2004 News/Home Page Archive
Listed in reverse chronological order. Does not include regular features like "The President's Corner" or the WASBE Newsletter.
NewMusicBox Focuses on Band
NewMusicBox, the Web Magazine from the American Music Center, put the focus on symphonic band music and composers in its December 2004 edition. Editor Frank J. Oteri comments, “Collectively, symphonic wind bands commission and perform more new music than any other kind of ensemble in America today, as Brian Wise has discovered. This is further corroborated by the testimony of four leading composers (Karel Husa, Libby Larsen, David Maslanka, David Rakowski) and four emerging composers—Eric Whitacre, Jonathan Newman, Jim Bonney and Steve Bryant—who explain how this community has allowed them not only to make a living as composers, but to have a good time doing it. Established publishers have had more success with wind band repertoire than almost anything else. Perhaps the next piece you consider writing should be for wind band!” The interview with “BCM” (the emerging composers listed above) includes video clips from the discussion and extends over many pages.
This set of articles raises the profile of our art form with its audience of composers and new music lovers, yet the content is still excellent reading for wind band supporters of all kinds. You can read all the articles by using the links above or by going to www.newmusicbox.org.
Frederick Fennell 1914–2004
Maestro Fennell doing what he did best.
He is pictured here conducting a particularly expressive moment in Horkstow Grange from Lincolnshire Posy at the 1998 Wind Conducting Program in Calgary.
Dr. Frederick Fennell, one of the world’s most active and innovative conductors, died at the age of 90 at his home in Siesta Key, Florida on 7 December 2004. He was one of WASBE’s founding members and an Honorary Life Member. His most inspiring keynote address at the 1999 WASBE Conference in San Luis Obispo will long be remembered by those who were present.
The March WASBE Newsletter will include this biography by WASBE Executive Director Leon Bly.
Other portraits are available on the Dallas Wind Symphony web site, listen to the story on U.S. National Public Radio, or read the press release from the Eastman School of Music.
Calendar of International Events
We are pleased to announce that a regular feature of our newsletter, the International Events listing, has now come to the web! The international Wind Events page includes all the events normally listed in the newsletter, but has the additional advantage of being updated on a more regular basis. We also hope to take advantage of the new system to make the abbreviated list on the right portion of this page more current and useful.
If you have events you would like to have included in our events calendar, send them to Executive Director Leon Bly. If you have suggestions on how you would like to see the Calendar of Events improved (e.g., formatting), contact Web Publisher Anthony Reimer.
Call for Research Sessions
The Planning Committee for the WASBE 2005 Conference in Singapore is pleased to announce the addition of 12, one-hour time slots to be used for research presentations. The sessions will be given daily during the lunch hour and are being called 'Brown Bag' sessions because attendees will be invited to bring their lunches. The intention is that these sessions will involve a variety of topics of worldwide interest, presented by members who represent all areas of the world. Proposals may be submitted by mail, FAX, or e-mail.
Please send your proposals to:
Donald DeRoche
DePaul School of Music
Chicago, IL 60614
USA
E-mail: dderoche@depaul.edu
FAX: +1.773.325.7263
Want to Host a WASBE Conference?
Yes, the time is fast approaching for bids for the 2009 WASBE Conference. If your city is interested in hosting a WASBE (biennial) Conference, you can now download the reference documents you need to get started — just use the links below. Before submitting your bid, you should contact Executive Director Leon Bly, as he can supply you with additional documentation and information. The initial deadline is October 31.
Guidelines for Applying to Host a WASBE International (biennial) Conference [PDF; 70K]
Guidelines for Organizing a WASBE International (biennial) Conference [PDF; 115K]
“Coups de Vents” Report
President Johnson recently returned from France and Belgium where he served on the adjudication panel for the Coups de Vents International Competition of Composition for Symphonic Band. The five finalist compositions were performed live on Saturday, June 19 at the Opera de Lille in Lille, France. The results were:
“Fantasy for Symphonic Band” - Frigyes Hidas (Hungary) - 1st Prize
“Around The World” - Jean-Philippe Vanbeselaere (France) – 2nd Prize
“Nil Sournkoro” - Thierry Muller (France) – 3rd Prize
“Yukiguni” - Sonoko Tanakajima (Japan) – Honorable Mention
“Capriccio” - Andersen Viana (Brazil) – Honorable Mention
Pictured is the adjudication panel (from left to right): Philippe Danel of France, Grigory Voronov of Russia, Shou-Chang Cheng of China, Philippe Langlet of France (Artistic Director of the competition), Claude Pichaureau of France, Alin Delmotte of France, WASBE President Dennis Johnson, and Norbert Nosy of Belgium
March Newsletter Update -- Conductor Scholarship Change
For those members who have received or downloaded the March WASBE Newsletter, we wish to bring to your attention a change in the International Conductor Scholarship Program. The scholarship for the Canford workshop has already been awarded. However, the University of Calgary (Canada) has been added as an additional scholarship opportunity. So we still have five workshop opportunities for those who are eligible. We apologise for any inconvenience this change may have caused.
10th Summer Wind Conducting Workshop at California State University at Sacramento
The 10th Summer Wind Conducting Workshop at the California State University at Sacramento takes place from the 21st to the 25th of June 2004. The guest clinican is Craig Kirchhoff, one of the finest conductors and conducting teachers in the world. Supporting the workshop will be the 59th United States Army Band. The repertoire list for this summer includes John Paynter's arrangement of Malcolm Arnold's Four Scottish Dances, Timothy Broege's Sinfonia VI "The Four Elements", Percy Grainger's Shepherd's Hey, Keith Wilson's arrangement of Paul Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphoses, Vincent Persichetti's Divertimento, Frank Ticheli's Shenandoah, and Eric Whitacre's October. Because of the great interest in the workshop, the size of the Participant/Conductor pool has been increased to twenty. The first twenty candidates to apply will be accepted for the Participant/Conductor pool. An unlimited number of Observer/Conductors will be accepted. For further information contact:
Dr. Robert Halseth
California State University
6000 J Street
Sacramento, California 95819-6015
Email: halseth@saclink.csus.edu
WASBE Influence on Programming
The Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble of Vancouver, Canada under the direction of Marc Crompton presented a concert of Dutch music on Saturday, 1 May 2004. The program, which was broadcast on CBC Radio Two on Westcoast Performance and possibly be rebroadcast on Dutch and Canadian national radio, will feature Jörgen van Rijen, principal trombonist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and a new scoring for wind ensemble of Cruel Yet Fair by Dutch educated, Canadian composer John Korsrud. The impetus for this concert came directly from the WASBE Conference in Jönköping, Sweden, where contact with Muziekgroep Nederland was made, and the idea for this concert was born.
Program:
Willem Strietman An Indoor Overture (1995) [4’45”] (Molenaar Edition)
Johan de Meij T-bone Concerto (1996) [24’30”] soloist: Jörgen van Rijen (Amstel Music)
Marcel Poot, arr. André Waignein Dionysos (2002) [9’00”] (Tierolff Muziekcentrale)
Intermission
Jan Van der Roost Ceremonial March (1986) [5’30”] (De Haske Publications)
Kees Olthuis Misericordia (2002) [13’45”] (Donemus)
John Korsrud Cruel Yet Fair [6’00”] (Manuscript)
Paul Dzon Rumanian Dances (1999) [4’00”] (Mansarda Sintra)
Corigliano Symphony No. 3 in February
The School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin has commissioned Symphony No. 3 for Wind Ensemble from John Corigliano, one of America's most successful composers. The new work will be premièred by the UT Wind Ensemble on the composer's birthday, February 16, 2005, with a new York/Carnegie Hall première proposed for the following week.
"The composer himself offered the School the opportunity to commission the Symphony, which also will be toured nationally by the Wind Ensemble," said Jerry Junkin, the ensemble's conductor. "This is a very exciting project not only for our students and faculty, but for the Austin community as well."
Corigliano's body of work has won him global acclaim. His Pulitzer
Prize-winning Symphony No. 2 and his Academy Award for the film score of The Red Violin have established him among the leading composers of his generation.
USA Premiere of A Quick Blast
The New York Philharmonic under the direction of Andrew Davis presented the American premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s A Quick Blast at sold out concerts at Lincoln Center in New York City on the 2nd and 3rd of January, 2004. A Quick Blast is the first part of the triptych Etudes and Elegies, which was commissioned by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and premiered by that orchestra at the Cheltenham Festival in 2001. A Quick Blast, which is dedicated to Jonathan Moore, is scored for the woodwind, brass and percussion sections of the symphony orchestra. Two figures, a flute motive and a three-note trumpet motif are the basis for a fast, loud and rhythmically intense opening, which is followed by a keening and lyrical contrasting theme. The counter-statement leads to the middle part of an overall three section scherzo and trio form. A varied and truncated reprise of the first part brings the composition to an abrupt conclusion.
Conference CDs Available
Mark Custom Recording Services has all of the CDs from the WASBE 2003 Jönköping conference available for purchase.
If you did not place your order at the time of the Conference, you can always place an order using the form on the Mark Custom web site. Recordings from the 1999 Conference in San Luis Obispo, USA are also available from them.
Order Form for 2003 Conference CDs
Order Form for 1999 Conference CDs
Mark Custom Web Site
Recordings from the 1997 and 2001 Conferences are available from Tonstudio Amos. Recordings from the 1995 Conference are available from Kosei Publishing.
©2005 WASBE