This semester was all about taking big swings. Not everything made it out of the park, so to speak, but every group I had the pleasure of working with saw obvious growth and had fun doing it.
To kick off the season, the Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble presented its Pops program on Sunday, January 22 at 3pm at the Oneonta High School auditorium where I once again shared the podium with Amy Hoxie.
Amy conducted:
Fiddler on the Roof – Jerry Bock, arr. Barker
Spain – Chick Corea, arr. Murtha
Stevie Wonder in Concert – Stevie Wonder, arr. Murtha
Swingin’ Songs of Yesterday – various, arr. Lowden
I conducted:
March of the Sun-Dried Tomatoes – Julie Giroux
Encanto – Lin Manuel Miranda, arr. Murtha
Wayfaring Stranger – Christopher Nelson
Country Gardens – Percy Grainger, arr. Sousa
The Music Man – Meredith Willson, arr. Green
On February 3 and 4, I traveled to Fulton County, NY for their All County Band:
Flourish for Wind Band – Ralph Vaughan Williams
Brooklyn Air – Michael Markowski
New Wade N’ Water – Adolphus Hailstork
This excellent crew was so good that they could play a chunk of this music without me. Their Brooklyn Air was truly special. And they learned Flourish at the last minute, without having the parts ahead of time – I brought them to the first rehearsal myself!
On February 15-18, I went to the CBDNA National Conference in Athens, GA, where I gave a brief presentation about Parhelion by Roshanne Etezady. In addition, 6 Hartwick students came with me to be in the Intercollegiate Band. We all had a FABULOUS time, which I chronicled in a series of posts:
On March 1, I returned to my alma mater, Coginchaug Regional High School in Durham, CT, to take part in their district-wide band day. It was my first time back in 15 years, and it was just an incredible experience! I shared the stage with band kids from grades 5-12, and got to reconnect with the community that nurtured my early musical development. To top it all off, I saw both of my high school band directors (now both gleefully retired) and got some great photos with them and the current staff. It was a truly memorable day!
On March 3-5, I went to Syracuse, NY for the NYSBDA Symposium, featuring Honor Bands, presentations, and the best state’s worth of band directors imaginable. Full disclosure: I curated the whole thing in my role as NYSBDA’s First Vice President. I was also elected President of the organization, to start this summer. I look forward to serving the incredible band community of New York state for the next two years!
All of this happened before the Hartwick Wind Ensemble even got started! We presented our first concert on March 9. This special event took place at the Foothills Performing Arts and Community Center in Oneonta, and was be themed around “Striving for Peace.” A highlight was having composer Aakash Mittal in residence with us:
Hands Across the Sea – John Philip Sousa
Simple Gifts: Four Shaker Songs – Frank Ticheli
Peace Dancer – Jodie Blackshaw
Give Us This Day – David Maslanka
On March 17 and 18, I went Oneida County, NY for their Junior High All County Band. They were a supremely energetic and talented group of 7th-9th graders in an absolutely stunning hall.
The Cave You Fear – Michael Markowski
Somewhere – Leonard Bernstein, arr. Brown
Halcyon Hearts – Katahj Copley
I went to the NAfME Eastern Division conference in Rochester on April 13-16, which included some Hartwick booth time and a presentation with the Hartwick Brass Ensemble, not to mention a couple of research poster presentations.
The Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble returned to the Foothills Center for its “Encounters with the Wild”-themed Spring Concert on April 30:
Amy Hoxie conducted:
Three Ayres from Gloucester – Hugh Stuart
Mystery on Mena Mountain – Julie Giroux
Courage for Winds – Adrienne Albert
I conducted:
Lads of Wamphray – Percy Grainger
Symphonic Dance no. 3: Fiesta – Clifton Williams (Robin Linaberry, guest conductor)
Godzilla Eats Las Vegas – Eric Whitacre
The Whitacre was an absolute highlight, featuring a slideshow made by Kevin Joseph and Eryn Anderson, with some last minute confetti and a some real-live celebratory shots on-stage. Alas, Godzilla still triumphed in the end (as always).
Finally, the Hartwick Wind Ensemble returned to the Anderson Theater with its Senior Choice concert on May 2:
Halcyon Hearts – Katahj Copley (conducted by Heidi Collischonn)
The Seal Lullaby – Eric Whitacre (for Tristan Bachorik, conducted by Louis Doherty)
Gandalf – Johan de Meij (for Paige Eaton)
Night on Fire – John Mackey (for Avery Piefer, conducted by Tristan Bachorik)
Molly on the Shore – Percy Grainger (for Matthew Silva)
Symphony no. 1 – Claude T. Smith (for Louis Doherty)
Slava! – Leonard Bernstein (for Eddie Cullenen)
You can see that this is a TON of CHALLENGING music. But these Hartwick students truly rose to the challenge, leaving the class of 2023 with a performance to remember forever. Congrats, everyone, on a truly bonkers, take-no-prisoners semester!