October 13, 2022
Concert Band & Wind Symphony
Dr. Alex Wimmer, Conductor
Olivia Bazanos, Graduate Assistant Conductor
Cally Bitterlin, Graduate Assistant Conductor
Tyler Lee, Graduate Assistant Conductor
Preston Thomas, Graduate Assistant Conductor
Travis Turner, Graduate Assistant Conductor
Concert Band
Anthem for Winds and Percussion (1978)…………………………………...…….Claude T. Smith (1932-1987)
Conducted by Tyler Lee
Chasing Sunlight (2017)………………………………………………………..……….Cait Nishimura (b. 1991)
Conducted by Olivia Bazanos
This Cruel Moon (2017)…………………………………………………………….…..….John Mackey (b.1973)
Conducted by Travis Turner
The Phantom Regiment(1952)……………………………………………………..Leroy Anderson (1908-1975)
Conducted by Cally Bitterlin
España Cañi (1925)………………………………………….…………….……Pascual Marquina (1873 – 1948)
Conducted by Preston Thomas
Wind Symphony
Dr. Alex Wimmer, Conductor
Things That Never Were (2010)............................................................................................Travis Cross (b.1977)
An American Elegy (2000)...................................................................................................Frank Ticheli (b.1958)
First Suite in E-flat (1909/2005).....................................................................................Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
Frederick Fennell (1914-2004)
Concert Band Program Notes
Anthem for Winds and Percussion (1978)…………………………...…………….Claude T. Smith (1932-1987)
Conducted by Tyler Lee, Graduate Assistant
"Master composer Claude T. Smith graced the band world with many wonderful pieces, and this classic continues to be one of his most performed works. The opening theme sparkles with rhythmic vitality and harmonic devices that still sound fresh today. The contrasting Andante segment is lush and tender before returning to the fast main theme."
-Program notes from Hal Leonard
Chasing Sunlight (2017)………………………………………………………..……….Cait Nishimura (b. 1991)
Conducted by Olivia Bazanos
“Chasing Sunlight was inspired by the experience of driving west into the setting sun as if trying to keep up with the earth’s rotation to catch the last few rays of light before dusk. The steady eighth note motif throughout the piece represents the sense of urgency while soaring, lyrical themes depict the warmth and radiance of the sun low in the sky.
Just as the sun will always set, humans must accept the impermanence of all things in life and make the most of every opportunity before it has passed. Chasing Sunlight also represents the ongoing pursuit of these opportunities.”
-Program notes by Cait Nishimura
This Cruel Moon (2017)…………………………………………………………….…..….John Mackey (b.1973)
Conducted by Travis Turner, Graduate Assistant
"This piece is an adaptation of the middle movement of "Wind-Dark Sea: Symphony for Band." the full symphony tells the tale of Odysseus and his journey home following his victory in the Trojan War. But Odysseus' journey would take as long as the war itself. Homer called the ocean on which Odysseus sailed a wine-dark sea, and for the Greek king it was as murky and disorienting as its name; he would not find his way across it without first losing himself.
"This Cruel Moon" is the song of the beautiful and immortal nymph Kalypso, who finds Odysseus near death, washed up on the shore of the island where she lives all alone. She nurses him back to health and sings as she moves back and forth with a golden shuttle at her loom. Odysseus shares her bed; seven years pass. The tapestry she began when she nursed him becomes a record of their love.
But one day Odysseus remembers his home. He tells Kalypso he wants to leave her, to return to his wife and son. He scoffs at all she has given him. Kalypso is heartbroken.
And yet, that night, Kalypso again paces at her loom. She unravels her tapestry and weaves it into a sail for Odysseus. In the morning, she shows Odysseus a raft, equipped with the sail she has made and stocked with bread and wine, and calls up a gentle and steady wind to carry him home. Shattered, she watches him go; he does not look back."
-Program notes by John Mackey
The Phantom Regiment(1952)……………………………………………………..Leroy Anderson (1908-1975)
Conducted by Cally Bitterlin, Graduate Assistant
The Phantom Regiment is a tribute to those who have served in the military. “The Phantom GHQ Liaison Regiment was a special reconnaissance unit established during the Second World War to gain detailed battlefield reconnaissance of Allied positions. Operating in small, dedicated patrols in special operations and across the Allied armies throughout the war, their most distinguished Airborne role came in conjunction with 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem.
The Phantom traced their early heritage to No. 3 British Air Mission established in France during late 1939. Attached to the Belgian General Staff, the unit were detailed to report back information about the Allied forward positions. By November 1939, their role had changed slightly to use radios and vehicles. The codename for these missions was classified as ‘Phantom’.
Phantom deployed in squadrons in North West Europe, South East Europe, North Africa and Italy. Each Squadron supported an Army and consisted of a Squadron HQ (SHQ) and a number of Patrols (one per Corps and a further ten further forward of Corps). Each Patrol consisted of an officer, an NCO and up to 9 other ranks. They were typically equipped with Norton motorcycles, Jeeps, Morris 15cwt trucks and White M3 A1 Scout cars and carried a 107 Receiver, 52 and 19 sets. The patrols either embedded with other formations or went on specially-directed missions from their individual Army HQs. The patrols' role was to provide collection, passage and dissemination of real-time information on the progress of battle back to Corps HQ.
Some patrols undertook parachute drops with the SAS to provide communications with SAS Brigade HQ. Later, with Phantom efficiency proven and with US forces under the leadership of 12 US Army Group, similar arrangements were made for Phantom to provide communications with US Corps.”
-Program notes by Airborne Assult ParaData
España Cañi (1925)………………………………………….…………….……Pascual Marquina (1873 – 1948)
Arr. Robert Longfield (b. 1947)
Conducted by Preston Thomas, Graduate Assistant
Marquina had a longtime admirer of his music named José Lopez de Osa who lived in the city of La Mancha, Spain. In 1924, Marquina promised to write a paso doble for Lopez de Osa. In 1925 when Marquina was riding the train to La Mancha for a festival, he realized that he had forgotten to write the tune. To fix his mistake, he crossed off the name of his most recent tune and called it El Patronista Cañí. A year later, a dancer named Encarnación López Julvez, was preparing a show in New York and they wouldn’t let her perform to the song title El Patronista Cañi. She plead with Marquina to change the title of the song and so he did. España Cañi became the new title, and it was premiered in that way at the New York Metropolitan Opera House in 1932.
-Program notes by Preston Thomas
Wind Symphony Program Notes
Things That Never Were (2010)............................................................................................Travis Cross (b.1977)
Commissioned by the Eagan (Minn.) High School Wind Ensemble, Eagan High School Band Boosters, and Eagan High School Class of 2010 in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Eagan High School, the work celebrates the vision of those who founded Eagan High School, the leadership of its first students, and the promise and potential of the current graduating class and those who will follow in the future.
The title comes from George Bernard Show (1856-1950), who wrote in his multi-volume epic Back to Methuselah: "You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'"
Senator Robert F. Kennedy frequently paraphrased the quote during his 1968 presidential campaign. After his assassination, his brother Edward referenced the same quote in his eulogy. It seems especially appropriate to use the words of an Irish playwright, popularized by a member of the preeminent Irish-American political dynasty, to honor the high school in Eagan, a city named for an Irish immigrant.
Community and educational leaders dreamed something that never was when they opened Eagan High School in 1989. There can be no doubt that the graduates of the twentieth-anniversary class of 2010 have big dreams too. We can only hope they say, "Why not?" and follow their dreams to a fulfilling future.
Travis J. Cross serves as professor of music at UCLA, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble, directs the graduate wind conducting program, and chairs the music department. He was also associate dean for academic mentoring and opportunity during the initial years of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Previous he was the wind ensemble conductor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., Cross for five years. Cross earned doctorate and Master of Music degrees in conducting from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and the bachelor of music degree cum laude in vocal and instrumental music education from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. His principal teachers were Mallory Thompson and Timothy Mahr. Prior to graduate study, he taught for four years at Edina (Minn.) High School, where he conducted two concert bands and led the marching band program. From 2011–2015, he served two terms as national vice president for professional relations for Kappa Kappa Psi, the national honorary band fraternity. In 2017, Cross taught the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps as brass co-caption head.
Cross contributed a chapter to volume four of Composers on Composing for Band, available from GIA Publications. His more than 20 original compositions and arrangements are published by Boosey & Hawkes, Daehn Publications, and Theodore Music. He has appeared as a guest conductor, composer, and clinician in more than 30 states and around the world. Cross is a Yamaha Master Educator.
-Program notes by Travis Cross
An American Elegy (2000)...................................................................................................Frank Ticheli (b.1958)
“An American Elegy is, above all, an expression of hope. It was composed in memory of those who lost their lives at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, and to honor the survivors. It is offered as a tribute to their great strength and courage in the face of a terrible tragedy. I hope the work can also serve as one reminder of how fragile and precious life is and how intimately connected we all are as human beings.
I was moved and honored by this commission invitation, and deeply inspired by the circumstances surrounding it. Rarely has a work revealed itself to me with such powerful speed and clarity. The first eight bars of the main melody came to me fully formed in a dream. Virtually every element of the work was discovered within the span of about two weeks. The remainder of my time was spent refining, developing, and orchestrating.
The work begins at the bottom of the ensemble’s register, and ascends gradually to a heartfelt cry of hope. The main theme that follows, stated by the horns, reveals a more lyrical, serene side of the piece. A second theme, based on a simple repeated harmonic pattern, suggest yet another, more poignant mood. These three moods — hope, serenity, and sadness — become intertwined throughout the work, defining its complex expressive character. A four-part canon builds to a climactic quotation of the Columbine Alma Mater. The music recedes, and an offstage trumpeter is heard, suggesting a celestial voice — a heavenly message. The full ensemble returns with a final, exalted statement of the main theme.” – Frank Ticheli
An American Elegy (2000) was commissioned by the Columbine Commissioning Fund, a special project sponsored by the Alpha Iota Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi at the University of Colorado on behalf of the Columbine High School Band. Contributors to the Fund included members, chapters, alumni, and friends of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Fraternity and Sorority.
The work received its premiere performance by the Columbine High School Band, William Biskup, director, Frank Ticheli, guest conductor, on April 23, 2000. Its premiere served as the centerpiece of a special commemorative concert given by the Columbine High School Band in conjunction with the University of Colorado Wind Symphony, held at Macky Hall in Boulder, Colorado.
Frank Ticheli holds the title of Professor of Composition in the Flora L. Thornton School of Music at USC. Frank Ticheli received his doctoral and masters degrees in composition from The University of Michigan. He has received numerous awards, and his orchestral and band works have been performed all over the world. Ticheli also appears as a guest conductor at many universities and music festivals around the country and throughout the world.
-All program notes by Frank Ticheli
First Suite in E-flat (1909/2005).....................................................................................Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
Frederick Fennell (1914-2004)
The First Suite in E-flat for Military Band, Op. 28, No. 1 (1909), is considered one of the cornerstone masterworks in the concert band repertoire. Officially premiered in 1920 at the Royal Military School of Music, the manuscript was originally completed in 1909. Along with the subsequent Second Suite in F for Military Band, written in 1911 and premiered in 1922, the First Suite was the catalyzing force that convinced many other prominent composers that serious music could be written specifically for the combination of woodwinds, percussion and brass. Fennell’s edition the suite is a companion to his edition of Percy Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy (1937/2010). This edition contains Fennell’s performance practices based on thorough research and his many years of conducting this monumental work.
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer, arranger, and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed a large number of other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style.
Many credit Frederick Fennell with being the primary catalyst with the creation today’s modern wind ensemble. He received a Bachelor of Music degree, Master of Music degree, and an honorary doctorate from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. He served on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Miami School of Music. While at Eastman he founded the Eastman Wind Ensemble, receiving numerous awards for their monumental contributions to the modern wind band movement. He was also the principal conductor of Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra as well as the Dallas Wind Symphony as well as numerous other prestigious wind ensembles and orchestras. “Fred Fennell changed music. He was short in height, but huge in stature and character. He was a consummate professional and entertainer – and a class act in every way. He will be deeply missed, but never, ever forgotten.” – Mark Scatterday, current director of the Eastman Wind Ensemble.
-Program notes by Alex Wimmer
Kansas State University Concert Band
FLUTE Tia Cole Alora Duran Melissa Fierro* Tegan Stratton Gabby Yager
CLARINET Allie Boell Nathaniel Chaput** Maria Herrera Bustillos Anna Ridgway Shelby Stolzenburg Alexis Sutton**
BASS CLARINET Taton Bennett Andrew Otto
OBOE Sylvia Cunningham Michael Walker*
BASSOON Ethan Karnes |
| ALTO SAX Cooper Carlson Annabelle Hall* Logan Peralez
TENOR SAX Sapphire Davis
BARITONE SAX Mystica Mather TRUMPET Kevin Colle Karson Griffin Chase Keesling Cameron Sadler Trystan Seifried Emmett Williams* HORN Craig Brinkman* Sebastian Gary Seth Higgins Clyde Horinek Kayla Schinkel | TROMBONES Nicci Coots Jacob Daley Jess Hargett Kamryn Sidener (Bass) Malachi Williams Wesley Wurm* EUPHONIUM Stazzi Simmons Kaden Williams* TUBA Margaret Benson* Brendan Lyhane PERCUSSION Devon Autry** Trenton Lowry** Daniel Smith Elliot Thomas |
* Principal/Section Leader
**Co-principal/co-section leaders
Kansas State University Wind Symphony
Dr. Alex Wimmer, Director
FLUTE Reese Byers (Pic) Tabitha Ellwood Ella Greenup* Grace Woydziak Rachel Zimmerman
CLARINET Erin Flax Sarah Jane Kelley* Ella McKeague Abbigail Rakes Alexis White
BASS CLARINET Kellen Broeckelmann Grace Dice
OBOE Alli Gladfelder* Bekah Northam
BASSOON Kenny Davies* |
| ALTO SAX Jasmine Bates Sarah Schieferecke Jordan Somers Abby Vetter*
TENOR SAX Chase Burman
BARITONE SAX Max Contreras
TRUMPET Zak Oster Evelyn Peat** Aaron Peterson Caden Roark Jae Seefeldt** Brett Wyckoff
HORN Alyssa Boden Tim Buehler Andrew Dearinger Kendan Powers* | TROMBONES Reece Beckman Jared Carlton* Zach Elliot Kiera Jeffries Corbin Wood (Bass)
EUPHONIUM Thomas Keller Sydney Smith Drake Thompson*
TUBA Olivia Franco Charles Kelly Isaiah Zinkan*
PERCUSSION Max Barth Noah Dial Ethan Jeffries* Jessi Solorzano Ben Thorne Chris Wells Jessie Whelan |
* Principal/Section Leader
**Co-principal/co-section leaders
Concert Band Conductors
OLIVIA BAZANOS is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is one of the graduate assistants at Kansas State University. She earned her B.M. in Music Education from Slippery Rock University (SRU) in 2021. While at SRU she was extremely involved in marching band and was a section leader, fundamentals of marching chair, and head drum major during her undergraduate career. She has taught instrumental band grades 4-12 in public school teaching. Olivia was also an active performing member with the Slippery Rock University Winter Guard for two years.
Olivia has instructed as visual technician, guard instructor, and woodwind instructor at local high school marching bands and substituted within various Pennsylvania school districts. Olivia is also an active volunteer with Music For All, spending two weeks of every summer as a S.W.A.G. Team Member during her Summer Symposium held in Muncie, Indiana.
Olivia’s professional affiliations include Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, National Association of Music Education, Music For All, Kansas Bandmasters Association, Kansas Music Educators Association, Women Band Directors International, Tau Beta Sigma, and Mu Phi Epsilon.
CALLY BITTERLIN is a PhD Candidate and graduate assistant at Kansas State University. She earned both her B.M.E and M.M. from Kansas State University in 2008 and 2011 respectively. While at Kansas State University, she was extremely involved in marching band and was a section leader and student staff during her undergraduate career. She has taught all grade levels K-12 in her 9 years of public-school teaching. Cally has taught in Kansas, Texas, and Iowa.
In Texas, Cally taught at University High School where she oversaw the concert and symphonic bands and assisted with the marching, jazz, and mariachi bands. She also proposed and received a piano classroom and taught 3 sections of group piano lessons. Cally implemented a leadership program and training at the high school and continued to do the same in Iowa. She was a performing member in the saxophone section in the Waco Community Band and the Temple Symphonic Band. Cally was also a clinician and adjudicator for several schools and events for high schools and middle schools in Texas and continues to do so in Kansas. In Iowa, she oversaw the entire band program including color guard, athletic bands, concert, and jazz bands. The jazz and marching bands traveled in and out of state for several competitions during her tenure. Cally continued to perform on saxophone soloing for different occasions in the district and playing euphonium at Tuba Christmas.
Cally's professional affiliations include Texas Music Educators Association, Iowa Bandmasters Association, Kansas Music Educators Association, Women Band Directors International, Tau Beta Sigma, Kappa Delta Pi.
TYLER LEE is originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is one of the graduate assistants at Kansas State University. Tyler earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Trombone Performance from Kansas State University (2019), and earned his Master’s of Music degree in Trombone Performance as well as his Graduate Certificate in Wind Band Conducting and Instrumental Studies from the University of Central Arkansas (2021,2022).
While at Kansas State University, Tyler participated in the Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Pride of Wildcat Land, Cat Band, CJE, KSU Symphony Orchestra, Brass Ensemble, and Trombone Choir, as well as Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity.
During his time at the University of Central Arkansas, he served as a graduate assistant with the band area. He assisted with the day-to-day operation of the UCA band program and was on staff for the Bear Marching Band as well as the Purple Rage Basketball Band. He was also heavily involved in the trombone studio at UCA, performing with the Natural Slides trombone choir, the top trombone ensemble at UCA.
Tyler’s professional associations include the Arkansas Music Educators Association, Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Kansas Music Educators Association, College Band Director’s National Association, International Trombone Association, the Conductor’s Guild, and Kappa Kappa Psi – National Honorary Band Fraternity.
PRESTON THOMAS is from Lenexa, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State University in 2019 with a Bachelor’s of Music Education Degree. During his time at Kansas State University, he was involved with the Pride of Wildcat Land Marching Band as section leader of the snare line and president of the percussion studio chapter of Percussive Arts Society. Preston also played in the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Brass Ensemble, Woodwind Ensemble, Volleyball Pep Band, Basketball Pep Band, and Percussion Ensemble.
After graduating Kansas State University, Preston went to Medicine Lodge, Kansas and taught grade 6-12 band and choir. During his time at Medicine Lodge, he was able to receive Superior ratings at both regional and state level competitions with all of his groups which had not been done in recent memory. He was also fortunate to be able to assist in acquiring new technology to the music department with a new digital sound and lighting system which helped bring a new energy to the concerts and performances.
TRAVIS TURNER is currently an M.M. candidate at Kansas State University. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) in 2020, where he was involved in the marching band, taking on the role of drum captain for the drumline and later a student staff position. He also performed with the MSSU Wind Ensemble, acting as principal trombonist, and the MSSU Jazz Orchestra. He also performed with Resistance Indoor Percussion, an independent open class ensemble based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. While performing with Resistance, Travis took on leadership roles within the ensemble and earned the “Member of the Year” award in 2018 and 2019.
Travis has worked with several high schools in Southwest Missouri, as well as the Wichita and Tulsa areas, teaching drumline and visual fundamentals. In his most recent endeavor, he was the Assistant Percussion Coordinator for the Joplin High School Winter Drumline, where he helped lead the ensemble to their highest-scoring season in five years. He also worked with Resistance Indoor Percussion in the 2020 season, working with the bass drums and teaching visual fundamentals. Travis has also started a small design business with his brother, writing and arranging shows for marching bands.
Wind Symphony Conductor
ALEX WIMMER is currently serving as the Assistant Director of Bands at Kansas State University. His duties include directing the Wind Symphony, Cat Band (basketball pep band), Volleyball Band, Pub Crawl Band, Assistant Marching Band Director for the Pride of Wildcat Land (KSUMB), arranger and drill designer for the KSUMB, and instructor of undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting, arranging, and marching band techniques. During the summer he coordinates the K-State Summer Music Camp and K-State Leadership and Auxiliary Camp, and serves as one of the Assistant Directors of the Manhattan Municipal Band. Prior to his appointment at Kansas State University, Dr. Wimmer was a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Kansas State University Bands. He assisted with all concert and athletic ensembles, undergraduate conducting courses, and Percussion Ensembles. His research interests include undergraduates conducting with expressivity and qualitative research.
Originally from Gretna, Nebraska, Dr. Wimmer received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2007, his Master of Music degree in Education with an emphasis in Wind Conducting from Kansas State University in 2014, and his Doctorate in Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction from Kansas State University in 2017. Dr. Wimmer was the Director of Bands at Gretna High School and the Assistant Director of Bands at Gretna Middle School from 2007-2012. Under his direction his concert, jazz, and marching bands received consistent superior ratings. He was a recipient of the Jack R. Snider Young Band Director Award in 2011 and served on the Nebraska Music Educators Association Leadership Academy from 2011-2012.
Dr. Wimmer is in demand as a conductor, clinician, and adjudicator as well as a percussion specialist. His professional affiliations include the Kansas Music Educators Association, the Kansas Bandmasters Association, the National Association for Music Education, the College Band Directors National Association, the Percussive Arts Society, Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Phi Kappa Lambda.
