wind symphony completes another successful year · 2019. 6. 14. · new drums, the wvu bands have...

Morgantown, West Virginia June 2019

Wind Symphony Completes Another Successful Year Following their Carnegie Hall debut last March, the WVU Wind Symphony completed another successful season during the 2018-2019 academic year presenting seven different concerts and welcoming seven different guest artists. The fall semester featured two traditional concerts in September and November along with a “Sounds of the Season” holiday concert in December. The Wind Symphony performed literature by Wayne Oquin, David Gillingham, Peter Mennin, David Maslanka, Steven Bryant, J.S. Bach, and others. Featured on the first concert was WVU Professor of Percussion George Willis on Michael Daugherty’s timpani concerto Raise the Roof. Two special guests joined the Wind Symphony for the December holiday concert with Dr. Keith

Annual Report 2018-2019

The WVU Bands have enjoyed another successful year, and it is our pleasure to share a few highlights with you. Our students, faculty, and staff continue to ra ise the bar and represent West Virginia University and the state of We s t Vi r g i n i a i n a n outstanding fashion. As you read the updates contained in this annual report, I think you will agree that it is an exciting time to be a part of the WVU Bands program.

Let’s Go Mountaineers!

Sincerely,

Dr. Scott C. Tobias Director of Bands


Wind Symphony (cont.)

Jackson, Dean of the College of Creative Arts, featured as trombone soloist on Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and Dr. E. Gordon Gee, President of West Virginia University, serving as narrator for The Night Before Christmas.

During the spring semester, the Wind Symphony presented four different performances, two of which served as conducting recitals for graduate conducting students Matthew McCurry and Cody Lassinger. For the first concert of the semester, the Wind Symphony was pleased to welcome Dr. Adam Frey as guest soloist. Dr. Frey currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music at the University of North Georgia and regularly travels the world as an internationally known euphonium artist.

The final concert of the semester featured three guests. Composer Joshua Hobbs traveled to Morgantown from Tampa, Florida, to work with the Wind Symphony on their performance of his composition Into the Blue. Mr. Hobbs currently serves as Director of Bands at Wiregrass Ranch High School and is quickly developing a reputation as an outstanding composer for wind band. Also joining the Wind Symphony in April was WVU graduate composition student Jason Hoffmann whose work Ex Nihilo Ad Nihilo received its world premiere on the concert. The third guest on the April concert was WVU Professor of Voice William Koehler who served as narrator for Aaron Copland’s masterwork Lincoln Portrait.

With another successful year, the WVU Wind Symphony continues to grow, develop, and evolve into an outstanding university wind ensemble with ever higher standards of artistic excellence. A complete listing of concert repertoire for the 2018-2019 academic year may be found later in this report.

Professor George Willis performs with the WVU Wind Symphony.

WVU President Dr. E. Gordon Gee narrated on the December concert.

Guest soloist Adam Frey joined the Wind Symphony in February.


Sharing the Stage On March 4-5, 2019, the WVU Bands welcomed to campus the Lake Braddock Secondary School Symphonic Band from Burke, Virginia. Under the direction of WVU alumnus Michael Luley, the Lake Braddock Band joined the WVU Wind Symphony for a shared concert in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre on Monday evening, March 4. The Lake Braddock students remained in Morgantown overnight and enjoyed masterclasses on Tuesday morning with faculty members from the WVU School of Music followed by an ensemble clinic with WVU Director of Bands, Dr. Scott Tobias.

The Lake Braddock Secondary School Symphonic Band has the distinction of being named a Virginia Honor Band for 36 consecutive years. In 2017, the Lake Braddock program was named a recipient of both the Sudler Flag of Honor and the National Band Association Program of Excellence Blue Ribbon Award. The WVU Wind Symphony was pleased to share the stage with these outstanding high school musicians. 

The Lake Braddock Secondary School Symphonic Band Michael Luley, Director

By the numbers… Wind Symphony - 48 members Symphonic Band - 42 members Concert Band - 135 members Marching Band - 330 members Basketball Pep Band - 85 members

Wind Symphony - 7 performances Symphonic Band - 4 performances Concert Band - 1 performance Marching Band - 15 performances Basketball Pep Band - 30 performances


40th Invitational Honor Bands on Campus

On February 7-9, 2019, approximately 325 high school students from eight different states participated in the 40th Annual WVU Invitational Honor Bands. Students from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Kentucky, and Florida performed as part of three clinic bands conducted by outstanding music educators from across the nation. Serving as conductor of this year’s Honor Band was Dr. John Locke, Director of Bands (ret.) at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Conductors for the two clinic bands were Dr. Arris Golden, Assistant Director of Bands at Michigan State University, and Dr. Doug Phillips, Director of Bands at Stetson University. In addition to their clinic band experience, students also participated in instrumental masterclasses led by faculty members from the West Virginia University School of Music. They also had the opportunity to hear the WVU Wind Symphony in concert as well as the WVU World Percussion Ensemble performing a few pre-concert selections. The event culminated on Saturday afternoon with outstanding performances by the three honor bands.

41st Annual WVU Invitational Honor Bands

February 13-15, 2020

Clinicians, schedules, and other information available in October 2019 at www.music.wvu.edu/bands.

Dr. John Locke

Dr. Arris Golden

Dr. Doug Phillips

http://www.music.wvu.edu/bandshttp://www.music.wvu.edu/bands


Symphonic Band

The WVU Symphonic Band, under the direction of new Associate Director of Bands Dr. Stephen Lytle, presented four concerts during the 2018-2019 academic year. Programs in the fall semester featured works by Steven Bryant, Clifton Williams, John Barnes Chance, and David B e i d e n b e n d e r. J o i n i n g t h e

Symphonic Band for their November concert was Dr. William Koehler, WVU Professor of Voice, who provided narration for Ghosts by Stephen McNeff. Programs in the spring semester included works by Vincent Persichetti, Dmitri Shostakovich, Josh Hummel, and Julie Giroux. For their April concert, the Symphonic Band was pleased to welcome guest conductor Dr. Jason Worzbyt, Professor of Bassoon and Associate Director of Bands at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, for a performance of Down a Country Lane by Aaron Copland. A complete listing of concert repertoire for the 2018-2019 academic year may be found later in this report.

Concert Band Grows

In the spring of 2019, the WVU Concert Band featured its largest enrollment in r e c e n t y e a r s w i t h 1 3 5 s t u d e n t s participating. Under the direction of Graduate Assistants Matthew McCurry and Cody Lassinger, the Concert Band presented a program entitled “Catch Me If You Can” on April 9, 2019. Featured on the concert were works by Brian Balmages, Jacob de Haan, John Zdechlik, Rossano Galante, and Hiroshi Hoshina.


On the Road… The 2018 edition of the Pride of West Virginia enjoyed the opportunity to entertain thousands of fans not only at home in Milan Puskar Stadium, but also at a number of venues across the eastern United States. The Pride started the season on the road to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a neutral site football game versus the University of Tennessee in Bank of America Stadium. While en route, the band stopped in Princeton, West Virginia, for a performance at Princeton High School, and in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for a performance at Mt. Tabor High School. The Pride had plans to return to North Carolina a second time for the WVU vs. NC State football game a few weeks later, but a hurricane caused those plans to change as the game was cancelled. On September 29th, the Pride returned to Kingwood, West Virginia, for a performance at the annual Buckwheat Festival. The band participated in the Buckwheat Festival Parade and presented a special performance of the band’s traditional pregame show for a large, enthusiastic crowd. The Pride ended the season with a trip to Orlando, Florida, to support the WVU Football team in the 2018 Camping World Bowl. While in Orlando, the band not only performed for bowl game activities, but also enjoyed the opportunity to perform in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.


For the Record… In February, members of the WVU Bands came together for a recording session for music publisher DevMusic. Led by Dr. Stephen Lytle, the ensemble rehearsed and recorded over ten new arrangements for marching band and/or pep band written by various composers. WVU School of Music Recording Engineer Mark Benincosa coordinated the recording and editing of the tracks that will be used by DevMusic on their website.

New Acquisitions Thanks to support from the university, the College of Creative Arts, and the School of Music, the WVU Bands have been able to add several new items to the inventory. In the fall of 2019, the Pride of West Virginia drum line will premiere brand new drums. The new equipment from Pearl will feature custom shell covers with a WVU design. In addition to new drums, the WVU Bands have been able to purchase four new concert tubas, four new horns, and four new euphoniums for use by the WVU Concert Band. Four new sousaphones have also been purchased for use by the Pride in the fall.

Helping to transport all of this equipment is the WVU Bands new 26-foot box truck. Pictured below, the new truck will be wrapped this summer with a custom design making it instantly recognizable.


Looking Ahead…

Dr. Scott C. Tobias - Director of Bands Dr. Stephen Lytle - Associate Director of Bands

Mr. Lamar Riddick - Program Assistant Mr. Don Wilcox - Director of Bands Emeritus

School of Music P.O. Box 6111

Morgantown, WV 26506-6111 (304) 293-3097

[email protected]

www.music.wvu.edu/bands

2019-2020 Performance Schedule

Sept. 29 Wind Symphony Concert Oct. 8 Symphonic Band Concert Nov. 10 Wind Symphony Concert Nov. 19 Symphonic Band Concert Dec. 8 Holiday Concert

Feb. 14 Wind Symphony Concert Feb. 27 Symphonic Band Concert Mar. 9 Wind Symphony Concert Apr. 27 Wind Symphony Concert Apr. 28 Symphonic Band & Concert Band Concert

The Pride of West Virginia 2019-2020 Schedule

Aug. 31 WVU vs. James Madison Sept. 7 Wheeling 250 Parade Sept. 14 WVU vs. N.C. State Sept. 24 Kanawha County Exhibition Sept. 30 University HS Exhibition Oct. 4 WVU Homecoming Parade Oct. 5 WVU vs. Texas Oct. 12 WVU vs. Iowa State Nov. 9 WVU vs. Texas Tech Nov. 23 WVU vs. Oklahoma State Dec. 2 Keynotes Concert

mailto:[email protected]://www.music.wvu.edu/bands


Annual Report 2018-2019Wind Symphony Completes Another Successful YearSharing the Stage40th Invitational Honor Bands on Campus

wind symphony completes another successful year · 2019. 6. 14. · new drums, the wvu bands have...

Documents