Hello from the CBDNA National Convention! This is that magical time ever other year when college band directors all over the USA and beyond gather to recharge the artistic batteries and carouse. This year, we are at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, home of steers and (looks around) BBQ and Tex-Mex. The main conference events are downtown at the Worthington Hotel. I came EARLY Wednesday morning with 3 Hartwick College students who will be playing in the Intercollegiate Band. While here, I’ll try to give brief synopses of all the concerts and sessions I attend. So let’s dive in.
The first session on Wednesday afternoon was a thoughtfully-constructed hour devoted to repertoire for small bands. The TCU Symphonic Band shared the following with us:
Huntingtower – Ottorino Respighi
Lightning Round – Kevin Day
and more!
Dinner was at the amazing Joe T. Garcia’s with some great friends from all corners of North America. Back at the hotel, evening activities included a keynote from Bob Duke and a report on the CBDNA Music Education Survey. There followed a fabulous terrace reception!
Events picked up on Thursday, starting with a session about collaborating with choirs, followed by introduction to the music of Lauren Coons through Christopher Ramos’s clinic on indeterminacy in band music (something that has grabbed my interest in recent years). I also learned about Blas Emilio Atehortua for the very first time, thanks to Ruben Dario Gomez’s session. The session on Gled Adsit’s ASPIRE commissioning project was especially inspiring. It has already commissioned middle and high school level music from a dozen composers!
The concerts began in the afternoon at Van Cliburn Hall, beginning with the outstanding University of Tennessee at Knoxville Wind Ensemble directed by John Zastoupil. Their repertoire:
Brilliant Brushstrokes – Ryan Lindveit (world premiere)
The Bird-While – Gala Flagello (premiere of this version)
Some treasures are heavy with human tears – John Mackey
Sinfonia – Zhou Tian
We all headed to the band rehearsal hall to hear Brian Messier interview Arturo Marquez, one of the preeminent names in Mexican music, and the composer of the amazing Danzon no. 2, which nearly everyone in the room had played or conducted at some point! He was approachable and funny, and I was thrilled to be able to introduce myself and shake his later!
The second concert featured Henry Dorn and the St. Olaf Band, a wonderfully energetic and expressive group from all majors across their campus. They played:
Out of the Shadows – Henry Dorn
Starry Ocean – Shuying Li
Engima – David Biedenbender
Be Thou My Vision – Travis Cross (a St. Olaf alum!)
Troubled Water – Carlos Simon (world premiere), with trombonist Kenneth Thompkins
Rocky Point Holiday – Ron Nelson
There followed the first of the three sessions with Marianne Ploger, a legendary ear training guru. I LOVED her, but boy did my brain hurt afterwards!
After a dinner of Korean BBQ chicken with some (mostly) Eastern Division friends, we returned for the night’s final concert with Eugene Corporon and the North Texas Wind Symphony. The sound they produced was just simply incredible, with amazing playing, great balance, world-class expressivity, and phenomenal repertoire choices that showed off all of the above.
Concerto for Wind Ensemble – Robert Spittal
Symphony no. 2 “The Road Is Life” – James David
Medusa – Jocelyn Hagen with soprano soloist Molly Fillmore
Fantastic Dreams – Frank Ticheli
Fifteen: Symphonic Fantasy on the Art of Andy Warhol – Michael Daugherty
The entire concert was truly excellent, and the Daugherty was a highlight for me, especially its dark yet sweetly lyrical second movement, a tribute to Elizabeth Taylor.