PROGRAM NOTES

The Washington Post
The man who would become known as "The March King" was born in Washington D.C., and began his formal musical instruction at the age of 6. At 13, he began his career in the U.S. Marine Band as an apprentice "boy" to receive instruction "in the trade or mystery of a musician." He became leader of the Marine Band in 1880 and served in that position until 1892, when he resigned to organize a band of his own. Sousa developed a distinct flair for writing marches, including The Washington Post, which he wrote to help promote an essay contest sponsored by the newspaper of the same name. The 6/8 march happened to be appropriate for a new dance called the two-step, and soon became the most popular hit tune in both America and Europe.

San Antonio Dances
Frank Ticheli composed San Antonio Dances as a tribute to the city whose captivating blend of Texan and Hispanic cultural influences enriched his life during his three years as a young music professor at Trinity University. The first movement depicts the seductively serene Alamo Gardens and its beautiful oak trees that provide welcome shade from the hot Texas sun. A tango mood and lazily winding lanes give way to a brief but powerful climax depicting the Alamo itself. The second movement's lighthearted and joyous music celebrates San Antonio's famous Riverwalk, a 2-1/2-mile stretch of stunningly landscaped waterfront lined with hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, and shops. Viva San Antonio!

The Carnival of Venice
Joseph Jean-Baptiste Laurent Arban was a conductor, composer, pedagogue, and the first famed virtuoso of the valved cornet. Today he is best known as the author of the most highly influential cornet and trumpet method book. The actual Carnival of Venice is the most internationally known festival celebrated in Venice, Italy, as well as one of the oldest. This congregation of masked people, called Venice Carnival, began in the 15th century, but the tradition can be traced back to the beginning of the 14th century. Arban's composition, based on the folk song, The Carnival of Venice, is a set of variations designed to test the virtuosity of the best soloists in the world. "The cornet should possess fine style and grand method," Arban insisted, and his Carnival of Venice variations require both of the soloist. Our soloist, former Oregon Symphony solo trumpeter Fred Sautter, possesses both of these stellar qualities, which he showcases in his own arrangement of the Carnival.

Colonial Song
Born the son of an architect in Brighton, Victoria, Australia, Percy Grainger was a precocious pianist. The proceeds from a series of concerts he gave at age 12 enabled him to study in Frankfurt for six years. He came to the U. S. in 1915, enlisted as an army bandsman at the outbreak of World War I, and became a United States citizen in 1919. Grainger initially wrote Colonial Song in 1911 as a piano piece as a gift to his mother. Grainger sought to express feelings aroused by the scenery of his native Australia, later writing that it was "an attempt to write a melody as typical of the Australian countryside as Stephen Foster's exquisite songs are typical of rural America." Unlike many of Grainger's other compositions, the melodies of Colonial Song are not based on folk song, but are entirely original.

Kokopelli's Dance
Nathan Tanouye attended the University of Hawaii, and later attained a degree in both classical trombone and jazz studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he is now on the music faculty. Kokopelli's Dance begins with Kokopelli's theme played by a solo flute the instrument that Kokopelli himself played. The theme is then passed through the ensemble in a fugue-like fashion. This style of writing displays the happiness and joy for which Kokopelli was the ancient Native American symbol. The atmosphere of Kokopelli's theme changes, just as the atmosphere of a dance changes with the entrance of each new person. A light-hearted, spirited composition, Kokopelli's Dance is a delightful illustration of a Native American legend.

Dance of the Jesters
Tchaikovsky composed Dance Of The Jesters as incidental music for the ballet The Snow Maidens. The ballet is not based on the Hans Christian Andersen story, but on a contemporary Russian fantasy-play, Snegourochka. The Snow Maiden, daughter of Father Frost, falls in love with a human, Misgir, and plans to marry him. However, Misgir is already betrothed to Coupava. The Snow Maiden follows him southward to disrupt his wedding, but she falls victim to the warmth of the sun and melts. The Dance is an incredibly lively affair that stands out from the other songs, dances, and choruses of the ballet. It captures the color and zest of Russian folk dance.

Rest
Written in 2010, Rest is a concert band adaptation of the composer's work for SATB chorus, There Will Be Rest, based on the poem by Sara Teasdale. In writing the band version, Ticheli preserved almost everything from the original: harmony, dynamics, even the original registration. He also endeavored to preserve the fragile beauty and quiet dignity evoked by Sara Teasdale's words. He did, however, add a sustained climax on the main theme, which allows the band to transcend the expressive boundaries of a straight note-for-note setting of the original. As a result, the band version possesses its own strengths and unique qualities.

Danzón No. 2
Danzón No. 2 was composed by prominent Mexican composer Arturo Marquez, and is one of the most popular and frequently performed Mexican contemporary classical compositions. The work was commissioned by the National Autonomous University of Mexico and focuses on accents rather than time signatures. It begins with a seductive clarinet solo that later is joined by the oboe, then the flute, in sensuous duets. This contemporary Mexican musical work reflects a dance style called Danzón, which originated in Cuba but is a very important part of the folklore of the Mexican state of Veracruz. Marquez got the inspiration for this piece while visiting a ballroom in Veracruz. The band version is true to Marquez's original composition, and is rapidly becoming an important part of standard band repertoire.