset and world music credits include Ruben Alvarez, American Jazz Orchestra, Chuck Berry, Nick Brignola, Freddie Bryant, Ndugu Chancellor, Sarah Jane Cion, Stewart Copeland, Anthony Cox, 1940's Radio Hour Show-US Tour, Todd Coolman, Harold Danko, Paquito D’Rivera, Larry Elgart, Raul Esparza, John Fedchock, Five By Design, Reynaldo Gonzales, Taku Hirano, Laurence Hobgood, Engelbert Humperdink, Randy Johnston, Sean Jones, Mike Kocour, Alison Krauss, Victor Krauss, Ralph Lalama, Tony Leonardi, Robert Lockwood Jr., Bryan Lynch, Jim McNeely, Hank Marr, Phil Palombi, Ken Peplowski, Chita Rivera, Trichy Sankaran, Michael Spiro, Marvin Stamm, Chip Stephens, The Texas Tenors, Alan Vizzutti, Dan Wall, James Weidman, Michael Weiss, Mike Wofford, Women of the Phantom, Andrea Zonn, and Youngstown State University Faculty Jazz Group.

BRANDT PAYNE is Director of Athletic Bands, and Assistant Professor of Music for the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University. At YSU he conducts the marching band, pep band, and concert band. He teaches courses in conducting, instrumental music education, and graduate wind literature. Dr. Payne also conducts the Stambaugh Youth Concert Band in Youngstown, Ohio. Brandt has held similar academic appointments at the University of Hawai’i and University of Wyoming. Dr. Payne began his teaching career as a high school band director in the Red Oak Public Schools in Red Oak, Iowa.

Dr. Payne is active as an author, guest conductor, and clinician throughout the United States. Dr. Payne recently co-authored the new editions of two textbooks, including the Complete Marching Band Resource Manual, with University of Pennsylvania Press and Conducting; the Art of Communication with Oxford University Press. He has published articles with the Instrumentalist, and written literature and recording reviews for the International Trombone Association Journal. Dr. Payne has given presentations at the national conferences of the College Band Directors National Association and the CBDNA National Athletic Band Symposium.

A native of Iowa, Brandt holds a Bachelor of Music degree in trombone performance and teacher certification from the University of Iowa, a Master of Music degree in trombone performance and, Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting, both from Arizona State University, in Tempe.

Glenn Schaft and the YSU Percussion Studio wish to thank Avedis Zildjian Cymbal Co., Remo Inc, Innovative Percussion Inc., and Black Swamp Percussion for their support.

Concert Band Personnel

*Section Leader, ^Concert master

FLUTE/PICCOLO

Katie Auth

Hailey Baker*

Amber DeCaprio

Emily Karr

Kristen Richter

Jewellea Wyne

OBOE

Alex Stojkov

BASSOON

Brian Lawson

Emily Schneider

CLARINET

Alex Bark*^

Stephanie Beck

Cayla Conrad

Andrew Leuty

Jordan Mastrangelo

Robin Shelton

SAXOPHONE

Jeremy Leishman*

Billy McKinney

Christie Hrdlicka - Tenor

Brandon Staley - Bari

HORN

Mackenzi Brozovich

Dan Danch

Mackenzie Fairchild 

Cari Hosey

Alisha Moore

Laura Ogram*

TRUMPET

Elizabeth Hickok

Herbie Hunkele*

Anthony Meassick

Sarah Pigza

Brianna Rzucidlo

Alex Stellmar

Leicester Stovell

TROMBONE

Robert Klim

Brandon Logan

Shelby Potter

Alicia Sarra

Spiro Schialdone

Andrew Stamp*

EUPHONIUM

Ronald Aulet

Andrew Picard*

TUBA 

Chris Blankenship

Gabriel Davis

Jake Umbrazun*

PERCUSSION

Edward Butcher

Jesse DeLorenzo

Aaron Graneto *

Sean Guerierri

Damon Poole