This summer, I was fortunate to be featured as a guest conductor with several different groups. It was wonderful to find myself in front of such a variety of excellent ensembles!
On June 1, I joined the Juventas New Music Ensemble in Boston for their Pride: Hand in Hand concert. I conducted 2 pieces: they’re not for winds, but these are composers to watch.
Only Air – Dennis Tobenski
Canciónes de desamor – Steven Serpa
On June 25, I was scheduled to be in Hampton, NH with the Seacoast Wind Ensemble, whose repertoire will include the following:
America the Beautiful – Samuel Augustus Ward, arr. Carmen Dragon
and lots more! Sadly, the weather intervened and cancelled this concert altogether.
On July 11 30 (thanks, thunderstorm forecast), I was back in Oneonta with the Oneonta Community Concert Band. We played the following collection of Americana:
The Star Spangled Banner – Francis Scott Key, arr. Robert Russell Bennett
American Folk Rhapsody #1 – Clare Grundman
Women of the Podium – Virginia Allen
Damn Yankees Selections – Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, arr. Paul Yoder
From the Delta (second movement) – William Grant Still
The Belle of Chicago – John Philip Sousa
The Erie Canal – Maurice Whitney
When You Wish Upon a Star – Leigh Harline, arr. Nestico
An American in Paris – George Gershwin, arr. Krance
The rescheduled concert date actually had MORE weather interference than the original date: about 45 minutes before call time, a hailstorm came through! It was a quickie, so we were able to relocate to a covered pavilion in time for the concert. Meanwhile, our original stage collapsed as we were removing the chairs from it – later reports said it had been struck by lightning during the storm! Luckily no one was hurt. The concert proceeded with the dramatic backdrop of occasional rain storms and thunderclaps, to great general acclaim.
On July 27, I joined the Columbia Summer Winds at the Central Park Bandshell. I split the concert with their music director, William Tonissen. We played:
Short Ride in a Fast Machine – John Adams
Yagi-Bushi – arr. Naohiro Iwai
Chasing Sunlight – Cait Nishimura
Root Beer Rag – Billy Joel/arr. Sweeney
Beauty and the Beast – Alan Menken/arr. Moss
Sunny-Side Up – Michael Markowski
Fandango – Frank Perkins, arr. Floyd Werle
The Stars and Stripes Forever – John Philip Sousa
I led the Nishimura, the Markowski, and the Perkins.
Finally, the NYSBDA Directors Band, led this year by Robert Ambrose, took place on August 11 and 12. The rep was truly thrilling!
Symbiopholie! – Jonathan Dagenais
Wayfaring Stranger – Christopher M. Nelson
Carmina Burana – Carl Orff, arr. Krance
It was a summer full of music, friends old and new, travel, family, and a healthy dose of relaxation, mixed in with plenty of (ahem) “fun” unpredictability. I would certainly love to replicate it in the future!