Elliott’s Hardware, a favorite institution in Dallas and a long-time sponsor of The Dallas Wind Symphony, inspires people to create things.  Composer-in-Residence John Gibson is no exception.  His latest composition, “Man Dreams in Hardware,” is played on instruments constructed from items found on the shelves at Elliott’s.  Imagine the Sawsaphone, the Patuba and Batuba, and the PVCiccolo!  Join Professor Carol as she talks with Gibson about his sweeping theme: God, Man, and Hardware.

We take a journey through the Arabian Nights, visit the Roman Goddess of the Dawn, and thrill to the tragic fate of Spanish seductress Carmen.

Works discussed: Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade; John Mackey, Aurora Awakes; François Bourne, Carmen Fantasy

The Wind Symphony of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra is once again joining forces with The Dallas Wind Symphony. The music of Norman Dello Joio will be part of this traditional event, and has its own story to tell.

Frank Ticheli is a superstar composer in the world of Wind Music. Performers, audiences, and reviewers love the optimism, energy, and spontaneity of his music. Yet Professor of Composition at USC Ticheli must also teach the creative process. His observations offer insight into his works.

Professor Carol traces the path of film music up to the famous scores of master composer John Williams.  His ability to use “just a few notes” to intensify drama has captured our imaginations for four decades.

To launch the 2010-2011 season, Professor Carol talks “clarinet” with one of the original members of the Dallas Wind Symphony: Regents Professor James Gillespie of The University of North Texas. A virtuoso performer, master teacher, competition judge, and long-time editor of The Clarinet Journal, Dr. Gillespie performed as soloist in Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Concert Piece for Clarinet” at their very first concert — a program that is being recreated to celebrate the DWS’s 25th Anniversary.

American composer William Bolcom has made a lot of ears happy through decades of composing, recording, and performing.  A triple-Grammy winner and tireless advocate for American music, he’s helped to revive the American songbook, particularly in league with his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris.  He was instrumental in restoring Scott Joplin’s music to the public, and has created an eclectic and appealing legacy of compositions in all genres.

Works discussed: Charles Harris, After the Ball is Over; William Bolcom, Songs of Innocence and of Experience (texts William Blake), Concert Suite for Alto Saxophone and Band, Graceful Ghost Rag.

What’s this program about?
Sammy Nestico. That name rings in the hearts of bandsmen, swing dancers, fans of movie and TV scores, and generations of music students. Who is this man with his broad smile and open heart, this man who has played with the best, arranged and composed for the best, and is still busy adding to his creative legacy?

Works discussed: Nestico, “Dark Orchid,” “88 Basie Street,” “Good Swing Wenceslas,” “Time Stream”

Igor Stravinsky’s fairy-tale ballet The Firebird is filled with magical themes, opulent color, and provocative special effects. This program tells the story of Firebird and the Ballets russes, the brilliant theatrical company headed by Sergei Diaghilev that created and staged the work in Paris in 1910. The United States Military Academy (West Point) Band joins forces with the Dallas Wind Symphony for this concert.

Words discussed: Stravinsky, The Firebird Suite

What happens when you take a wind ensemble and add the most overpowering wind instrument of all, the pipe organ? On Tuesday, November 17, the Dallas Wind Symphony, the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Wind Ensemble, and organist Mary Preston join forces.

Titles are funny things, and Paul Richards knows how to grab your attention with titles like “A Butterfly Coughs in Africa” and “Falling on Lobsters in the Dark.” But he holds your attention with a rich palette of innovative and engaging sounds. The Dallas Wind Symphony will perform his concerto “Snake in the Garden” in its next concert, and you’ll be tempted to become a Richards fan.

Works discussed: Paul Richards, Snake in the Garden

What’s this program about?
Carl Orff selected vivid poems from a Medieval manuscript and super-charged them with color and energy to create the mega-hit “Carmina Burana” in 1937. An innovative music educator and proponent of Eurhythmics, Orff poured his understanding of natural melody and rhythm into this theatrical work, a spectacle for ear and eye.

Works discussed: Carl Orff, Carmina Burana

British conductor Timothy Reynish is a great promoter of wind bands and a commissioner of new music for wind bands.  He has conducted many esteemed orchestras, and taught conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.  Maestro Reynish talks to Professor Carol about guest conducting the season finale of the Dallas Wind Symphony, the program of British wind music, his commitment to new music, and the always entertaining distinctions between the Americans and the Brits.

Works discussed: Adam Gorb, Dances from Crete; Kenneth Hesketh, Masque; Guy Woolfenden, Illyrian Dances; Daniel Basford, Arkendale; Percy Grainger, Marching Song of Democracy

What’s this program about?
“Marches in March” is full of traditional and unexpected music—marches from the ragtime era, marches for circuses, sultans, bullfights, and films, as well as a new march by David Lovrien and the wind-band premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s Concerto for Flute with soloist Melinda Wilson, Principal Flutist with the Dallas Wind Symphony.

Works discussed: John Philip Sousa, Semper Fidelis; Scott Joplin, Combination March; Gaetano Donizetti, March for the Sultan Abdul Medjid; Gioacchino Rossini, March for the Sultan Abdul Medjid; Johannes Hanssen, Valdres March; Lowell Liebermann, Concerto for Flute; John Williams, March from 1941 and Olympic Fanfare and Theme; Pascual Marquiña, Cielo Andaluz; David Lovrien, The Midwesterner; Karl King, Barnum and Bailey’s Favorite

What’s this program about?
Unless you’ve mastered time travel, it’s pretty hard nowadays to hear these big-band classics played as they were – back when Tommy Dorsey was swinging with the tune “Well, Git It.” But when top-notch players of the Dallas Wind Symphony take on these tunes, they’ve got the chops to swing to the max. Add in a few poodle skirts and spontaneous dancing in the aisles, and the stage is set for a terrific evening.

So what’s on this program?
As you might expect, traditional treasures by Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Bennie Goodman, Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, and . . . Sergei Prokofiev?

What’s this program about?
David Kehler will conduct the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Wind Symphony as it joins forces with the Dallas Wind Symphony on the upcoming side-by-side concert. Kehler discusses how the young people get involved with the professional ensemble, the differences in conducting youth and professional ensembles, and the music of David Maslanka and Eric Whitacre.

Works discussed: Eric Whitacre, Ghost Train Trilogy; David Maslanka, Give Us This Day – A Short Symphony for Band

What’s this program about?
The Dallas Wind Symphony performs a concert entirely of American music running the gamut from show music to patriotic tunes to new pieces from some of America’s leading wind-band composers.

Works discussed
Stephen Bryant, Stampede; Morton Gould, American Salute; John Gibson, American Anthem; Fisher Tull, Rhapsody for Trumpet and Symphonic Band; Ron Nelson, Passacaglia on B-A-C-H; Leonard Bernstein, Three Dance Episodes from On the Town.

Carol found the U.S. Marine Drum & Bugle Corps warming up for a concert at the Texas State Fair and took that opportunity to ask Sgt. Kyle Baker about the organization’s mission and its performances at the Fair.

U.S. Marine Drum & Bugle Corps from Carol Reynolds on Vimeo.

What’s this program about?
There isn’t exactly a Top 40 for the Band World. But if there were, every piece on this concert would be high on the list.

Works discussed:
Clifton Williams, Fanfare and Allegro; Vaclav Nehlybel, Symphonic Movements; Holst, Second Suite in F; Milhaud, Suite Francaise; Persichetti, Symphony for Band, Op. 69; Varese, Integrales

What’s this program about?
Professor Carol shows how composers use nationalist elements to take listeners on a journey across the Global Soundscape. She highlights colorful works by French, American, and Russian composers.

Works discussed: Francois Poulenc, Suite Francaise; Ron Nelson, Rocky Pointe Holiday; Carl Friedemann, Slavonic Rhapsody No. 1; Modest Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition

What’s this program about?

Major Jim Keene took his musical training and talents into the Army, becoming conductor of the premier Army musical ensembles and now commanding the U.S. Army School of Music in Little Creek, Virginia. Professor Carol spoke with her former graduate student when he returned to Dallas to conduct the Dallas Wind Symphony’s Fourth of July concert. Major Keene talks about musical life in the military, performances at state events, and the role of musical ensembles in supporting the troops and representing the United States throughout the world.

What’s this program about?

Enter the musical world of Sir Malcolm Arnold, a world of brisk expression and energy, evocative soundscape, precise instrumentation, and winsome melody. A world of richly colored, well crafted, deeply satisfying sound.

Many people discover Malcolm Arnold through his sets of appealing dances and through his film scores, especially Bridge on the River Kwai.

Technorati Profile

What’s this program about?

We think of West Side Story as Bernstein’s musical, but it needed director and choreographer Jerome Robbins, scriptwriter Arthur Laurents, and lyricist Stephen Sondheim to bring all of the elements together. West Side Story was a dividing line in each of the collaborators’ lives. It launched Sondheim’s career. Bernstein never again wrote anything like it.

“The chief problem,” Bernstein wrote, was “to tread the fine line between opera and Broadway, between realism and poetry, ballet and ‘just dancing,’ abstract and representational.” Featuring jazz and Latin forms, and songs too operatic for actors without trained voices, the collaborators agreed to preserve the “kid” quality by casting teens rather than seasoned professionals.

Works discussed: Bernstein, West Side Story

What’s this program about?

Was it the great tunes, the snappy lyrics, or both? George Gershwin’s fabulous songs are a treasured part of American music. His Rhapsody in Blue, theater works American in Paris and Porgy and Bess, brought him celebrity status and changed the course of American music. After his premature death, his brother Ira carried on the legacy working with the Library of Congress to ensure that these musical treasures are ours today. Professor Carol surveys the life and works of Gerswhin.

Works discussed: Rhapsody in Blue, Songs, Three Preludes for Piano

What’s this program about?
Music – the revitalizing force that keeps life energized, toes tapping, and the soul young at heart. Young players take the stage as the Dallas Wind Symphony combines forces with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Wind Symphony to perform works by Paul Hindemith, Frank Ticheli, Charles Rochester Young, John Williams, and Percy Grainger.

Works discussed: Young, Tempered Steel; Ticheli, Blue Shades; Hindemith, Symphonic Metamorphosis

What’s this program about?

Richard Wagner was, and remains, one of the most intense and controversial figures of all time. For those who love Wagner’s music, Wagner becomes an obsession. Wagner understood and glorified the sound of wind instruments, especially brass, and transcriptions of Wagner’s operatic music have made highly effective and enjoyable arrangements for wind band. That’s how Wagner became a band geek.

Works discussed: Wagner’s Rienzi, Lohengrin, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung

What’s this program about?

In today’s classical music world, there are not many composers who can stir up the excitement that might have accompanied the premiere of a new work by Brahms. But John Mackey is a composer who can. He has a popular following from all over the world. The Dallas Wind Symphony collaborated with a group of wind bands to commission Mackey’s new Concerto for Soprano Sax and Wind Ensemble. Mackey dedicated the work to Don Fabian, principal saxophonist of the Dallas Wind Symphony, and Professor Carol talks to Fabian about the upcoming premiere.

Works discussed: John Mackey’s Concerto for Soprano Sax and Wind Ensemble

What’s this program about?
Ottorino Respighi was not at war with tonality or tradition, and his works have consequently been denigrated at times as “crowd pleasers.”  Although he wrote successful concertos, operas, and ballets that were widely performed in his day, he is known primarily for his Roman trilogy: Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome, and Roman Festivals. Professor Carol takes a close look at Roman Festivals and the current revival of interest in Respighi’s works.

Works discussed: Respighi’s Roman Festivals, Pines of Rome, Fountains of Rome, Laud of the Nativity

The Respighi Foundation
The Resphigi Society

Further reading: Elsa Respighi. Ottorino Rspighi. His Life-Story Arranged By Elsa Respighi. Translated by Gwyn Morris. London: Ricordi, 1962.

What’s this program about?
Professor Carol talks with Mary Preston, the resident organist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, about the Lay Family Concert Organ. The organ built by C.B. Fisk for the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is one of the finest instruments ever built. Mary Preston joins the Dallas Wind Symphony in a concert to be featured on Michael Barone’s syndicated radio show “Pipedreams.”

Works Discussed: Hindemith Kammermusik No. 7; Walton “Crown Imperial”; Guilmant Finale from Sonata in D Minor

Where you can find:
At the Meyerson
Mary Preston plays Marcel Dupre
Pomp and Pipes

What’s this program about?
Military music inspires the troops, facilitates maneuver, intimidates the enemy, sends signals, marks daily events of camp life, entertains the troops in their leisure time, and comprises an important part of the pageantry and tradition of military life.

Works Discussed: Scotland the Brave, Yankee Doodle, Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio, Bugle Calls, The Army Song

Where you can find:
U.S. Army Field Band: From Sea to Shining Sea
Frederick Fennell: Music of the Civil War
The Edinburgh Military Tattoo: Bagpipe Marches of Scotland
Farmer, The World of Military Music

What’s this program about?
Carol interviews Dean Bouras, arranger for the Dallas Wind Symphony Big Band concerts, and John Trapani, leader of the John Trapani Big Band about the era, the music, and its popularity today.

Works Discussed: Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Norman Leyden

Where you can find:
Big Band Collection
Big Band Magic

What’s this program about?
Student players in the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Wind Symphony join the professionals of the Dallas Wind Symphony for a “side by side” concert, featuring music of Dmitri Shostakovich, Paul Hindemith, Donald Grantham, Dan Welcher, and Giovanni Gabrieli.

Where you can find:
Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphoses
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5

What’s this program about?
Professor Carol continues her interview of John Corigliano and Jerry Junkin. Corigliano talks about his approach to composition and how he, and other top composers, are turning to wind bands for an exciting new sound.

Works Discussed: Corigliano, Circus Maximus

What’s this program about?
Professor Carol interviews two friends and collaborators, composer John Corigliano and Maestro Jerry Junkin. Circus Maximus, Coriglian’s explosive third symphony, vividly portrays ancient Rome’s fascination with perpetual entertainment and our own culture’s similar obsession.

Works Discussed: Corigliano, Circus Maximus

Where you can find:
John Corigliano’s Altered States
John Corigliano’s Red Violin
John Corigliano’s Concerto for Clarinet

What’s this program about?
Professor Carol interviews Groucho, the singing parrot who stole the show at the Dallas Wind Symphony’s 2006 season opener. Groucho talks about his life on stage and reprises his performance at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

Works Discussed: Foster, Camp Town Races; Cohan, Yankee Doodle Dandy; Alouette

What’s this program about?
Percy Grainger’s life story reveals a most unusual personality who left an enduring legacy as a virtuoso pianist, an inventor of instruments, a collector of English folk songs, and a composer of music for wind band.

Works Discussed: Grainger, Lincolnshire Posy, The Immovable Do, Molly on the Shore.

Where you can find:
Percy Grainger’s Great Symphonic Band Music
Frederick Fennell – Eastman Wind Ensemble
Percy Grainger Biography – John Bird

What’s this program about?
Professor Carol explains various uses of dance forms: the light-hearted dances used by Rossini to strike a contrast with the serious dramatic action of William Tell, the tango combined by John Mackey with machine music, and the Renaissance dance forms comprising Susato’s Danserye.

Works Discussed: Rossini, William Tell; Mackey, Redline Tango; Honegger, Pacific 231; Susato, The Danserye.

Where you can find:
The Best of Rossini
Redline Tango
Pacific 231
Susato Danserye

What’s this program about?
The Dallas Wind Symphony is the leading professional civilian band in the United States. Professor Carol interviews one of the ensemble’s saxophonists, David Lovrien, about Sousa, the DWS web site, podcasting, playing under Maestro Jerry Junkin, and more.