Cleveland Winds @ OMEA PDC: Program Notes

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Program Notes

Viet Cuong is a contemporary American composer known for his innovative and engaging works for wind ensembles, orchestras, and chamber groups. Born in 1990, Cuong has quickly gained recognition for his unique voice and vibrant compositions. He holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, Princeton University, and the Peabody Conservatory. Cuong's music often explores themes of nature and movement, characterized by its rhythmic vitality and colorful textures.

The “moth to the flame” narrative is a familiar one. We have all seen moths in the glow of flames or stadium lights. Scientists call this phenomenon “phototaxis,” but I prefer to think of this attraction in much more romantic terms. The dusty moth, though destined to live in shadow, has an insatiable craving for the brightness of day. Drab, but elegant, nervous, but swift, his taste for the glow of the flame or the filament is dire. Perhaps he dances in the light because it holds the promise that he might be as beautiful as his favored kin, the butterfly. For only there, in its ecstatic warmth, may he spend the last of his fleeting life, and believe himself to be.

Moth seeks inspiration from the dualities between light and dark, beautiful and grotesque, reality and fantasy, and the ultimate decision to sacrifice sensibility for grace.

The composer has a number of works that are accessible by middle school and high school bands, ranging from Inland Ocean (grade 2.5) to Diamond Tide (grade 3.5). Viet Cuong’s Deciduous (grade 4.5), commissioned by the Florida Bandmasters Association, was the winner of the 2023 NBA William D. Revelli Memorial Composition Contest.
 
Carter Pann is an acclaimed American composer and pianist known for his diverse body of work, which includes compositions for orchestra, wind ensemble, chamber groups, and solo instruments. He has collaborated with renowned ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony. Pann's music is characterized by its lyrical melodies and vibrant harmonies. He has received numerous accolades, including a Charles Ives Fellowship and multiple ASCAP awards, and he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 2016.

The Three Embraces (2013) was commissioned by current and former students and dear friends in celebration of Allan McMurray’s final concert after 35 years as Director of Bands at the University of Colorado.

In three movements, these pieces are songs for band. Within The Three Embraces I strived to explore completely new musical territory — different from that of my previous works for winds.

The first and second movements are titled “Antique, Calming” and “With Quiet Longing,” respectively, and are to sound like aural aromas. The players are given a long trail of the softest dynamics — full fortes are rare events in these pieces. Requesting the utmost dynamic restraint from wind and brass players is a risk I have learned to relish taking. The musical reward is so great and the timbral beauty so rich and ever so right to my ears. These first two movements also feature harp as a prevailing color suffusing the music, giving them what I hope to be an aura of ancient, inward elegance (Maurice Ravel lurks in the shadows of these two model Renaissance compositions).

The final movement is a celebration, beginning with three bold proclamations for saxophones and high brass. As the movement unfolds there are pastoral melodies juxtaposed over more modern, angular harmonies. In describing the last movement to Allan at the beginning of rehearsals I made a quip that I now find quite apt: It represents a chance encounter between Schubert and Stravinsky on the Appalachian Trail. This is not the first work I have had the fortune to dedicate to him, but it has become the dearest to me — a final expression for a colleague, mentor, and friend. Over the years I have come to learn of Allan’s path through music over time, the key mentors of his past, and his performing experiences around the world. I have even had the pleasure of meeting him in faraway places to share a gig. It is through this kind of time with him (and some very special time on his back deck overlooking much of the Boulder/Denver area) that I have learned this gentleman’s values, both in music and in life. His humor is magnetic and ever-present, his magnanimity so humble. I count myself a lucky one to have had a window of time on faculty with such an extraordinary musician and giving person as Allan McMurray.

Carter Pann has two pieces that high school bands should perform. At her Ladyship’s Request was an idea born out of admiration for the wind works of Percy Aldridge Grainger – most notably his Lincolnshire Posy. Hold This Boy and Listen is a lyrical work where the melodies and harmonies return, creating a structure not unlike standard song structure. The sentiment is at times innocent or wistful and at other times haunted and serene.

Katahj Copley (b. 1998) is a dynamic American composer, saxophonist, and educator whose music has rapidly gained recognition in the wind band and chamber music world. Born in Carrollton, Georgia, Copley's musical journey began at the University of West Georgia, where he earned his bachelor's degree in music education and composition.
Copley's music is characterized by its vibrant energy, emotional depth, and innovative use of sound. His compositions often explore the realms of imagination and freedom, which invites listeners to experience a mesmerizing tapestry of shifting rhythms and blending colors.

About DOPE, Katahj Copley wrote:

The first semester of my masters- I was in a different headspace. I had finished writing Where the Sky Has No Stars and at the moment I felt renewed. I didn’t know what else to write, so I began to write music that felt disingenuous to my spirit (music that will never see the light of day)- I was going on autopilot and I had lost my voice. During one of my lessons at UT Austin, my professor Omar Thomas and I began listening to a piece I had mocked up a couple of days before. We both weren’t feeling it, and finally I asked him to turn off the piece and I told him it didn’t sound like me. I felt lost creatively. He then asked me what music I listen to. I began to name only band music composers. He asked me again, and I told him outside of wind band music I’m in love with Rap, R & B, Jazz and Soul.

Then he asked an important question- “Why do you make a barrier between those ideals?”

I didn’t have an answer. It was a wake-up call for me. Why was I compartmentalizing my musical inspirations?

He continued, “If you create something that is a celebration of who you are, the music you grew up with, and the music that inspires you now… then that would be dope…”

And with that this piece was born. With that realization, I began to create a piece that celebrated all the music that had inspired me throughout my life. From Thundercat to Kendrick Lamar, Miles Davis to Hiatus Kaiyote, I wanted to bring all of these influences together into one cohesive work...one dope work. DOPE is a gumbo of all the music that inspires and influences me from Thundercat to Kendrick Lamar to Miles Davis to Hiatus Kaiyote and more, this piece is in essence a deep look into my musical world.
The piece can be broken up into three parts. Since this work is dedicated to the trail black music has created, inspired and the new horizons it’s reaching, each part is named after a part of the black identity.

UNDENIABLY (which is the partial score) is the opening of the piece. It's gritty, intense with moments of color and undeniable energy. It is carried by a bass line heavily influenced by Thundercat's playing on Kendrick Lamar's Untitled 05 along with Miles Davis's Nardis.

UNAPOLOGETICALLY (the middle section) is a world building vibe and examines just how beautiful the music can be. I explore the colors and stretch them to their limits, but in doing so found new hues within myself and my writings. With this act, I gained heavy inspiration from John Coltrane, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington and Hiatus Kaiyote (to name a few)

UNDISPUTEDLY (the finale) is an intense, groove filled statement. Every color explored is here and is in its full potential. It's bold and- like undeniably and unapologetically- is undisputedly black. Guided by my love for Tyler, the Creator's Hot Wind Blows, Marvin Gaye's I Want You ( due to Kendrick's The Heart series), and Kamasi Washington's Street Fighter Mas along with Askem.

I hope that "DOPE" will serve as a tribute to the black musicians who have paved the way and inspired me to create music that is authentic to who I am. I also hope that this piece will inspire others to break down the barriers between their musical influences and create something truly unique and personal.

Katahj Copley has numerous grade 3 to grade 6 works that are accessible by advanced middle school and high school ensembles. One of Dr. Browning’s favorites is Halcyon Hearts.

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