Georgia State University Perimeter College

Community Wind Ensemble

Virtual Concert | Spring 2021

The Spring 2021 Virtual Concert is dedicated to the healthcare workers of the Greater Metro Atlanta Area as a small token of appreciation
for your extraordinary efforts throughout the past year.
Thank you for making our world a safer place.

Please explore our concert selections and program notes below. If you like, you can view the concert as a continuous playlist on YouTube
There’s more music available! Here’s the Winter 2020 Concert and Video Gallery of previous performances.

A Welcome Message

from Slava Michael Prudchenko, Music Director

Fanfares for Richard III

by Bedřich Smetana, Arr. by Dave Stoutamire

Brass Ensemble

“Fanfares for Richard III” (1867)

Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s histories, telling the story of the English king, his rise to the throne, and his death during the War of the Roses. Composer Bedrich Smetana wrote fanfares for an 1867 performance of the play.

About the Composer

Bedřich Smetana (2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884), a Czech composer, is best known for his symphonic poem Vltava-Die Moldau, the second in a cycle of six orchestral tone poems which he entitled Ma vlast (“My Homelend”). Smetana was the first composer to write music that was specifically Czech in character. Many of his operas are based on Czech themes and myths, the best known being the comedy The Bartered Bride.

Smetana’s youthful love of art and his search for something indefinable is mirrored in his autobiographical work Z meho zivota (From My Life) a string quartet in E minor. The final movement of this work progresses to a piercing high E in the first violin which, Smetana explained, represents the devastating effects of his tinnitus.

Smetana influenced Antonin Dvorak as well as many Czech composers who came after him.

Smetana’s fame increased with the 100th performance of The Bartered Bride, and in 1881 his new opera Libuše was chosen to open the new National Theatre. He continued to compose but grew terrified of madness and spoke of experiencing hallucinations. In 1884, he was committed to an asylum, where he died within three months.

Andantino

Ferdinando Carulli

Electric Guitar Solo with Piano

Performers
Mihnea Burduja, solo electric guitar
Janice Vernon, piano

Ferdinando Maria Meinrado Francesco Pascale Rosario Carulli (9 February 1770 – 17 February 1841), commonly known as Ferdinando Carulli was an Italian composer of much classical guitar music and the author of the influential Méthode complète pour guitare ou lyre, op. 27 (1810), which contains music still used by student guitarists today. He wrote a variety of works for classical guitar, including numerous solo and chamber works and several concertos. He was an extremely prolific writer, composing over 400 works for the instrument.

Introduction and Rondeau

from incendental music to the play “Abdelazer” or “The Moor’s Revenge”

Henry Purcell (1659 — 1695)

Saxophone Choir with Organ and Timpani

Performers
Soprano Saxophone: Cole Smith, Rob Tanzola
Alto Saxophone: Cole Smith, Rob Tanzola, Zenas Dyer, Preston Casey
Tenor Saxophone: Jeff Smith, Albert Zhou
Baritone Saxophone: Robert Stevens
Timpani: Arthur Wright

Abdelazer or “The Moor’s Revenge” is a 1676 play by English playwright Aphra Behn. The play was revived in 1695 and Henry Purcell was commissioned to provide incidental music for the performance. He wrote ten selections to accompany the play. The 1695 revival of Abdelazer was a failure, but Purcell’s music remained popular and influential. The Introduction in this arrangement is taken from the first section of the overture to the play. Rondeau is the first number that occurs during the play. It is one of the most popular pieces composed by Purcell. It was used in1946 by Benjamin Britten as the theme for his orchestral work The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. the Rondeau from Abdelazer has frequently been used in film and TV soundtracks.

This arrangement is scored for Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone 1-2-3, Tenor Saxophone 1-2, Baritone Saxophone, Organ Continuo, and Timpani.

About the Composer

Henry Purcell (10 September 1659 – 21 November 1695). Purcell is regarded by many as one of the greatest English composers of all time. Even more than 300 after years of his death, he is ranked with the great British composers. Although his life was brief (he died at age 36), he left a large body of work. His genius is apparent in his magnificent compositions including stage works, church music, instrumental music, keyboard music, operas and plays with incidental music and songs.

Although he incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements, Purcell’s was a uniquely English form of Baroque music. Purcell appealed to the audience and was in great demand to compose music for the stage productions from 1695 to 1707. Britain suffered a huge loss when Purcell passed away at the tender age of 36.

Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, Michael Tippett, and Gustav Holst were among his greatest admirers in the 20th century.

 

Duo II: Allegro Moderato from
Douze petits Duos Op. 38

Jacques-Féréol Mazas

Violin Duo

Performers:
Brianna Fongchoy, violin
Nicole Prudchenko, violin

Jacques Féréol Mazas (23 September 1782 – died 26 August 1849) was a French composer, conductor, violinist, and pedagogue.

Born in Lavaur, Mazas was a pupil of Pierre Baillot at the Paris Conservatoire, from which he received the first prize in 1805. In 1808, he played a violin concerto dedicated to him by Auber. He then performed widely across Europe. In 1831, he accepted the post of first violin at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. A short time later, he was appointed Directeur des concerts in Orléans, where he directed that city’s Opéra Comique theatre. From 1837 to 1841, he was director of the Conservatoire in Cambrai.

Many of his compositions for strings are studies and duets for young string players of all abilities. His method books have taught generations of violinists and violists.

 

National Emblem March

E.E. Bagley

Full Wind Ensemble

“National Emblem March” (1905)

One of the most famous of American marches, National Emblem became so highly thought of that many people have assumed that it written by John Philip Sousa. In fact, members of Sousa’s own family were under the mistaken impression that Sousa composed it. National Emblem March was composed by American composer Edwin Eugene Bagley in 1905. National Emblem takes its name from our national emblem, the American flag. As a matter of fact, portions of the Star-Spangled Banner are heard in the first strain and trio of the march. Played in manuscript in 1905 by the Keene Band, it was first published by the Walter Jacobs Company of Boston in 1906. Since then more than 17 other band arrangements of National Emblem have been issued.

Long thought to be a one-march composer, Bagley’s other music has been forgotten for many decades. But, on the strength of National Emblem alone, E.E. Bagley deserves a place as one America’s great march composers. Frederick Fennell has described National Emblem as a march that is “as perfect as a march can be.”

– Program Note from Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music

About the Composer

Edwin Eugene Bagley (29 May 1857, Craftsbury, Vt. – 29 January 1922, Keene, N.H.) was an American composer.

Bagley began his music career at the age of nine as a vocalist and comedian with Leavitt’s Bellringers, a company of entertainers that toured many of the larger cities of the United States. He began playing the cornet, traveling for six years with the Swiss Bellringers.

After his touring days, he joined Blaisdell’s Orchestra of Concord, New Hampshire. In 1880, he came to Boston as a solo cornet player at The Park Theater. For nine years, he traveled with the Bostonians, an opera company. While with this company, he changed from cornet to trombone. He performed with the Germania Band of Boston and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Edwin Eugene Bagley is best known for composing marches. His most famous march, National Emblem March, is played as a patriotic tune at Independence Day celebrations in the United States and features an excerpt of The Star-Spangled Banner. A theme from the trio of this march is popularly sung with the words “and the monkey wrapped his tail around the flagpole”.

 

Adagio and Menuetto
from Notturno

by CARL DITTERS VON DITTERSDORF (1739 – 1799)

Flute Ensemble

Notturno is in three movements: Adagio, Menuetto and Trio, and Fuga: Allegro. The piece was most likely written before Dittersdorf was the age of thirty-four. It does not display the compositional maturity we see with his other more familiar works. Nevertheless, it is a charming piece, full of youthful vigor and enthusiasm. This performance is of the first two movements, Adagio and Menuetto.

About the Composer

August Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (2 November 1739 – 24 October 1799) was an Austrian composer, violinist and silvologist (forest biology). He was a friend of both Haydn and Mozart.

Dittersdorf had composition lessons from Giuseppe Bonno in his native Vienna and served as a violinist in the orchestra of the Prince of Sachsen-Hildburghausen, before joining the imperial theatre. He then served as Kapellmeister to the Bishop of Grosswardein, where, in 1762, he succeeded Michael Haydn. In 1769 he became Kapellmeister to the Prince-Bishop of Breslau, at this period acquiring the patent of nobility that added to the name of Ditters the honorific ‘von Dittersdorf’.

Conditions in Johannisberg, the seat of the Prince-Bishop, deteriorated in the political circumstances of the time, and on the death of his employer in 1795 he moved with his family to join the household of a nobleman in Bohemia. Before his death he dictated his fascinating autobiography to his son, a vivid account of musical life in his time.

 

The Entertainer

by Scott Joplin
arranged Bew. Reinier

Clarinet Ensemble

“The Entertainer” is a 1902 classic piano rag written by Scott Joplin. It was sold first as sheet music, and in the 1910s as piano rolls that would play on player pianos. The first recording was by blues and ragtime musicians the Blue Boys in 1928, played on mandolin and guitar.

As one of the classics of ragtime, it returned to international prominence as part of the ragtime revival in the 1970s, when it was used as the theme music for the 1973 Oscar-winning film The Sting. Composer and pianist Marvin Hamlisch’s adaptation reached #3 on the Billboard pop chart and spent a week at number one on the easy listening chart in 1974. The Sting was set in the 1930s, a full generation after the end of ragtime’s mainstream popularity, thus giving the inaccurate impression that ragtime music was popular at that time

About the Composer

Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917). American composer and pianist.

Scott Joplin was “the King of Ragtime Writers”. He was a composer who elevated lowly entertainment associated with saloons and brothels into an American art form. Born in Texas in 1867 or 1868, Joplin was raised in Texarkana, the son of a laborer and former slave. As a child, Joplin taught himself piano on an instrument belonging to a white family that allowed him access to it. Later he studied with a German-born teacher who introduced him to classical music. Joplin attended high school in Sedalia, MO, a town that would serve as Joplin’s home base during his most prosperous years, and where a museum now bears his name.

In 1899, publisher John Stark of Sedalia issued Joplin’s second ragtime composition, “Maple Leaf Rag.” Although it wasn’t immediately a hit, after a few years the popularity of “Maple Leaf Rag” was so enormous that it made Joplin’s name; and Joplin earned a small percentage of income from it for the rest of his life. Joplin moved to St. Louis in 1901. There he wrote many of the other rags he is known for during this time, including “The Entertainer,” “The Easy Winners,” and “Elite Syncopations.”

From 1911 until his death in 1917 most of Joplin’s efforts went into his opera, Treemonishia, which he heard in concert but never managed to stage during his lifetime. Joplin formed his own music company and published his final piano rag, “Magnetic Rag” (1914), one of his best. By this time, debilitating, long-term effects of syphilis were beginning to break down Joplin’s health. Much of Joplin’s work remained unknown until the “ragtime revival” of the early ’70s, when “Scott Joplin” became a household name. Houston Grand Opera even staged his opera “Treemonishia” .

Joplin died convinced that he had failed to achieve success as an African-American composer of serious music. Today, he would be astounded to learn that he is one of the most successful African-American composers of serious music. Some of his works have been recorded hundreds of times and arranged for practically every conceivable instrumental combination, played by everything from symphony orchestras to ice cream trucks and clarinet ensembles.

Flight of the Bumblebee
Полёт шмеля
From the opera “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”

by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Flute Solo with piano

Performers:
Vicente Della Tonia Jr., piano
Slava Michael Prudchenko, flute

Flight of the Bumblebee” (Russian: Полёт шмеля) is an orchestral interlude written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, composed in 1899–1900. Its composition is intended to musically evoke the seemingly chaotic and rapidly changing flying pattern of a bumblebee. Despite the scene being a minor incident in the opera, today it is a very familiar classical work because of its frequent use in popular culture.

The piece closes Act III, Tableau 1 of the opera, during which the Prince Gvidon (the Tsar’s son) is transformed into a bee so that he can fly away to visit his father.

“Flight of the Bumblebee” is recognizable for its frantic pace when played up to tempo, with nearly uninterrupted runs of chromatic sixteenth notes. It is not so much the pitch or range of the notes that are played that challenges the musician, but simply the musician’s ability to move to them quickly enough. Because of this and its complexity, it requires a great deal of skill to perform. Often in popular culture, it is thought of as being notoriously hard to play. It has been used countless times in films and cartoon.

About the Composer

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) was an influential Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.

Rimsky began his professional life by following family tradition as a naval officer. It was his contact with Balakirev, spiritual mentor of the group known as the ‘Kuchka’ or ‘Mighty Handful’ – that inspired him to start composing seriously.

Rimsky-Korsakov was ahead of his time, anticipating by 50 years trends adopted by many composers of the post-war avant-garde. And yet he loathed modernist tendencies. His most famous pupil, Igor Stravinsky, recalled a performance they had attended of Debussy’s La Mer shortly before Rimsky’s death: “I asked Rimsky-Korsakov what he thought. He replied, “Better not listen to it; you risk getting used to it, and then you might even end up liking it”.

– classical FM.com

 

Bethena – A Concert Waltz

Scott Joplin, (1867? – 1917)
arranged by R. Stevens

Double Reed Ensemble

Performers
Oboe – Michelle McKenzie, Van Nipper
English Horn – Maro Cooper
Fauxbassoon* – Robert Stevens

“Bethena, A Concert Waltz” (copyright registered March 6, 1905) is a composition by Scott Joplin. It was the first Joplin work after his wife Freddie’s death on September 10, 1904 of pneumonia, only ten weeks after their wedding. At the time the composer had significant financial problems; the work did not sell successfully at the time of publication and was soon neglected and forgotten. It was rediscovered as a result of the Joplin revival in the 1970s and has received acclaim from Joplin’s biographers and other critics. The piece combines two different styles of music, the classical waltz and the rag, and has been seen as demonstrating Joplin’s excellence as a classical composer. The work has been described as “an enchantingly beautiful piece that is among the greatest of Ragtime Waltzes”, a “masterpiece”, and “Joplin’s finest waltz”.

This arrangement is for double reed quartet: oboe 1, oboe 2, English horn, and bassoon.

About the Composer

SCOTT JOPLIN (1867? – 1917)

The black American composer and pianist Scott Joplin won contemporary fame for his ragtime compositions in the heyday of a form that extended the influence of early jazz into various musical fields. The publication in 1899 of his Maple Leaf Rag did much to popularize the form among amateur pianists. Joplin wrote operas, songs, marches and waltzes but is chiefly known for his ragtime piano music, with collections published between 1899 and 1917, the year of his death. Ragtime has received more attention recently, with a revival of interest in the last quarter of the 20th century.

 

The Black Horse Troop

John Phillip Sousa

Full Wind Ensemble

“The Black Horse Troop” (1924)

Sousa’s love of horses and for the military combine in The Black Horse Troop March of 1924, one of his greatest and most elegant marches. The march is dedicated to Troop A (Cavalry) of the Cleveland National Guard. Their exclusive use of black horses was the inspiration for the title. Troop A, once known as the First City Troop of Cleveland, was originally an independent militia and has had a distinguished history since its formation in 1877.

At a dinner held in Sousa’s honor in November, 1924, a new march was requested by Captain Walker Nye of Troop A. The commission was fulfilled quickly, and the march was premiered in Cleveland on October 17, 1925, at a Sousa Band concert which also marked the forty-eighth anniversary of Troop A. For the occasion, the mounted troopers were dressed in the blue uniforms of 1877, complete with black fur busbies.

About the Composer

John Philip Sousa personified turn-of-the-century America, the comparative innocence and brash energy of a still new nation. His ever touring band represented America across the globe and brought music to hundreds of American towns. John Philip Sousa, born 6 November 1854, reached this exalted position with startling quickness. In 1880, at the age of 26, he became conductor of the U. S. Marine Band. In twelve years the vastly improved ensemble won high renown and Sousa’s compositions earned him the title of “The March King”. Sousa went one better with the formation of his own band in 1892, bringing world acclaim. In its first seven years the band gave 3500 concerts; in an era of train and ship travel it logged over a million miles in nearly four decades. There were European tours in 1900, 1901, 1903, and 1905, and a world tour in 1910–11, the zenith of the band era.

The unprecedented popularity of the Sousa Band came at a time when few American orchestras existed. From the Civil War to about 1920, band concerts were the most important aspect of American musical life. No finer band than Sousa’s was ever heard. Sousa modified the brass band by decreasing the brass and percussion instruments, increasing its woodwinds, and adding a harp. His conducting genius attracted the finest musicians, enabling him to build an ensemble capable of executing programmes almost as varied as those of a symphony orchestra. The Sousa Band became the standard by which American bands were measured, causing a dramatic upgrading in quality nationally.

Sousa’s compositions also spread his fame. Such marches as The Stars and Stripes Forever, El Capitan, Washington Post, and Semper Fidelis are universally acknowledged as the best of the genre. Sousa said a march “should make a man with a wooden leg step out”, and his surely did. Although he standardised the march form as it is known today, he was no mere maker of marches, but an exceptionally inventive composer of over 200 works, including symphonic poems, suites, operas and operettas. His principles of instrumentation and tonal colour influenced many classical composers. His robust, patriotic operettas of the 1890s helped introduce a truly native musical attitude in American theatre.

The library of Sousa’s Band contained over 10,000 titles. Among them are the numerous band works of Sousa including his 136 marches and many concert compositions. 

Roger Ruggeri

This concert is dedicated to the healthcare workers of the
Greater Atlanta Metropolitan Area.

If you are one, thank you for your dedication. If you know one, tell them that you appreciate what they do.
Thank you for the love, kindness, and dedication you show every day. We are grateful for you!

Although we would rather be performing on stage, until that is safe for everyone, we will continue to reach out to our audience virtually.

We enjoy hearing from our guests! Suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated. Leave a comment or send us an email.

Sign up for our mailing list so you know about our next performance.

Until then, browse our photo galleries for images from past concerts.

 

 

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  6. Vanessa Brown

    Absolutely beautiful! Great job Dr. Smith (my dentist!)!

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  7. Shondra Greene-Harris

    The performances were amazing! I am moved by all of the talent displayed by the students and community.

    Reply
  8. Cynthia M. Kamasa-Quashie

    So refreshing! Beautiful music, too! Thank you so much for the wonderful performance.

    Reply
  9. Maro Cooper

    I just finished the most enjoyable experience of watching this fantastic performance. Maestro Prudchenko, you pulled everything possible out of all your musicians and gave everyone such a great experience. During this season of the pandemic, being together, even virtually, and working on a common musical goal was a bright light! The presentation is visually beautiful and very professional, the variety so interesting, and the investment of everyone obvious. Thank you for this wonderful experience. We look forward to the next adventure you have to share.

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  10. CHRISTY TALLEY SMITH

    Bravo! Thanks for sharing Professor Prudchenko! Many thanks to the musicians and web team.

    Reply
  11. Paul Roberts

    What excellent musicianship. Liked the way everybody got their image right too, very professional. So, many thanks for a smashing concert. It got to South West England to warm and cold, wet Winter’s evening.

    Reply
  12. Kathy Dolan

    This was delightful and informative! Thank you so much!

    Reply
  13. Slava Prudchenko

    Thank you, Robert, for putting our virtual concert in this format. It brings everything together and gives a feel of the “real” concert experience. Many thanks for all the kind comments and to all our participants, whose efforts to record and contribute their videos made it all possible!

    Reply
  14. Linda Fountain

    I agree with all of the comments above. Thank you for sharing this wonderful concert!

    Reply
  15. Art Schiller

    Beautiful music, wonderfully played, the finest virtual concert that I’ve seen. I love the way that each musician says something a bit different in their own voice and together they produce such beautiful harmony. That, I think, is how people should live their lives. My thanks to everyone for a wonderful concert.

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  16. Carolyn Toomer

    The concert was great!!! Thanks everyone for all the hard work, practicing, recording, and videoing!
    Thanks Slava for all your hard work to make this happen.

    The concert helped to bring a little light into this time of darkness.

    Congratulations everyone!

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  17. Cynthia Lester

    Professor Prudchenko, thank you so much for sharing and for all the hard work that went into making this happen! Congratulations!!!!

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  18. Nancy Kropf

    Beautiful performance. Such talented musicians! Thank you Prof Prudchenko!

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  19. Robert Stevens

    Thanks for all the hard work everyone! Slava, as usual, you are an inspiration to us all.

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