Tuesday, January 16, 2024, 7:30pm
Meyerson Symphony Center + Livestream

Fanfare

7:15pm, Meyerson lobby

To Usher in a New Era
Shawn Gurk
Dallas Winds Brass & Percussion
Jeremy Kondrat, conductor

Program

A Joyous Trilogy [15’00”]
Quinn Mason

I.   Running
II.  Reflection
III. Renewal

Symphony No. 4, “Strange Time” [23’00”]
Quinn Mason

I.   Passages of Time
II.  The Divide Between Light and Dark
III. Toward the Event Horizon
IV. Time Frozen
V.  Out of Time

Bradley Hunter Welch, organ

— INTERMISSION —

Lola Flores [3’50”]
Alfred Sadel & Terig Tucci, arr. John Krance

In This Circle [23’00”]
Hila Plitmann, Composition & Lyrics
Drew Dickey, Setting & Orchestration
Hila Plitmann, soprano

1. Wave
2. The Art of Flying
3. Outbreath

Dallas Winds Personnel

STRING BASS
Andrew Goins

PIANO
Cameron Hofmann

HARP
Naoko Nakamura

TIMPANI
Jacob Hord, principal

PERCUSSION
Roland Muzquiz, principal
Michael McNicholas
Joe Ferraro
Steve McDonald
Brandon Kelly
Steve Kimple

PERSONNEL MANAGER
Gigi Sherrell Norwood

MUSIC LIBRARIAN
Chrystal Stevens

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Ramon Muzquiz

FOUNDER / EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kim Campbell
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Grace Lovrien
DIRECTOR OF CONCERT OPERATIONS
Gigi Sherrell Norwood
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Todd Toney
BOOKKEEPER
Lenore Ladwig Scott

Livestream

Scott Probst – Audio Engineer
Christopher Cook – Remote Cameras
Cameron Conyer – Technical Engineer
Adam Ellard – Director
Savannah Ekrut – Switcher, Camera Operator
Lydia Amstutz – Titles
Todd Toney – Score Reader
Lydia Amstutz – Camera Operator
David Lovrien – Title Design

Program Notes

A Joyous Trilogy
Quinn Mason

Composer Quinn Mason “wanted to create a composition that was the very embodiment of happiness and cheerfulness, an accessible work that would put any listener in a good mood.”

The first movement, ‘Running’ has an always-moving and never-waning energy that keeps going and going. The second, ‘Reflection,’ is a gentle and introspective meditation featuring solo trombone. The third, ’Renewal,’ picks the energy back up, a little more spirited and zestful this time, and keeps it going to the very end, complete with dynamic and vibrant interplay between all the orchestral sections.

Quinn Mason dedicated this work to “Will White, a friend and mentor for many years now, and one of the most joyous people I know!”

– Jeff Eldridge (Principal Bassoon, Harmonia Orchestra)

This transcription was created especially for and dedicated to Prof. Jerry Junkin and the University of Texas Wind Ensemble.

Symphony No. 4, “Strange Time”
Quinn Mason

When I was a student at SMU, I was quite suddenly commissioned by Dr. Jack Delaney (director of bands) on the following terms: no instrumentation limit and no time limit. I decided that I wanted to compose a large-scale work using an expanded wind ensemble (with harp and organ, two tubas and an English horn and contrabassoon in the woodwinds) that reflected my interest of time travel and space/time phenomena. It’s something that I have been fascinated with for a while and curious as to whether it would work in a musical context. The first thing I had to do was my research. I remember when I was younger reading books such as H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine and Jon Scieszka’s series Time Warp Trio, which then inspired me to research paradoxes such as the Predestination Paradox and the Grandfather Paradox. The idea that one little action you take in the past can alter the future significantly appealed to me, and piqued my curiosity.

I embarked on this composition to create a piece that was in the same vein as a David Maslanka symphony and intended as a companion piece to his own fourth symphony, while at the same time reflecting my own unique interests and voice. I had the good fortune of working with Dr. Maslanka briefly in February 2017, when he shared with me his philosophy and perspectives on the humanity of music, which changed my entire approach to composition and music making. In a way, this symphony is a ‘thank you’ to Dr. Maslanka for inspiring me.

Then came the composition of the piece. I knew that I wanted to depict a journey into a space time continuum complete with a trip into an event horizon. I wanted to challenge the very idea of the perception of time and reality in a musical setting.

My symphony is set in five movements played continuously without pause. The first, Passages of Time, begins with a murmuring line in the woodwinds, which continues as the brass enter with a solemn fanfare, depicting the time traveler. This chorale is heard in four out of the five movements, and acts as the catalyst that affects all the musical events around it.

The second movement, The Divide Between Light and Dark, contains contrasting sections of brightly colored and darkly hued music. Here, we’ve arrived in the time space continuum and are looking at contrasting universes.

In the third movement, we take a trip Toward an Event Horizon. The feel of this music is frantic and energetic, as it doesn’t know whether it wants to speed up or slow down. As a result, some instrumental voices push ahead in the texture; others fall back. In theory, when one approaches an event horizon, the person observing the subject entering it sees them slow down before they come to a complete stop. However, to the subject entering, they are actually speeding up. So how did I represent this in the music? Near the end of this movement, the music has the sensation of speeding up but the conductor’s beats slow down until the music comes to a complete stop. Most unusually, this movement contains a battle between two Tam-tams (gongs).

The fourth movement, Time Frozen, isn’t conducted at all. The erratic nature of the third movement and steadily building brass chorale from the first movement has pushed the music over the edge and into a void. As this music is completely aleatoric, I encourage the musicians to improvise to give the music a sense of timelessness.

In the fifth and final movement, we’re Out of Time. After the timelessness of the fourth movement, we return to order but less rigid and more freely. The brass chorale returns again twice, this time quieter and tranquil before the music fades into abyss and we’re left with the return of the murmurings of the first movement. This fades into a calm woodwind chorale with solo celesta flourishes, and finally ends with a distant organ to ponder the journey that we’ve just been on. In the vein of Mahler’s ‘Das Abschied’ (from Das Lied von Der Erde), It reminds us that time is fleeting and comes to an end eventually.

— Compiled by Dave Strickler, elaborated by Quinn Mason

Lola Flores (Paso Doble)
Alfred Sadel and Terig Tucci, arr. John Krance

In Spanish-speaking countries, the popularity of the Paso Doble (“double-step”) as a dance is inherent and perennial. The especial spirit and melodic appeal of the Argentine composer, Terig Tucci, have captured the imagination of international audiences. One of Tucci’s most famous Paso Dobles is Lola Flores. Here can be found all the color and excitement of the bullring. One can instantlyh visualize the eager anticipation of the crowd and the pride and pageantry of the matadors majestically entering the ring. In arrangeing Lol Flores for Concert Band I have attempted to capture, expand and project all of these dramatic qualities embodying today’s television, recirding, and film “sound”.

– John Krance

In This Circle
Hila Plitmann, orch. Drew Dickey