As rain gave way to sun this morning, the members of CBDNA began to congregate at the University of Georgia Convention Center for another exciting conference day. I took my time getting in, splurging on an excellent and fast breakfast at Mama’s Boy. I arrived in time for the second session. I was among the panelists for “Literature Selection for Small Band Programs: Empowering Ourselves,” organized by James Adams, Patrick Carney, and Cliff Towner. This featured six directors of small band programs talking about pieces that were successful for their bands:

Mother of Revolution! – Omar Thomas (Cliff Towner)

Bock Fanfares – Jess Langston Turner (Martin Gaines)

Space Music – Donald Erb (Hayes Bunch)

Riptides – Katahj Copley (Alexandra Zacharella)

American Guernica – Adolphus Hailstork (Anthony Rivera)

Parhelion – Roshanne Etezady (Andrew Pease)

After an extended browsing session at the Midwest Music booth setup, expertly curated by Jeff Girard, I made my way into another session. In “The Emerging Wind Band Culture in South Korea: History, Evolution, and Opportunity,” Travis Cross, Scott Lubaroff, and Yoon Joo Hwang explored the ways in which a culture of band is beginning to develop in South Korea.

For the final morning session, I listened to Brittan Braddock talk about the fascinating life of British composer and conductor Ruth Gipps. She highlighted especially three of Gipps’s gorgeous works for chamber winds: Seascape, the Wind Octet, and the Wind Sinfonietta.

The afternoon concerts began with the West Texas A&M Symphonic Band, led by Donald Lefevre. This band truly epitomized the best sounds possible in a wind ensemble. They played cleanly, expressively, and with great coloristic and dynamic range (including in the percussion), not to mention impeccable intonation. I gasped at every release, all of which were tiered perfectly to let the bass linger just ever so slightly longer. They played:

Strange Loops – B.J. Brooks

Red Sky – Anthony Barfield (John Shanks, trombone)

Sacred Spaces – John Mackey

Lift Up Thine Ears – Michael Daugherty

This group made every piece shine brilliantly. The Brooks was a brash fanfare. The Barfield showcased the group’s expressive playing as they moved through Barfield’s exquisite, bluesy harmonic textures. He is someone I will pay more attention to going forward. The Mackey was a short barn-burner. The Daugherty showed the composer’s full range, emphasizing the sparkling clarity and color of his orchestrations, and his penchant for creepy lyricism.

The second concert featured the University of Maryland Wind Orchestra, led by Michael Votta. They demonstrated the greatest commitment to chamber music so far, with two small ensemble works, and only one written for a fully instrumented band.

Fanfare and Prayer – Kaoru Wada

Of my dream before me… – Dana Wilson (James Stern, violin)

Lyric for Winds – George Walker, arr. Luci Disano

Multiverse – Clarice Assad

The Wada was a brass and percussion fanfare that brought in new percussion sounds, including especially prayer bowls and pitched gongs. The Wilson foregrounded the violin soloist alongside a mixed wind octet plus string bass and one multi-percussionist. The Walker was a transcription of a string piece for winds and brass only. The Assad reimagined Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring from the perspective of the young girl offered for sacrifice. It was a gestural, largely atonal, pastiche of sound that regularly recalled Stravinsky in a grotesquely distorted fashion.

I neglected to mention yesterday’s Composer Forum, expertly led by Glen Adsit. He did a second one today in which he collected several composers onto a panel and asked targeted questions about each of their music. It was wonderfully informative, and it’s clear that Glen did a TON of work to prepare. Thanks to all the composers (too numerous to name) for sharing with us!

After dinner, the University of Miami Frost Wind Ensemble, led by Robert Carnochan, took the stage. It was a truly joyous performance that featured quite a variety of music.

Bootlegger’s Break – Mason Bates

D’un soir triste – Lili Boulanger (trans. Jack Hontz)

In This Circle – Hilá Plitmann (orch. Christopher Dickey, Hilá Plitmann, soprano)

Passages – Will Healy, lyrics by spiritchild

Dionysiaques – Florent Schmitt, ed. Felix Hauswirth

I was late getting to the hall after a restorative dinner with friends, so I missed hearing the Bates up close. It sounded energetic from the lobby! I managed to grab a front row balcony seat in time for the Boulanger. Both the piece and the performance were truly out of this world. Her music is truly distinct, and I deeply regret that she only lived to 24. The Plitmann began with the composer/soloist walking in from the back of the hall delivering a monologue, which slowly transitioned into music that took us on a personal journey in three movements. Along the way, Plitmann dazzled with her sparkling high range and expressive performance. After an intermission, the band returned for the Healy, which also featured a soprano, two emcees, and a tenor sax soloist. All of this integrated seamlessly and cohesively with the wind band. I sincerely hope to see more wind music from Will Healy, whose musical language fully captured my attention. The concert ended with Dionysiaques, a notoriously impossible piece that this band made sparkle. Noting its date of composition (1913), so close to the Boulanger (1918), I wondered aloud if there was something in the water in Paris around that time that made this music so wonderfully unusual. I left with joy in my heart, looking forward to the final day of the conference tomorrow.