Rites of Tamburo, Robert Smith

Throughout the ages, man has created ceremonies, both liturgical and secular, to celebrate human existence. Rites of Tamburo, although not specific to any one time period or culture, draws upon this concept of formal celebration. As the title suggests, the piece is centered around the one instrumental family that has transcended the ages. Using percussion for its driving force, the piece is an eclectic blend of various musical styles drawn from many different cultural roots.

-Robert Smith, composer

Bloom

“Bloom is a celebration of springtime. The bright, sunny days, with nature in bloom all around, give me a powerful sense of well-being, simultaneously tranquil and exuberant. Bloom is my attempt to recreate that feeling.”

Steven Bryant (b. 1972, Little Rock, AR) is an active composer and conductor with a varied catalog, including works for wind ensemble, orchestra, electronic and electro-acoustic creations, chamber music, and music for the web. Steven’s music has been performed by numerous ensembles across the United States, as well as in England, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and Germany. His first orchestral work, Loose Id for Orchestra, hailed by celebrated composer Samuel Adler as “orchestrated like a virtuoso,” was premiered by The Juilliard Symphony and will be featured on an upcoming release by the Bowling Green Philharmonia on Albany Records. His most recent orchestral work, Alchemy in Silent Spaces, commissioned by James DePreist and The Juilliard School, was premiered by the Juilliard Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall in May 2006. He studied composition with John Corigliano at The Juilliard School, Cindy McTee at the University of North Texas, and Francis McBeth at Ouachita University.

-Steven Bryant, composer

Variations on a Shaker Theme, Copland

Variations on a Shaker Melody is an excerpt from Appalachian Spring, which was composed in 1943-44 as a ballet for Miss Martha Graham on a commission from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation. The ballet was first performed by Miss Graham and her company at the Coolidge Festival in the Library of Congress, Washington DC on October 30, 1944.

The original scoring called for a chamber ensemble of thirteen instruments. The present arrangement for symphony orchestra was made by the composer especially for performance by school and community orchestras.

The Shaker Melody on which the Variations are based is entitled ‘Simple Gifts’. It was a favorite song of the Shaker sect, from the period 1837-1847. The melody and words were quoted by Edward D. Andrews in his book of Shaker rituals, songs and dances, entitled The Gift to Be Simple. The words of the song are as follows:

‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free,

‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight

When true simplicity is gain’d,To bow and to bend we shan’t be asham’d,

To turn, turn will be our delight

‘Till by turning, turning we come round right

-Program Note from publisher

Highlights from Wicked, Schwartz arr. Ricketts

The hottest show on Broadway in 2004, this engaging story of everyone’s two favorite witches from Oz features terrific songs destined to become classics. Includes: No One Mourns the Wicked; I’m Not That Girl; Defying Gravity; No Good Deed and For Good.

Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, an alternative telling of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, and L. Frank Baum’s classic 1900 story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz; its plot begins before and continues after Dorothy’s arrival in Oz from Kansas, and it includes several references to the 1939 film and Baum’s novel. Wicked tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (whose name later changes to Glinda the Good Witch), who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love interest, reactions to the Wizard’s corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba’s public fall from grace.

– Program Note from publisher