MUSIC SELECTIONS

Malcolm Arnold ➤

It is well-known that the “democratic” brilliance of Arnold’s scoring results from the diligent application of his intimate inside knowledge of the symphony orchestra. March From “A Little Suite” is a cracking quick-fire march that needs little comment, other than the observation that Arnold’s quick-witted tunefulness, that was to stand him in such good stead in his film career, is well in evidence.

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Frank Ticheli ➤

The word acadiana refers to a region comprising much of the southern half of the state of Louisiana, where Cajun culture and heritage are most predominant. Acadiana honors that heritage, and completes a trilogy of Cajun inspired works composed for concert band over a twenty-five year period.

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Giacomo Puccini ➤
arr. by Merlin Patterson
Jason K. Fettig, Guest Conductor ➤

“Nessun Dorma” (Italian: [nesˌsun ˈdɔrma]; English: "Let no one sleep") is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot, with text by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, and is also one of the best-known tenor arias in all of opera.wrote the lyrics.

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Nathan Daughtrey ➤
Michael Isadore, Clarinet ➤

Twitch is a driving showpiece for solo B-flat clarinet and band, which marries syncopated, rhythmic excitement with lush, romantic lyricism. Tasked with writing a piece for virtuosic solo clarinet, an occasional featured clarinet quartet, and band with active, grooving percussion parts presented a fun challenge.

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John Phillip Sousa ➤
Dr. Matthew Lamm, Guest Conductor ➤

It is a curious fact of the music world that marches written for fairs and expositions almost always fade into oblivion. Two notable exceptions are Sousa’s “King Cotton” and “The Fairest of the Fair.” The former was written for the Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895, and the latter for the Boston Food Fair of 1908.

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Robert Russell Bennett ➤

Suite Of Old American Dances was inspired after the composer heard a performance by The Goldman Band in 1948. The original title was Electric Park, an amusement park Robert Russell Bennett went to while growing up in Kansas City. Each movement of the work is based on a dance from the beginning of the twentieth century.

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Roger Nixon ➤

Elegy and Fanfare-March began as a piano piece, but its potential as a band composition was soon realized by Roger Nixon. In 1961, the work was performed by The University of Michigan Symphony Band on its tour of The Soviet Union and satellite countries.

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Frank S. Perkins ➤
arr. by Floyd Werle

Fandango is a song and dance that originated in Spain and Portugal in the early eighteenth century. By the end of the eighteenth century, it had become popular as an instrumental form for serious composers.

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