November 12, 2002 – The C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University announces a concert of the C.W. Post Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band with featured faculty soloist Miriam Lockhart on clarinet. Performance will include works by composers Vincent Persichetti, Eric Whitacre, Carl Maria von Weber, David R. Gillingham, Samuel Barber, Robert Russell Bennett, and Timothy Mahr. Led by conductor James W. McRoy, with George Glikos, graduate conducting assistant. Location: Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, C.W. Post Campus, 720 Northern Blvd. (Route 25A), Brookville. Admission: $8 adults, $5 students/seniors. For more information call (516) 299-2474 or visit www.liu.edu/svpa/music.

Program Notes

Vincent Persichetti’s Symphony for Band was commissioned and premiered by the Washington University Band at the MENC: National Association for Music Education Convention in St. Louis on April 16, 1956. Persichetti used the word "band" because he felt that it no longer had the connotation of a poor quality of music. He is quoted as saying, "Band music is virtually the only kind of music in America today (outside the ‘pop’ field) which can be introduced, accepted, put into immediate and wide use, and become a staple of the literature in a short time." The four movements of this symphony have forms with traditional implications. The opening adagio introduces the principal theme, while the allegro resembles sonata form. The slow second movement is based on "Round Me Falls the Night," an original hymn by the composer. The third movement, in trio form, serves as the traditional dance movement, and is followed by a finale in free rondo form, which draws thematic material from the preceding movements.

Concertino, Op. 26 for Clarinet and Band by Carl Maria von Weber is one of the great and most popular works of the clarinetist’s repertoire. Its first performance was on April 5, 1811 and was such a success that Weber was commissioned to write two more selections for the clarinet. These fine works established the clarinet as a leading instrument for the expression of Romantic music.

Fantasia in G by Timothy Mahr was written for the St. Olaf College Band in Minnesota and was premiered in January 1983. It is an unpretentious, joyful celebration for wind band. Its character is reflected in the German subtitle, translated "Joy, Bright Spark of Divinity," which is the opening line to the famous "Ode to Joy."

Suite of Old American Dances is an original work for band written in 1949 by Robert Russell Bennett. The composer sets the mood of a Saturday night barn dance using several characteristic dances remembered from his childhood. The dances include Cake Walk, Schottische, Western One-Step, Wallflower Waltz, and Rag.

David R. Gillingham’s Cantus Laetus is based on one of the most famous Gregorian Hymns, "Veni Creator Spiritus." Cantus Laetus translates to "joyful noise" and is a statement of praise and affirmation of life. The work is done in three major sections framed by an introduction and an ending. The three middle sections feature the three families of the symphonic band: woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Cantus Laetus exploits every corner of emotion through the coloristic and dramatic capabilities of the symphonic band.