Visual & Performing Arts

Dr. Kourtney R. Austin is Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She earned her Ph.D. in Performing Arts Health at the University of North Texas, and also holds degrees in voice from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and music education from Northwest Missouri State University. Dr. Austin also studied Speech Pathology and Voice Science at the University of Iowa and is a Certified Vocologist. She previously used this expertise in her own business, Heartland Healthy Voices, providing vocal health seminars, voice rehabilitation, private voice lessons, and transgender voice training in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Dr. Austin was a Teaching Fellow at the University of North Texas and has held faculty positions at Midwestern State University, Grayson College, the Community Music School of Webster University, as well as serving as Artistic Director of CHARIS, The St. Louis Women’s Chorus. She is a frequent presenter of performing arts health research throughout the United States and in Australia. Her current research interests include using spectral analysis to quantify characteristics of the vocal onset as it applies to vocal efficiency and fatigue. She has presented on varying topics of performing arts health and voice science all over the world including The Voice Symposium in Shanghai, China; The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Australia; the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia; The Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia; and The Performing Arts Medicine Association International Symposium. In June 2024, Dr. Austin will present her research at the National Association of Teachers of Singing National Conference in Knoxville, TN. She is a current member of PAMA, PAVA, The Voice Foundation, and NATS. 

James Webb Pillars (from a Starry Night) by Peter Meechan 

“It’s not what Van Gogh saw that night, it’s what he felt” – Neil deGrasse Tyson 

At the heart of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s words about Vincent van Gogh’s painting “The Starry Night” is the very essence of what I believe the arts to be when at their most powerful: something intangible, brought to life by a beautiful mind and with wonderful craft, that exists and inspires way beyond the scope of the artist’s imagination. 

Written at a time where the creative arts are being threatened by the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, James Webb’s Pillars takes its inspiration from the juxtaposition of the van Gogh painting and this image of the Pillars of Creation – my favourite image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) – and how technology played a role in the existence of both. 

The invention of the camera, and its rise to prominence in the mid-1800’s, made a significant impact on art and artists. Vincent van Gogh’s dislike for portrait photography is well documented, believing that the resulting picture lacked life and expression of the subject’s character. The new camera technology also led to many artists, whose principal income was generated from painting portraits of wealthy subjects, moving their careers away from painting and into photography in order to continue earning a living. 

For the artists who didn’t turn to photography and continued to paint (often in poverty), the resultant lack of portrait work sparked a new sense of freedom that would become the creative catalyst for works of great imagination and invention. Perhaps the most famous example of this is Van Gogh’s work “The Starry Night” – a painting full of incredible life, energy, and movement. 

Whilst many forms of technology continue to be an enemy of the arts and artists, technology has also been at the heart of the most incredible innovation and has the power to inspire imaginations. The JWST, launched in December 2021, now beams data back to earth that produces the most stunning images of the stars and galaxies that formed the universe following the Big Bang. 

The Pillars of Creation image – taken of a region within the Eagle Nebula, which lies 6500 light-years away – and “The Starry Night” are both full of the life and energy that Van Gogh desired – the lines and movement in his own masterwork, and the JWST image capturing stars being born, dust forming vast pillars reaching out into space, and young stars shining bright as older stars wane. 

James Webb’s Pillars draws on many aspects of the life contained within the JWST image; the joy and beauty of the stars, the silence that the stars and dust exist in, and the new life and violent collisions that create the beauty of the photograph. James Webb’s Pillars is dedicated to my friend, Luke Johnson. 

Canadian-British composer, Peter Meechan, is extensively performed throughout the world. His music has been commissioned, recorded, broadcast and performed by some of the world’s leading symphony orchestras, wind ensembles, brass bands, conductors and soloists, including: “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, The United States Air Force Band, The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own”, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra brass, The Dallas Winds, Black Dyke Brass Band, The Band of the Coldstream Guards, RNCM Wind Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey, Jens Lindemann, Ryan Anthony, David Childs, Steven Mead, Patrick Sheridan, Les Neish, Peter Moore, Linda Merrick, and many more. 

Meechan’s music is featured on over 130 commercial recordings and has been featured at festivals and clinics globally, including the Midwest Clinic, The American Bandmasters Association (ABA) Conference, CBDNA, the International Trumpet Guild, the International Tuba and Euphonium Association, BASBWE conferences, and in 2014 his work “The Legend of King Arthur” was used as the set test piece at the British National Brass Band Championships, held in the Royal Albert Hall, London. His works for brass band have been used as compulsory and own choice selections at music contests across the world. 

Peter was the first ever “Young Composer in Association” with the prestigious Black Dyke Brass band from 2003 – 2006, where he also went on to serve as their “Composer in Residence” for a further season. Meechan also held the position of “Composer in Residence” with The Band of the Coldstream Guards between 2012 – 2015. 

His work Perpetua won the 2021 Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Composition Contest, and Meechan has also been a finalist in the National Band Association William D. Revelli Memorial Composition Contest (Waves Towards the Pebbled Shore). His first concerto for tuba, Episodes and Echoes, won the ITEA Harvey G. Phillips Award for Excellence in Composition. 

In October 2020, Meechan was awarded the CBA (Canadian Band Association) ‘Canadian Composers’ Award’ – only the 9th recipient since the award’s inception in 1991, and in 2022 he was elected into the membership of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. 

He holds an undergraduate degree (BMus Hons) from the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, UK), where he studied with Dr. Anthony Gilbert, Dr. David Horne and Adam Gorb, a Master of Arts (MA) degree and a PhD (composition), both from the University of Salford (Manchester, UK), where he studied with Prof. Peter Graham. 

Peter resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with his wife Michelle (a band teacher) and their miniature dachshund dogs: Stevie and Jurgen (not band teachers), and when not writing music can usually be found watching his beloved Liverpool Football Club. 

-Pete Meechan 

Transit of Venus March by John Philip Sousa 

It is not known whether or not Sousa witnessed either of the two transits of Venus that occurred in his lifetime, but the phenomenon was the basis for the title of this march and also for one of his three novels.

The march received its première at a concert of the U.S. Marine Band on April 19, 1883, with Sousa conducting. The occasion was the unveiling of a statue of Joseph Henry, first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, who had died in 1878. Henry, as president of the National Academy of Sciences, had been responsible for proper observation of the transit of Venus in 1874.

There is nothing in Sousa’s or Henry’s memoirs suggesting that the two were personally acquainted, but it is possible because they both lived in Washington at the same time. Inasmuch as several members of the National Academy of Sciences were present at the unveiling of Henry’s statue, it is likely that the march was intended as a salute to both Henry and the Academy. 

John Philip Sousa was born Nov. 6, 1854, at 636 G Street, SE, Washington, D.C., near the Marine Barracks where his father, Antonio, was a musician in the Marine Band. He received his grammar school education in Washington and for several of his school years enrolled in a private conservatory of music operated by John Esputa, Jr. There he studied piano and most of the orchestral instruments, but his first love was the violin. He gained great proficiency on the violin, and at the age of 13 he was almost persuaded to join a circus band. However, his father intervened and enlisted him as an apprentice musician in the Marine Band. Except for a period of six months, Sousa remained in the band until he was 20. In addition to his musical training in the Marine Band, he studied music theory and composition with George Felix Benkert, a noted Washington orchestra leader and teacher.  

After his discharge from the Marine Corps, Sousa remained in Washington for a time, conducting and playing the violin. He toured with several traveling theater orchestras and moved to Philadelphia in 1876. There he worked as a composer, arranger, and proofreader for publishing houses. Sousa was fascinated by the operetta form and toured with a company producing the musical Our Flirtation, for which he wrote the incidental music and the march. While on tour in St. Louis, he received a telegram offering him the leadership of the Marine Band in Washington. He accepted and reported for duty on Oct. 1, 1880, becoming the band’s 17th Leader.  

The Marine Band was Sousa’s first experience conducting a military band, and he approached musical matters unlike most of his predecessors. He replaced much of the music in the library with symphonic transcriptions and changed the instrumentation to meet his needs. Rehearsals became exceptionally strict, and he shaped his musicians into the country’s premier military band. Marine Band concerts began to attract discriminating audiences, and the band’s reputation began to spread widely.  

Sousa first received acclaim in military band circles with the writing of his march “The Gladiator” in 1886. From that time on he received ever-increasing attention and respect as a composer. In 1888, he wrote “Semper Fidelis.” Dedicated to “the officers and men of the Marine Corps,” it is traditionally known as the “official” march of the Marine Corps.  

In 1889, Sousa wrote the “Washington Post” march to promote an essay contest sponsored by the newspaper; the march was soon adapted and identified with the new dance called the two-step. The “Washington Post” became the most popular tune in America and Europe, and critical response was overwhelming. A British band journalist remarked that since Johann Strauss, Jr., was called the “Waltz King” that American bandmaster Sousa should be called the “March King.” With this, Sousa’s regal title was coined and has remained ever since. Under Sousa the Marine Band also made its first recordings. The phonograph was a relatively new invention, and the Columbia Phonograph Company sought an ensemble to record. The Marine Band was chosen, and 60 cylinders were released in the fall of 1890. By 1897, more than 400 different titles were available for sale, placing Sousa’s marches among the first and most popular pieces ever recorded, and the Marine Band one of the world’s first “recording stars.”  

The immense popularity of the Marine Band made Sousa anxious to take his Marine Band on tour, and in 1891 President Benjamin Harrison gave official sanction for the first Marine Band tour, a tradition which has continued annually since that time, except in times of war and global pandemic. After the second Marine Band tour in 1892, Sousa was approached by his manager, David Blakely, to organize his own civilian concert band, and on July 30 of that year, John Philip Sousa resigned as Director of the Marine Band. At his farewell concert on the White House lawn, Sousa was presented with a handsome engraved baton by members of the Marine Band as a token of their respect and esteem. This baton was returned to the Marine Band by Sousa’s daughters, Jane Priscilla Sousa and Helen Sousa Abert, in 1953. The Sousa baton is now traditionally passed to the new Director of the Marine Band during change of command ceremonies.  

In his 12 years as Leader of the Marine Band, he served under five Presidents, and the experience he gained with the Marine Band would be applied to his civilian band for the next 39 years. With his own band, Sousa’s fame and reputation would grow to even greater heights.  

Sousa’s last appearance before “The President’s Own” was on the occasion of the Carabao Wallow of 1932 in Washington. Sousa, as a distinguished guest, rose from the speaker’s table, took the baton from Director Captain Taylor Branson, and led the orchestra through the stirring strains of “Hands Across the Sea.” John Philip Sousa died on March 6, 1932, at Reading, Pa., where he was scheduled to conduct the Ringgold Band. His body was brought to his native Washington to lie in state in the Band Hall at Marine Barracks. Four days later, two companies of Marines and Sailors, the Marine Band, and honorary pall-bearers from the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps headed the funeral cortege from the Marine Barracks to Congressional Cemetery.  

His music was not the only memorial to John Philip Sousa. In his native city on Dec. 9, 1939, the new Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge across the Anacostia River was dedicated to the memory of the great American composer and bandmaster. More recently, Sousa was enshrined in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1976.  

In a fitting tribute to its 17th Leader, in 1974 the Marine Band rededicated its historic band hall at Marine Barracks as “John Philip Sousa Band Hall.” The bell from the S.S. John Philip Sousa, a World War II Liberty ship, is there. On Nov. 6, 2004, “The March King’s” 150th birthday, “The President’s Own” and 33rd Commandant of the Marine Corps General Michael W. Hagee dedicated the new band hall at Marine Barracks Annex John Philip Sousa Hall. “The President’s Own” concluded his sesquicentennial year on Nov. 5, 2005, by unveiling an eight-foot bronze statue of Sousa outside the band hall. The statue, funded by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, private donor Mickey Gordon, and the John Philip Sousa Foundation, is the only one of its kind. Sculpted by artist Terry Jones, the statue is an enduring testament to the composer’s contributions to the Marine Band.  

Unequalled by his predecessors, John Philip Sousa is responsible for bringing the United States Marine Band to an unprecedented level of excellence: a standard upheld by every Marine Band Director since. But perhaps the most significant tribute to Sousa’s influence on American culture, “The Stars and Stripes Forever” was designated as the national march of the United States on Dec. 11, 1987. A White House memorandum states the march has become “an integral part of the celebration of American life.”

-Paul E. Bierley and the U.S. Marine Band

Symphony No. 6 “The Blue Marble” by Julie Giroux 

Julie Ann Giroux was born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts on December 12, 1961. She graduated from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA in 1984. She started playing piano at 3 years of age and began composing at the age of 8 and has been composing ever since. Her first published work for concert band, published by Southern Music Company, was composed at the age of 13.   

Julie began composing commercially in 1984. She was hired by Oscar winning composer Bill Conti as an orchestrator, her first project with Conti being “North & South” the mini-series. With over 100 film, television and video game credits, Giroux collaborated with dozens of film composers, producers, and celebrities including Samuel Goldwyn, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Madonna, Liza Minnelli, Celene Dion, Paula Abdul, Michael Jackson, Paul Newman, Harry Connick Jr. and many others. Projects she has worked on have been nominated for Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Golden Globe awards. She has won individual Emmy Awards in the field of “Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Direction”. When She won her first Emmy Award, she was the first woman and the youngest person to ever win that award.  She has won it three times. 

Giroux has also published a large category of classical works with emphasis on original compositions for Wind Band which are published by Musica Propria and distributed internationally. She is greatly sought after as a composer and recently completed her 7th Symphony “Titan” which premiered in December 2024. Her music has been recorded and reviewed internationally, receiving top reviews and her music has been performed at major music festivals the world over. 

Giroux has been a true force in a male dominated field and has accrued many previously male only awards. She is a member of ASCAP, The Film Musicians Fund, Kappa Kappa Psi, Tau Beta Sigma, and a member of the American Bandmasters Association. She is a recipient of the Distinguished Service to Music Medal Award, Emmy Awards, and was the first female composer inducted into the American Bandmasters Association in 2009. 

Today, we will hear Giroux’s Symphony No. 6; it is presented in three movements: 

Movement I. The Big Blue Marble. It is often said that the first full image of Earth, “Blue Marble”, taken by Apollo 17 in 1972, was the first full picture of the planet Earth. The picture is actually upside down. It happened sometime between 4:59:05 and 5:08:14 hours after Apollo's launch as they traveled up to 25,000 miles an hour. It is the most reproduced picture in history. It became painstakingly clear to humanity just how small and vulnerable our one and only home actually is. This movement celebrates that home in a variety of ways; think of it as an abbreviated introduction to planet Earth through music. 

Movement II. Voices in Green. I spent hours simply listening to the recordings of the Amazon jungle by the world-renowned sound engineer George Vlad. The recordings were made during the rainy season when humidity is at its highest and birds are the most vocal. The sounds transport you into the heart of the jungle which feels incredibly alive. The exotic calls of the birds and the echoes from other birds of the same species, the insects, the frogs and the rain; you can practically feel and smell the rain. The rain forest has its own music. The density of growth with every shade of green is the backdrop for this beautiful, strange opera. 

I knew I wanted to write music to those sounds. I composed Voices in Green with the Amazon jungle sounds playing as my audio backdrop. It influenced every note and phrase. In my mind and heart, I was there, adding my voice to theirs. Voices in Green can be performed strictly on its own…Think of this movement as a concert taking place in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest. 

Movement III. Let There Be Life. Violence, death, murder, birth, and life: I wanted to capture that commonality with music in the third and final movement. There is a recurring theme throughout the finale. It evolves, much like life on Earth. It moves through the music, transporting us from one musical setting to the next, ending in a majestic, grandiose way. 

The miracle of Earth is life. It is the fragile, silken thread that holds existence together. As with the famous Blue Marble photograph, I hope this symphony reminds people just how frail and beautiful Earth is. 

I hope The Blue Marble fills hearts and minds with a renewed love for our planet, our one and only home. Earth is the one thing we all have in common. It does not belong to us. We belong to it. It is our only home, and we should always treat it as such with every generation leaving it healthier and happier than the way they found it. 

-Program Note by composer 

Dr. Martin I. Gaines proudly serves as the conductor of the UWL Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and Concert Band as well as teaching courses in Conducting, Clarinet, and Music Education. Prior to this posting he served as the Director of Instrumental Studies at Morningside University and the Associate Director of Bands at McNeese State University. He holds degrees in conducting and music education from the University of Arizona (DMA), Middle Tennessee State University (MM), and the historic VanderCook College of Music (BMEd). 

As an active conductor, clinician, and music producer, Dr. Gaines’ most recent recording project David Maslanka: Music for Wind Ensemble was released in January 2021 on the Toccata Classics Label. He has also served as producer for an album featuring the wind orchestra music of Nigel Clarke. Prior to his academic appointments, he also served as the principal conductor for the Arts Express Orchestra in Tucson, Arizona and as the founding conductor of the UArizona chamber ensemble Solar Winds.

Prior to pursuing graduate studies, Dr. Gaines taught middle and high school bands and orchestras for fifteen years in Illinois, Alabama, Georgia, and most recently in Florida. His bands have consistently received top marks from adjudicators and were often featured in clinic performance, e.g. the Southeastern Band Clinic at Troy University (2010) and the University of North Florida Invitational Festival (2010, 2014). He was also named Teacher of the Year in 2015 for Oakleaf High School (FL). Dr. Gaines holds professional memberships in CBDNA, College Music Society, College Orchestra Directors Association, International Conductor’s Guild, NAfME, National Band Association, Tau Beta Sigma, WASBE, and is a Life Member of Kappa Kappa Psi.

Symphonic Band Conductor

Dr. Tammy Fisher is completing her 24th year as a member of the UW–La Crosse Music Faculty. Her responsibilities include directing the Screaming Eagles Marching Band, teaching applied percussion and various music education classes. She also spends time observing teacher candidates in field experiences and student teaching. Fisher is an active musician, performing in theater shows at Viterbo University and with numerous jazz groups in the region. In 2023, Fisher was one of six candidates selected to participate in the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra fundraising “Conductor Wannabe” contest. Her fundraising efforts netted more than $12,000 for the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra and St. Clare’s Health Mission. Most recently Tammy was one of 7 faculty members to receive the Eagle Teaching Excellence Award. This award is driven by student nominations.

Guest Conductor

Ms. Jennifer Schraufnagel teaches Instrumental Music at Tomah Middle School and High School in Tomah, Wisconsin. She directs the 8th Grade Band, the THS Concert Band, the THS Pit Orchestra, co-directs the THS Marching Band, and serves as the Tri-M Music Honor Society faculty advisor.

Jennifer is from Slinger, Wisconsin, and received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Ms. Schraufnagel is completing her Master of Music Education degree with an Instrumental Conducting Certificate through UW-Stevens Point.

Jennifer is an active musician in the community, performing with the Tomah Area Community Theatre, La Crosse Wind Symphony, La Crosse Concert Band, and the La Crosse Community Theatre. Jennifer is a member of the Wisconsin Concert Band Association (WCBA), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and the Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA).

Dr. Jeff Erickson is the Director of Jazz Studies and Instructor of Saxophone at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. Previously he was a Senior Lecturer for the UW Colleges, where he taught studio saxophone, jazz, music theory and aural skills courses for UW-Marathon County, UW-Marshfield, and UW-Online. Prior to teaching in the UW system, he taught saxophone and jazz studies courses at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. He has degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, DePaul University, and a DMA in Jazz Saxophone Performance with a cognate in Classical Saxophone Performance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also busy as a guest artist and clinician at jazz festivals and schools throughout Wisconsin. He is one of just three current Wisconsin university saxophone instructors profiled in the 2018 book Wisconsin Riffs: Jazz Profiles from the Heartland.

His performing experience includes appearances with such artists as Clark Terry, Kurt Elling, Wayne Newton, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Frankie Valli, Bernadette Peters and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. He has also performed professionally with symphony orchestras, touring Broadway shows and been featured on a number of recordings. While living in Chicago he led his own jazz quartet and performed in numerous big bands, including the Big Band of Chicago, Barrett Deems’ big band and the 911 Mambo Orchestra. He has also played with many salsa and merengue bands and served as the musical director for Martin Vicente’s nine-piece afro-salsa group Energia! From 2003-08 he was the lead alto saxophonist and director for The Wisconsin Jazz Orchestra. Currently, Erickson leads his own jazz quartet that performs throughout Wisconsin and is a member of the saxophone quartet Voyageur and the La Crosse Jazz Orchestra. In addition to writing and arranging for jazz ensemble, he writes for his jazz quartet, and  he performed three of his own compositions at the  North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference. He is also active in JEN, the Jazz Education Network, presenting at multiple conferences on jazz and improvisation, including his original research on the use of rhetorical devices in jazz improvisation.

Faust Overture by Emilie Mayer 

Very few audiences today know the music of Emilie Mayer, but in the late 19th century she was one of those rarest people—a female composer whose music was performed frequently and admired by critics. Her path to that fame was a difficult one. Born into a middle-class family in what is today far northwestern Germany, Mayer lost her mother when she was two, and 26 years later, her father died tragically. 

Mayer had studied the piano when she was a child but had never made any effort in the direction of a career in music. Now, perhaps propelled by the family catastrophe, she made the bold decision to study composition. She moved to Stettin (now in Poland) and studied with Carl Loewe, the great singer and composer of songs. Loewe immediately recognized Mayer’s talent, saying “Such a God-given talent as hers has not been bestowed upon any other person I know.” She soon achieved remarkable success when two of her symphonies were performed in Stettin to admiring reviews. In 1847, at age 35, she moved to Berlin to continue her studies with Adolf Bernhard Marx, and three years later an orchestra in that city gave an all-Mayer concert. 

Over the remaining three decades of her life she composed, performed and traveled throughout the German-speaking world, and her music was widely admired. Mayer was prolific; her catalog of works includes one opera, eight symphonies, seven overtures, seven string quartets, twelve cello sonatas and nearly 130 songs. 

And then . . . her music essentially vanished. Much of it had not been published, performances dwindled, and before long she was forgotten; the 1980 New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians made no mention of her at all. Now, very gradually, her music is being rediscovered, performed and recorded. 

The publication of the two parts of Goethe’s Faust (in 1808 and 1832) galvanized composers, who saw in that striving, doomed figure an ideal subject for music. Emilie Mayer composed her Faust Overture in 1880, when she was 68, and it premiered in February 1881 in Berlin; further performances followed in Karlsbad, Prague, and Vienna. 

Mayer casts her work as a concert overture rather than as a tone poem that “tells” the story of Faust, Mephistopheles and Marguerite: A slow introduction gives way to an Allegro in sonata form based on several different themes, and the overture moves from its dark opening in B minor to a resounding conclusion in B major.  

It is tempting to seem to make out certain figures in this abstract music: Is the sinuous introduction a portrait of Mephistopheles? Is the vigorous Allegro a depiction of the striving Faust? Is the lyric secondary material associated with Marguerite? The only clue that Mayer offers comes in the overture’s closing pages: the moment the music moves from B minor to B major, she writes in the score: Sie ist gerettet (“She is saved”), a reference to Marguerite’s redemption in Part II of Goethe’s Faust. Otherwise, her powerful overture remains abstract, a work inspired by Faust rather than attempting to depict its events in music. 

-Note by Eric Bromberger 

Lyric Metal by Brian Balmages  

The inspiration for this unique work was Benjamin Michael Albro, a student at Emmaus High School who passed away all too soon after a tragic accident. Ben played cello in the orchestra, and I was told he really enjoyed playing my music. I also discovered that Ben was a bigt fan of heavy metal and truly adored the Finnish cello quartet “Apocalyptica,” a group that fuses classical training with high energy rock and metal music. Given my own tendency to draw on various styles of music as I write, this seemed to be the perfrect opportunity to explore the world of heavy metal in context of a string orchestra. 

Brian Balmages is known worldwide as a composer and conductor who equally spans the worlds of orchestral, band, and chamber music. His music has been performed by groups ranging from professional symphony orchestras to elementary schools in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Sydney Opera House, Toronto Centre for the Arts, and many more. He is a recipient of the A. Austin Harding Award from the American School Band Directors Association, won the 2020 NBA William D. Revelli Composition Contest with his work Love and Light, and was awarded the inaugural James Madison University Distinguished Alumni Award from the School of Visual and Performing Arts. In the same year, he was commissioned by his other alma mater, the University of Miami, to compose music for the inauguration of the institution’s 6th president, Dr. Julio Frenk. His music was also performed as part of the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service, which was attended by both President Obama and Vice President Biden. 

 As a conductor, Mr. Balmages enjoys regular engagements with all-state and regional ensembles as well as university and professional groups throughout the world. Notable guest conducting appearances have included the Midwest Clinic, Western International Band Clinic, Maryborough Music Conference (Australia), College Band Directors Conference, American School Band Directors Association National Conference, numerous state ASTA conferences, Teatro dell’Aquila (Italy), and others. He is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association and has taught instrumental conducting at Towson University where he also served as Assistant Director of Bands and Orchestras. Currently, he is Director of MakeMusic Publications and Digital Education for Alfred and MakeMusic. 

-Note by the composer. 

Khromorphia by Katahj Copley 

Khromorphia is a captivating musical journey inspired by the fusion of Khroma, the goddess of colors, and Morpheus, the god of dreams. This rhapsody delves into the realm of dreams using music to paint the vibrant tapestry of a dreaming mind. The piece begins with an ethereal fogginess, mimicking the hazy onset of a dream, where reality and imagination intertwine; the dream gains clarity, revealing a lucid and vivid dreamscape. Colors dance and weave together in a kaleidoscopic display, mirroring the influence of Khroma.  

Like much of my music, this piece infuses orchestral grandeur with the rhythmic beats and harmonic language of R&B and hip hop. This dynamic fusion creates an atmosphere of ecstasy and exhilaration, elevating the emotional journey within the dream. 

Georgia native, Katahj Copley (he/him/his) premiered his first work, Spectra, in 2017 and hasn’t stopped composing since. As of now, Katahj has written over 100 works, including pieces for chamber ensembles, wind ensembles, and orchestra. His compositions have been performed and commissioned by universities, organizations, and professional ensembles, including the Cavaliers Brass, California Band Director Association, Admiral Launch Duo, and “The President’s Own” Marine Band. Katahj has also received critical acclaim internationally with pieces being performed in Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and Australia.  

Katahj received two Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of West Georgia in Music Education and Composition in 2021. In 2023, he received his Masters in Music Composition from the University of Texas at Austin - studying with Omar Thomas and Yevgeniy Sharlat. He is currently studying music composition at Michigan State University.  

 Aside from composing, Katahj is an excited educator who teaches young musicians the joy of discovering music and why music is a phenomenal language. 

“Music for me has always been this impactful thing in my life. It can soothe, it can enrage, it can quiet, and it can evoke emotions that are beyond me and this world we live in. I believe that music is the ultimate source of freedom and imagination. The most freedom I have had as a musician was through composing. Composition is like me opening my heart and showing the world my drive, my passion, and my soul.” 

-Note by the composer. 

Pavane Pour une Infante Defunte by Maurice Ravel 

Born to a music-loving family, Ravel attended France's premier music college, the Paris Conservatoire; he was not well regarded by its conservative establishment, whose biased treatment of him caused a scandal. After leaving the conservatoire Ravel found his own way as a composer, developing a style of great clarity, incorporating elements of baroque, neoclassicism and, in his later works, jazz. He liked to experiment with musical form, as in his best-known work, Boléro (1928), in which repetition takes the place of development. He made some orchestral arrangements of other composers' music, of which his 1922 version of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is the best known.  

As a slow and painstaking worker, Ravel composed fewer pieces than many of his contemporaries. Among his works to enter the repertoire are pieces for piano, chamber music, two piano concertos, ballet music, two operas, and eight song cycles; he wrote no symphonies or religious works. Many of his works exist in two versions: a first, piano score and a later orchestration. Some of his piano music, such as Gaspard de la nuit (1908), is exceptionally difficult to play, and his complex orchestral works such as Daphnis et Chloé (1912) require skillful balance in performance.  

Ravel was among the first composers to recognize the potential of recording to bring their music to a wider public. From the 1920s, despite limited technique as a pianist or conductor, he took part in recordings of several of his works; others were made under his supervision.  

The composer was known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects. Along with Claude Debussy, he was one of the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music.  

Pavane pour une infante defunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess) was commissioned of the 24-year-old Ravel in 1899 as a somewhat whimsical salon piece for piano and premiered in 1902 by Ricardo Vines to much acclaim. The composer was a bit bewildered by the work’s popularity, but nonetheless orchestrated it in 1910 to even greater success. 

With the Pavane, by contrast, we see his love of older musical forms from the Renaissance, in this case a moderately paced court dance. He chose the title because he was fond of the sonority of the French words (“infante defunte”) and the piece was not meant to be a funeral lament for a child. Rather, Ravel hoped to evoke the scene of a young Spanish princess delighting in this stately dance in quiet reverie, as would have been painted by Velazquez in the Spanish court. 

What the Pavane gives us is Ravel’s gift for exquisite melody and his mastery of orchestration. Its perfectly balanced sections between strings, woodwinds and golden glowing brass create a quiescent, inner-splendor; dance-like but meditative. Ravel’s cleverness with pizzicato propels the dance along with graceful but slightly shuffling feet; the harp glissandos swoop with the young dancer’s lifting arms. 

-Program Note by Max Derrickson 

Sabre Dance from the ballet, Gayane by Aram Khachaturian 

Aram Khachaturian remains one of the most brilliant composers to come out of the former Soviet Union. So highly regarded was Khachaturian in Russia that his obituary was written by none other than Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Communist Party at the time. One of the pallbearers at the funeral was the Premier of the Soviet Union, Aleksey Kosygin.  

The composer described his native Tbilisi as “a city rich in a music tradition of its own. From boyhood I was steeped in an atmosphere of folk music. As far back as I can remember, there were always Armenian, Georgian and Azerbaijanian folk tunes played and sung … The original substance of these impressions, formed in an early childhood in close communion with the people, has always remained the natural soil nourishing my work.” With these words in mind, it is not surprising to find that most of Khachaturian’s music is thoroughly steeped in modal melodies, driving rhythms, exhilarating dance patterns and instrumental combinations reminiscent of folk orchestras of his Armenian heritage. He lies buried in Yerevan, Armenia. 

Sabre Dance is Khachaturian’s single best-known piece. The composer dashed it off in a single evening and was greatly surprised by the enormous popularity it achieved. It is now commonly used by figure skaters, at circus performances, and in numerous films, animated films, TV series, video games and commercials. It exists in almost countless arrangementsfor orchestra, band, several for solo piano, and one for violin and piano by Jascha Heifetz. 

-Note by Robert Markow 

Dr. Martin I. Gaines proudly serves as the conductor of the UWL Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and Concert Band as well as teaching courses in Conducting, Clarinet, and Music Education. Prior to this posting he served as the Director of Instrumental Studies at Morningside University and the Associate Director of Bands at McNeese State University. He holds degrees in conducting and music education from the University of Arizona (DMA), Middle Tennessee State University (MM), and the historic VanderCook College of Music (BMEd). 

As an active conductor, clinician, and music producer, Dr. Gaines’ most recent recording project David Maslanka: Music for Wind Ensemble was released in January 2021 on the Toccata Classics Label. He has also served as producer for an album featuring the wind orchestra music of Nigel Clarke. Prior to his academic appointments, he also served as the principal conductor for the Arts Express Orchestra in Tucson, Arizona and as the founding conductor of the UArizona chamber ensemble Solar Winds.

Prior to pursuing graduate studies, Dr. Gaines taught middle and high school bands and orchestras for fifteen years in Illinois, Alabama, Georgia, and most recently in Florida. His bands have consistently received top marks from adjudicators and were often featured in clinic performance, e.g. the Southeastern Band Clinic at Troy University (2010) and the University of North Florida Invitational Festival (2010, 2014). He was also named Teacher of the Year in 2015 for Oakleaf High School (FL). Dr. Gaines holds professional memberships in CBDNA, College Music Society, College Orchestra Directors Association, International Conductor’s Guild, NAfME, National Band Association, Tau Beta Sigma, WASBE, and is a Life Member of Kappa Kappa Psi.

Dr. Christopher M. Hathaway, conductor and singer, is Professor and Director of Choral Studies at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. His responsibilities at UWL include conducting the university’s premier choral ensemble, the UWL Concert Choir, as well as the Treble Chorus, and Choral Union. In addition to his responsibilities leading the choral ensembles, Dr. Hathaway is the Director of Choral Music Education where he teaches classes in choral conducting, choral techniques, and choral methods. He also serves as the supervisor for the undergraduate choral music education students in their field work and student teaching.

Before moving to La Crosse, Hathaway’s conducting engagements include leading the Women’s Chorus at the University of North Texas and serving as assistant to Dr. Richard Sparks and the internationally acclaimed UNT Collegium. While in Texas, Hathaway also served as Assistant Conductor to Dr. Jerry McCoy and the Fort Worth Chorale. During the 2013-2015 seasons, Dr. Hathaway served as the Assistant Conductor for The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay: the official symphony chorus for the Florida Orchestra. In this position, he assisted with the preparation for performances including Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, Fauré's Requiem, Duruflé’s Requiem, Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, and Orff's Carmina Burana. 

Prior to his graduate work, Hathaway served as a choir director in the school systems of Kalamazoo and Otsego, Michigan. Choirs under his direction consistently achieved the highest professional ratings at both the district and state levels.

Dr. Hathaway earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting at the University of North Texas and a dual Master’s of Music in Choral Conducting and Vocal Performance from The University of South Florida. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University in Music Education where he studied with Dr. Joe Miller.