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The Cal Poly Humboldt Wind Ensemble

Fulkerson Recital Hall

The Department of Dance, Music, and Theatre at Cal Poly Humboldt presents The Cal Poly Humboldt Wind Ensemble. Join us Sunday, December 4th at 2:00 p.m. at the Fulkerson Recital Hall. Concert tickets are $10 General, $5 Children, and FREE for Cal Poly Humboldt students with ID. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance at centerarts.humboldt.edu

The evening’s program begins with a performance of “Satiric Dances” by Dello Joio. “The piece was commissioned by the Concord Band, Concord, Massachusetts, to commemorate the Bicentennial of April 19, 1775, the day that launched the American War for Independence. Dello Joio, agreed to do the commission, but stipulated it would be based on a piece he had used as background for a comedy by Aristophanes, the most famous comic dramatist of ancient Greece. His plays commented on the political and social issues and frequently employed satire.”—program notes from Windband.org

Next is “The Immovable Do” by Grainger. “Composed while he was living in New York between 1933 and 1939, Grainger was sitting at his foot-pumped reed organ one day and the reed that produced “c” or “do” became stuck. Rather than call the organ technician, he decided to improvise a tune around this “immovable do”. His improvisation over a static pitch features an intricate rhythmic texture with syncopation, dense rhythmic lines and triple over duple time.”—Program Note from State University of New York, Fredonia, Wind Ensemble concert program, 15 November 2018

The program continues with “Elegy” by John Barnes Chance. “When a member of the West Genesee Senior High School Band died, Elegy was commissioned in his memory. It is a single-movement, solemn work based on a five-note motif stated initially in the low woodwinds…The music symbolizes the tragedy of a life cut short, seemingly unfinished, as a portion of the original motif is left hanging while each instrument dies away.

Sadly, Chance wrote Elegy only months before his own sudden and tragic death (by accidental electrocution). The piece stands as an emotional monument to this composer’s unfinished career.”—Program Note from Kennesaw State University Wind Symphony concert program, 26 September 2016

“Chester,” by William Schuman, caps off the first half of the performance. “The tune on which this composition is based was born during the very time of the American Revolution, appearing in 1778 in a book of tunes and anthems composed by William Billings called The Singing Master’s Assistant. Chester was so popular that it was sung throughout the colonies from Vermont to South Carolina. It became the song of the American Revolution, sung around the campfires of the Continental Army and played by fifers on the march. The music and words, both composed by Billings, expressed perfectly the burning desire for freedom which sustained the colonists through the difficult years of the Revolution.”—Program Note by William Schuman

Following intermission, the highlight of the program is a performance of “The Red Pony” by Aaron Copland. “A titan of American art, Copeland experimented with many different styles, but became best known for his idiomatic treatment of Americana. Composed to score the film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novella of the same name, “The Red Pony” is a series of vignettes concerning a young boy named Jody and his life in a California ranch setting. In the first movement, “Dream March and Circus Music”, Jody has a way of going off into daydreams. Two of them are pictured here: in the first, Jody imagines himself with the cow-hand Billy Buck at the head of an army of knights in silvery armor; in the second, Jody is a whip-cracking ringmaster at the circus. The fourth movement, “Happy Ending”, contains a folk-like melody suggesting the open-air quality of country living and then builds to a climax,” windliterature.org

The film starred Myrna Loy and Robert Mitchum, and clips of the film will be screened during the concert. The Dean of CAHSS, Jeff Crane, will speak about the genre of Hollywood westerns before the piece is performed.

DATES/TIMES

WHERE

• Fulkerson Recital Hall

PRICE

• $10
• $5 Children
• Free Cal Poly Students with ID