The Appalachian Wind Ensemble

John Stanley Ross, conductor

Flute Bass Clarinet Trombone
Caroline Church Bradley Mitchell Wesley Warren
Molly Allman Clair Williams Daniel Irwin
Brynn MacKenzie Nathan Hanner
Rachel Kellam Contra Bass Clarinet Jay Gibson
Michael Haynes
Oboe Bass Trombone
Bryan Miller Alto Saxophone Josie Franklin
Noah Brown Mitchell Powers Patrick Shipp
Joshua Hamilton Nicolo Iorio
Wake Younts Emmanuel Amerson Euphonium
David Babb
English Horn Tenor Saxophone Matthew Wise
Joshua Hamilton Aaron West Josiah Clark

Bassoon Baritone Saxophone Tuba

The Appalachian Wind Ensemble

Olivia Tippett Kenzie Schmidt Jacob Higgins
Alexis Loveland Austin Lowrey
Gabi Walata Baritone Saxophone Matthew Langford
Moira Zipperer Nicolo Iorio Cody Chessor
John Stanley Ross, conductor
Contrabassoon
Moira Zipperer
Trumpet
Nicholas Lipsette
Percussion
Trevor Jennings Donald E. Peach, guest conductor
Joseph D. Conti, graduate conductor
Kendall Davis McKenna Blenk
Clarinet Loren Melton Wyatt Bradford
Emily Rose Lorhan Tiger Tyler Houck
Michelle Jaluvka, E-flat
Amanda Rolen,
Anna Sheppard
Jake Robertson
Sam Lyall
Mitch Marg
Ellie Wee, cello
Winfield Gross Daniel Myers
Yesenia Castrejon Horn
Terrell Cordice John Tester String Bass
Nathan Hartman Andrew Hicks Nick Osborne

~ WORLD MUSIC ~
Lathan Birmingham Lindsey Ward
Joshua Adams Grace Sarris ASU Bands Librarian
Caroline Porter Laurelle Cartwright
Cameron Socie

The sixty-fifth program of 2018-2019. To access the Hayes School of Music performance calendar or join the
LISTSERV for concert announcements, visit www.music.appstate.edu. Personal audio or video recording of Sunday, December 2, 2018
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Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts
 Program
Overture to Beatrice and Benedict (1862) Hector Berlioz
(1803-1869)
arr. Franz Henning
Mr. Donald Peach, guest conductor
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer. From a young age, Berlioz was expected to
follow in his father’s footsteps and study medicine, and he started doing so at a Parisian medical
college, before giving it up to take on music as a profession. He refused to follow traditional rules
and formulas, which put him at odds with the musical establishment of Paris. He eventually went
on to win the Prix de Rome in 1830, but learned little from his education at the Paris
Conservatoire. Opinion of whether he was a creative genius or lacking in coherence was divided
for many years. Berlioz completed three operas, the first of which (Benvenuto Cellini) was an
absolute failure. The second opera (Les Troyens) was much too large in scale and could never be
fully staged within his lifetime. The third (Beatrice et Benedict), was a great success at its opening,
but never became a staple of the operatic repertoire. He gained international attention as a
conductor. He wrote musical journalism, which was extremely influential in the 19th and 20th
centuries including Treatise on Instrumentation (1844). Berlioz died at the age of 65 after the
death of his son caused him to have a nervous breakdown.
Berlioz’s passionate love of Shakespeare’s plays led him to compose several works inspired by
them. The opera Beatrice et Benedict, based on Much Ado About Nothing, is the last of his
Shakespeare settings and also his final major composition.
Program note by Joseph D. Conti and the Oakland University Wind Symphony
Pageant (1953) Vincent Persichetti
(1915-1987)
Mr. Joseph D. Conti, graduate conductor
Vincent Persichetti was born in Philadelphia in 1915 and died in 1987. His early musical training
began at the Combs College of Music, and later he graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music,
where he studied under Fritz Reiner. He was awarded scholarships to the Philadelphia
Conservatory of Music, where he earned his degrees of Master and Doctor of Music.
Subsequently, he studied under Roy Harris at Colorado College. His compositions have been
performed in many large cities, including Philadelphia, Rochester, Washington DC, and Colorado
Springs. Dr. Persichetti was the head of the composition department of the Juilliard School of
Music. His works, which include compositions in all forms, have established him as one of the
most interesting and important of the present-day American Composers.
Pageant was commissioned by the American Bandmasters Association and completed in January,
1953, and is Persichetti’s third work for band. It was first performed by the University of Miami
Band at the American Bandmasters Association convention on March 7, 1953, with the composer
conducting. His early works show evidence of influence from Stravinsky, Bartok, Hindemith, and
eventually lead us into the movement to contact. As the movement to contact occurs you will hear
sounds of the battlefield. This leads us into the actual battle as the music comes to a sustained
volume, then dissipates as the battle ends. Movement 4 is “for the fallen.” The unfortunate fact of
war is that we always lose many of our brave service members. This is the only movement that
uses preconceived material, in that is built upon the hymn “Nearer my God to Thee” as well as the
Bach Chorale “Our Father in the Kingdom of Heaven.” My description is that after death I believe
that those of us whom have accepted Christ as our savior, will ascend to heaven to be with Him. It
is my hope that this is the case of all service members that we lose. The movement is meant to
show the movement from this world to that of the heavenly world. The first section of the
movement starts this progression and leads us to the sax quartet that brings us to the gates of
heaven. With an abrupt change, the walk into heaven and the sights and sounds that are heard is
brought to us. Then as we approach the throne of God, the ensemble builds progressively until the
face of God is visible as the Bach Chorale is stated in the full ensemble. At this time, the original
chorale comes back as we celebrate eternity in peace. This movement is also dedicated to my
friend and mentor, Dr. David Maslanka. The movement is constructed using many Maslankian
techniques found in his Symphonies. Although this work is dedicated to all fallen service members,
it is also my heartfelt farewell to a kind and gentle soul that gave us so much.
Program note by Onsby C. Rose
Program notes compiled by Joseph D. Conti
Guest Soloist
Cellist Ellie Wee, DMA, has performed as a soloist, chamber
musician, and an orchestra player in the United States, France,
Italy, Turkey, Japan and Korea with such groups as Handel and
Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Menotti Lyric Opera and Arizona
Opera. She has received numerous awards and scholarships
including the Anna Rosenzweig String Award, the Regent Full
Scholarship Award, the Boston University Full Scholarship Award,
and The American Conservatory Full Scholarship Award, to name a
few. A dedicated teacher as well, her students were winners of the
Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra Concerto Competition and state and
national-level honors orchestras, including the ASTA National
High School Honors Orchestra.
As an active performer, lecturer, and adjudicator, Wee has
presented master classes and concerts at some of the most
prestigious performing arts institutions and universities in the
United States and internationally. She also appears as a regular
guest artist to give recitals and master classes at Adnan Menderes University State Conservatory,
Aydin, Turkey. She has been invited to be an adjudicator at such competitions including Tufts
symphony Concerto Competition and Tufts Youth Philharmonic Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Wee has taught at Arizona State University, Northeastern University in Boston, MA and Stonehill
College, MA. She has been a serving as an Assistant Professor at Appalachian State University,
NC since fall, 2017.
Copland. It wasn’t until around the time Pageant was written, that Persichetti truly achieved his
own compositional voice. The piece features two movements, one slow and lyrical, and one lively
“parade” section. Persichetti himself identified with two main currents within his creative
disposition: ‘graceful’ and ‘gritty,’ perfectly explaining the contrast between the two movements.
The piece is driven by a three-note motive stated by solo horn in the first two measures of the
piece, and continues to be played in exact imitations, as well as metric and harmonic variations of
it. The first movement is an essay in counterpoint, with the moving line continuously being played
back and forth between multiple sections of players, encouraging the musicians to continuously
communicate with each other to seamlessly pass off these moving lines. The movement also
features chorale-like statements, often echoed or repeated with a different color texture. The
parade section is a lively march, with dynamic contrast, playful melodies, bombastic statements,
and continuous polyphony within the harmonic structure. The snare drum begins this section,
introducing the melodic line in rhythm and phrasing that will be heard in the rest of the movement.
Something listeners may not be aware of during their first hearing of this work, is that Pageant is
perfectly balanced. The time it takes to play the first movement takes the same amount of time as
it does to play the second.
Program note by Joseph D. Conti
Tramonto ( 2007) Luis Serrano Alarcón
(b. 1972)
Dr. Ellie Wee, cello
Luis Serrano Alarcón has taught Analysis and Composition at the Professional Conservatory of
Valencia since November 2006. He is principal conductor of the symphonic band “Centre Artistic
Musical” from Betõra. On February 23, 2002, the Cultural Association “La Tertulia” of Chiva, to
which I belong, held a tribute to the well-known painter José Morea. One part of the event was the
premiere of four pieces (grouped under the title of Miradas (glances) I composed that were
inspired by three of his paintings. The second, Tramonto en-con Palinuro, evoked a melancholy
dusk in Italy: you were observing, amongst a mist of warm colors, the town of Palinuro reclining
over the sea and forming a large island in doing so. In the bottom right hand corner, the painter
himself was smoking and calmly watching the scene. The piece was written for cello and piano.
Five years later, this composition was revisited and, after a profound revision (many aspects of the
original have been modified), presented in two different versions: one, like the original, for cello
and piano, and the other with accompaniment by wind instruments and percussion.
Program note by Luis Serrano Alarcón
Symphony No. 1: “Heroes” Onsby C. Rose
I. From Sea (b. 1975)
II. From Above
III. From Land
IV. For the Fallen
Consortium Premiere
Onsby C. Rose is entering his third year as a DMA conducting associate at The Ohio State
University where he has reached ABD status and studies with Dr. Russel C. Mikkelson. In 1993,
he attended the University of South Carolina as a music education major and in 1997 he was
accepted as a trombonist for the U.S. Marine Corps fleet bands. He completed his Bachelor of
Music degree at East Tennessee State University in 2005. In 2007 Onsby was honorably
discharged from the USMC and was a freelance trombonist and railroad freight conductor in the
eastern U.S., then came back to music education in 2012 as director of bands at Hampton HS and
MS in Carter County, TN. From 2014-16 Onsby was a graduate assistant with the bands of
Appalachian State University, graduating in 2016 with a master's degree in Wind Conducting. He
has studied conducting with Russel C. Mikkelson, John Ross, Scott Jones, Kevin Richardson, Jerry
Junkin, Kevin Sedatole, Eugene Corporon, Donald McKinney, Steven Peterson, and Roxanne
Haskill. The most influential composers that Onsby studies and identifies with their music, are
David Maslanka, Frank Ticheli, Julie Giroux, David Holsinger, Steven Bryant, and P. I.
Tchaikovsky.
In times of war, our armed services have very specific duties. The Navy and Marine Corps are
primarily the “first to fight” the Navy from the Sea and from delivering the Marines to land.
Movement 1 of my Symphony No. 1 is a triumphant fanfare that should raise thoughts of these
services entering battle. As a Marine, many times when presented with the possibility of having to
go to war, I was always willing but reserved. The final part of the movement is the realization of
our protection being required and the ability of our services to provide this as the fanfare returns
and we enter the battle. Movement 2 is for all air forces of the United States. Typically, in a
wartime situation, the air force will follow the initial movement to contact with bombing raids.
This movement is meant to musically depict a single aviator from his point of departure to return.
The opening slow section is this airman’s walk to his aircraft and the accelerando is representative
of the entry to the sky and he/she goes to where the ordinance will be dropped. Continuing, the
sound screen in the woodwinds and the fanfares below in the brass, are the bombs being dropped.
This leads to the height of battle with the rising woodwind lines that eventually all come together
with the full ensemble to create a tremendous pinnacle to the battle. This immediately dissolves to
an unwieldy off-canter feeling of the mixed meter section where the pilot has reversed course to
return to base, but can see the battle field slowly dissolve behind, holding the remains of the battle.
We continue this as the horns and saxes provide us the sounds of the airman's return, and we enter
the fast and flowing sixteenths that bring the pilot on his final approach to base, and the return of
the slow section as the mission has ended. Movement 3 is for all ground forces. The idea is that
again in the progression of war, after the initial attack of the Navy and Marine Corps, followed up
air campaign, the Army and other ground forces follow on to fortify the area. This is typically a
much longer time frame. Thus, the lengthening of the movement. The opening is the entry to the
battle field. The horns state the opening, then the second time the low brass bring in counter to the
fanfare. We immediately hear the percussion bring us into the battle and hear the troops marching
forward. This lasts quite some time with different orchestrations and compositional techniques that