Program Booklet
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Program Notes
Danzón No. 2 — Arturo Márquez
The danzón is a slow elegant partner dance and musical genre that originated in 19th century Cuba and has been adopted as that country’s national dance. It became widely popular in Mexico during the 20th century. Mexican composer Arturo Márquez (b. 1950) first conceived the idea for Danzon No. 2 in 1993 when he visited with artist-friends who are experts in salon dances. Marquez pursued his study of this form in later visits to Veracruz and Mexico City and by listening to old recordings of Cuban dance orchestras. Danzon No. 2 aims to get as close as possible to the nostalgic melodies and wild rhythms of the danzón. The piece opens with a wistful melody in the solo clarinet, moves through various instrumental tones and tempos, takes a livelier turn with an exultant trumpet solo and ends with an exuberant final crescendo. Originally written for symphony orchestra, the piece has enjoyed great popularity worldwide since it was included in the 2007 European tour of the Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. It has also gained an important spot in the modern concert band literature through Oliver Nickel ‘s arrangement, which we are playing today.
Arrangement by Nickel.
Arrangement by Nickel.
Pathways — Danielle Fisher
A poem by Rainer Maria Rilke was the inspiration for Danielle Fisher's Pathways:
Understand, I'll slip quietly away
from the noisy crowd
when I see the pale stars
rising, blooming, over the oaks.
I'll pursue solitary pathways
through the pale
twilit meadows with only this one dream:
You come too.
Danielle Fisher (b. 1986) is an internationally recognized composer, arranger and dedicated music educator. She is the Director of Bands at Dr. Jimmie Don Aycock Middle School near Austin, Texas, and also serves as Staff Arranger for the Newfound Chamber Winds.
Understand, I'll slip quietly away
from the noisy crowd
when I see the pale stars
rising, blooming, over the oaks.
I'll pursue solitary pathways
through the pale
twilit meadows with only this one dream:
You come too.
Danielle Fisher (b. 1986) is an internationally recognized composer, arranger and dedicated music educator. She is the Director of Bands at Dr. Jimmie Don Aycock Middle School near Austin, Texas, and also serves as Staff Arranger for the Newfound Chamber Winds.
Deep River — Benjamin Horne
Deep River is an anonymous African American spiritual, popularized by Henry Burleigh in his 1916 collection Jubilee Songs of the USA. It is one of best known and best-loved spirituals. Benjamin Horne's arrangement is inspired by a popular art song version made by recorded by Burleigh, whose low baritone voice and other renditions by singers such as Paul Robeson are the motivation for this version's use of solo tuba for the song's initial presentation. Benjamin Horne (b. 1995) is a conductor, composer/arranger, educator and low brass performer—his primary instrument is the euphonium. He is currently a Doctoral Wind Conducting and Master's in Music Composition student at Michigan State University.
Shadows Unleashed — Brian Balmages
Accompanying Animation by Marc Russo in celebration of Triangle Wind Ensemble ‘s 25th Anniversary
For TWE’s 25th anniversary, we present a newly commissioned prequel to the story of Sebastian, taking place in the same fantasy world as Marc Russo’s original. The piece paints pictures of dark shadows dancing ominously. But like Mackey’s Sheltering Sky, there is no overt story, allowing Professor Russo to continue his world building around the lovable character of Sebastian. Brian Balmages (b. 1975) is a prolific composer of music for concert bands at every level.
This work, Shadows Unleashed, was commissioned by the Dover Middle School Bands (Dover, Ohio). The composer aimed to create a work with a dark and somewhat mischievous character, with both playful and sinister elements. It is fascinating to see how this music creates a storyline imagined by Marc Russo and his colleagues, using some of the same animated characters that first appeared in the earlier work we commissioned to celebrate our 20th anniversary, Sheltering Sky. Shadows Unleashed, however, can also be understood as a prequel to Sheltering Sky, providing the backstory for the enchanting tale of our hero, Sebastian, his little feathered friend, and the sprite.
note by Dr. Evan Feldman and Kathy Silbiger
For TWE’s 25th anniversary, we present a newly commissioned prequel to the story of Sebastian, taking place in the same fantasy world as Marc Russo’s original. The piece paints pictures of dark shadows dancing ominously. But like Mackey’s Sheltering Sky, there is no overt story, allowing Professor Russo to continue his world building around the lovable character of Sebastian. Brian Balmages (b. 1975) is a prolific composer of music for concert bands at every level.
This work, Shadows Unleashed, was commissioned by the Dover Middle School Bands (Dover, Ohio). The composer aimed to create a work with a dark and somewhat mischievous character, with both playful and sinister elements. It is fascinating to see how this music creates a storyline imagined by Marc Russo and his colleagues, using some of the same animated characters that first appeared in the earlier work we commissioned to celebrate our 20th anniversary, Sheltering Sky. Shadows Unleashed, however, can also be understood as a prequel to Sheltering Sky, providing the backstory for the enchanting tale of our hero, Sebastian, his little feathered friend, and the sprite.
note by Dr. Evan Feldman and Kathy Silbiger
Sheltering Sky — John Mackey
Music by John Mackey
Animation by Marc Russo
In 1940, Disney made the world of orchestral music more accessible to audiences with the release of their wonderful animated film, Fantasia. Images of enchanted broomsticks laboring to Dukas’ Sorcerer’s Apprentice, hippopotami in tutus pirouetting to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, and dinosaurs lumbering to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring have helped engage audiences for generations.
In celebration of our 20th Anniversary season, the Triangle Wind Ensemble undertook a similar project, this time using an original piece of wind band music as the source material. The composition we selected, Sheltering Sky, is a beautiful piece by one of the most popular and talented wind band composers writing today, John Mackey (b. 1973). To create the animation, TWE commissioned NC State University Associate Professor of Art + Design, Marc Russo, to develop a story and animation to match Mackey’s music as well as Disney’s centaurs do in Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony.
The final Sheltering Sky animation premiered at TWE’s 20th Anniversary Concert on April 13, 2019 in the Cary Arts Center in Cary, NC.
This animation is now available to the wind band community as a whole so that their ensembles and audiences can share in the experience that is this Sheltering Sky.
Animation by Marc Russo
In 1940, Disney made the world of orchestral music more accessible to audiences with the release of their wonderful animated film, Fantasia. Images of enchanted broomsticks laboring to Dukas’ Sorcerer’s Apprentice, hippopotami in tutus pirouetting to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, and dinosaurs lumbering to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring have helped engage audiences for generations.
In celebration of our 20th Anniversary season, the Triangle Wind Ensemble undertook a similar project, this time using an original piece of wind band music as the source material. The composition we selected, Sheltering Sky, is a beautiful piece by one of the most popular and talented wind band composers writing today, John Mackey (b. 1973). To create the animation, TWE commissioned NC State University Associate Professor of Art + Design, Marc Russo, to develop a story and animation to match Mackey’s music as well as Disney’s centaurs do in Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony.
The final Sheltering Sky animation premiered at TWE’s 20th Anniversary Concert on April 13, 2019 in the Cary Arts Center in Cary, NC.
This animation is now available to the wind band community as a whole so that their ensembles and audiences can share in the experience that is this Sheltering Sky.
El Salón México — Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (1900-1990) conceived the idea of writing an orchestral work built around popular Mexican tunes in 1932 after several visits to Mexico as a guest composer/conductor. The music of a popular dance hall in Mexico City, Salon Mexico, provided him with a tangible subject. El Salón México was a popular venue for a wide variety of tunes and dances, including waltz, foxtrot, tango, pasodoble, and the Cuban danzón. Copland used three folk songs based on sheet music he picked up on visits to Mexico, and used them in slightly altered versions throughout El Salón Mexico: El Palo Verde (the green stick), La Jesusita (the little camp follower), and El Mosco (the fly). These three folk songs are presented in an extended introduction, a slow middle section, and an uproarious conclusion, with approximately 150-meter changes and an additional 65 changes between duple and triple figures throughout the piece, presenting quite a challenge for both the conductor and the musicians! The original work was written for full orchestra. The first performance, in 1937, was given by the Orquesta Sinfónica de México under the direction of Carlos Chávez.
The arrangement for concert band was made in 1966 by Mark Hindsley, the long-time director of the University of Illinois bands. Interestingly, Copland once described El Salón Mexico as “a bright, cheerful and lively piece which should be played only from time to time."
Arrangement by Hindsley.
The arrangement for concert band was made in 1966 by Mark Hindsley, the long-time director of the University of Illinois bands. Interestingly, Copland once described El Salón Mexico as “a bright, cheerful and lively piece which should be played only from time to time."
Arrangement by Hindsley.
————Intermission———--
Symphony No. 4 — David Maslanka
This imposing work is a cornerstone of the advanced repertory originally written for large wind band, and it was the first choice of TWE members when asked to suggest pieces to program on our 25th Anniversary concert. It presents great challenges for the musicians who, if they meet those challenges, are rewarded with an experience that is cathartic for both players and audience. David Maslanka (1943-2017) was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts and attended Oberlin College Conservatory where he studied composition. He spent a year at the Mozarteum in Austria, followed by masters and doctoral study in composition at Michigan State University where his principal teacher was H. Owen Reed, himself a legendary composer for wind band.
Among the more than 150 works Maslanka composed, over a third of them are for wind ensemble. After teaching at the college level for many years, Maslanka decided to move to Missoula, Montana where he made his home and a career as a freelance composer from 1990 until his death in 2017. Regarding his Symphony No. 4, he left us with this program note:
The sources that give rise to a piece of music are many and deep. It is possible to describe the technical aspects of a work – its construction principles, its orchestration – but nearly impossible to write of its soul nature except through hints and suggestions. The roots of Symphony No. 4 are many. The central driving force is the spontaneous rise of the impulse to shout for the joy of life. I feel it is the powerful voice of the Earth that comes to me from my adopted western Montana, and the high plains and mountains of central Idaho. My personal experience of the voice is one of being helpless and tom open by the power of the thing that wants to be expressed – the welling-up shout that cannot be denied. I am set aquiver and am forced to shout and sing. The response in the voice of the Earth is the answering shout of thanksgiving, and the shout of praise. Out of this, the hymn tune Old Hundred, several other hymn tunes (the Bach chorales Only Trust in God to Guide You and Christ Who Makes Us Holy), and original melodies which are hymn-like in nature, form the backbone of Symphony No. 4.
— Notes provided by Kathy Silbiger, unless otherwise indicated
Among the more than 150 works Maslanka composed, over a third of them are for wind ensemble. After teaching at the college level for many years, Maslanka decided to move to Missoula, Montana where he made his home and a career as a freelance composer from 1990 until his death in 2017. Regarding his Symphony No. 4, he left us with this program note:
The sources that give rise to a piece of music are many and deep. It is possible to describe the technical aspects of a work – its construction principles, its orchestration – but nearly impossible to write of its soul nature except through hints and suggestions. The roots of Symphony No. 4 are many. The central driving force is the spontaneous rise of the impulse to shout for the joy of life. I feel it is the powerful voice of the Earth that comes to me from my adopted western Montana, and the high plains and mountains of central Idaho. My personal experience of the voice is one of being helpless and tom open by the power of the thing that wants to be expressed – the welling-up shout that cannot be denied. I am set aquiver and am forced to shout and sing. The response in the voice of the Earth is the answering shout of thanksgiving, and the shout of praise. Out of this, the hymn tune Old Hundred, several other hymn tunes (the Bach chorales Only Trust in God to Guide You and Christ Who Makes Us Holy), and original melodies which are hymn-like in nature, form the backbone of Symphony No. 4.
— Notes provided by Kathy Silbiger, unless otherwise indicated
Triangle Wind Ensemble Performers
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Flute
Cindy Chastang Merritt Flexman Lauren Robbins-Pollack Tammy Schmidt* Jennifer Wesner Piccolo Tammy Schmidt* Clarinet Meredith Bryan Lecia Cecconi-Roberts* Misti Griffith Drew Johnson Connor Magoon Lorena Schakel Nick Siedentop Gail VanMatre Tara Wilkinson Ryan Wing Bass Clarinet Victoria Alston Julie Wall |
Contra Alto Clarinet
David Nelson Oboe/English Horn Virginia Carty Katie Michalak Bassoon Robin Hashey* Wayne Wise Soprano Saxophone Aaron Payne Alto Saxophone Katherine Lee Aaron Lee* Tenor Saxophone Roberta Melton Baritone Saxophone Lynn Narveson |
Trumpet
Jim Alexander* Christine Bui Eric Daniel Carey Forman Robert Hunter Kathy Silbiger Matt Wakeford Horn Laura Alexander Daniel Fenton Dawn Jonckowski* Eric Smith Isaac Tomblin Ed Walaski Euphonium Liz Jenkins Connie Varner* James Wagner Trombone Michal Evans Garry Grabow Marshall Sweet |
Bass Trombone
Dorey Freeman Tuba Tim Kohring Sean Myers Bill White Percussion Phillip Brown Marc Garcia Bill Hayes* Rachel Oglesby Nikolai Sbityakov Evan Stahl Piano/Keyboard Luna Knudsen Drew Johnson Harp Samantha Horn Music Director Evan Feldman * Denotes Section Leader |
Special Thanks to Our 2025-26 Season Sponsors
Our Season Sponsors help provide the financial support needed to enable us to create outstanding music. To find our how you can become a Season Sponsor and the benefits of doing so, please visit our Sponsors page.
Fortississimo Level Sponsors
- Jim & Laura Alexander
- Lynn Narveson & Roberta Melton
- Kathy & Lex Silbiger
- Jan, Carol, & Brian Squillace, in memory of Dan Squillace
- Kim & Tim Sweet
- Christine & Sy Bui
- Cindy Chastang
- The Greg and Beth DeMarco Family
- Carey & Lisa Forman
- Dennis & Jane Gilmore
- Gail VanMatre Photography
- Bill & Sharon Hayes
- Judith & Paul Kindig
- Luna Knudsen
- Katherine Lee
- Gerold & Cathy Mohn, in memory of Daniel Squillace
- Teri, David, & Eric Smith
- Jim & Donna Sosnowski
- Pam & Rich Stearns
- James & Cassandra Wagner
- Ed & Kimberly Walaski
- Bill & Marlene White
- Erin Wynia
- Joe & Suzie Adamsky
- Larry & Kathy Alston
- Lecia Cecconi & Ray Roberts
- Alan Davidovich
- Maureen Davis
- Chris Dodson
- Michal Evans
- Merritt & Greg Flexman
- Garry & Kristi Grabow
- Robin Hashey
- The Holley Family
- Linda & Joel Johnson
- Dawn Jonckowski
- Patricia Landis
- Holly & Paul Mandelkern
- Katie Michalak
- Aaron Payne
- Lauren Robbins-Pollack
- Lorena Schakel
- Tammy Schmidt
- Nick Siedentop
- Mark Springfield
- Marshall Sweet
- Gail & Reed VanMatre
- Connie Varner
- Jennifer Wesner
- Julie Wesner
- Julie Wilkerson
- Tara Wilkinson
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Institutional Partners
Thanks also to the following institutional and community partners who have helped TWE in a variety of ways this year...
Our Music Director
Dr. Evan Feldman is Director of Wind Studies and Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he conducts the Wind Ensemble and teaches courses in conducting and music education. He also directs the Triangle Wind Ensemble and serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Greensboro Sym- phony, where he conducts education, holiday, and pops concerts.
He is an active guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator in and outside of the United States, with recent engagements in Spain, Switzerland, Romania, Belgium, and Tanzania, as well as all-state, all-district, and all-county honor bands in the United States. Under his direction, the UNC Wind Ensemble has twice been invited to perform at the College Band Directors National Association southern division conference.
In 2020, Dr. Feldman’s college textbook, Instrumental Music Education (Routledge Publishing), was released in its third edition and has been adopted by university music education programs throughout the country. He is the author of the first MOOC (massive open online course) dedicated to conducting and rehearsal technique. Over 30,000 students have enrolled through Coursera.org.
Dr. Feldman’s arrangements and editions of music by Léo Delibes, Ralph Vaughan Williams, George Enescu, Antonin Dvořák, Ariel Ramirez, and Sergei Prokofiev are published by Tierolff Muziekcentrale.
Dr. Feldman earned the Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he studied with Donald Hunsberger and Mendi Rodan and served as an assistant conductor for the Eastman Wind Ensemble and Eastman Wind Orchestra. He received his Masters in Conducting from Ithaca College and his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Duke University. He previously taught high school band in Hicksville, NY.
He is an active guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator in and outside of the United States, with recent engagements in Spain, Switzerland, Romania, Belgium, and Tanzania, as well as all-state, all-district, and all-county honor bands in the United States. Under his direction, the UNC Wind Ensemble has twice been invited to perform at the College Band Directors National Association southern division conference.
In 2020, Dr. Feldman’s college textbook, Instrumental Music Education (Routledge Publishing), was released in its third edition and has been adopted by university music education programs throughout the country. He is the author of the first MOOC (massive open online course) dedicated to conducting and rehearsal technique. Over 30,000 students have enrolled through Coursera.org.
Dr. Feldman’s arrangements and editions of music by Léo Delibes, Ralph Vaughan Williams, George Enescu, Antonin Dvořák, Ariel Ramirez, and Sergei Prokofiev are published by Tierolff Muziekcentrale.
Dr. Feldman earned the Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he studied with Donald Hunsberger and Mendi Rodan and served as an assistant conductor for the Eastman Wind Ensemble and Eastman Wind Orchestra. He received his Masters in Conducting from Ithaca College and his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Duke University. He previously taught high school band in Hicksville, NY.
