Program Notes

Personnel/Production Credits

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Valor (Southern Music) (4:55) James Barnes
(© audio used by permission of the publisher)

Concerto Grosso (Musik Hussetts) Trygve Madsen
Ouverture (5:36)
Passacaglia (8:23)
Finale (4:12)

Three Utterances (Harlequin Music) Paul Harvey
Harangue (3:25)
Soliloquy (3:12)
Declamation (2:29)
SGM David Hydock, SFC Christopher Jones
SSG Shawn Herndon, SSG Diana Cassar-Uhl clarinets

Quintet (Musik Hussetts) Trygve Madsen
Allegretto (3:53)
Menuetto (3:38)
Larghetto-Allegro (5:31)
MSG Gregory Alley, SSG Brian Uhl, trumpets
SFC Martin Tyce, trombone SSG Troy Messner, horn
MSG Gerald Cates, tuba

Ike [Self-Published] 724.463.9640 (22:24) Jack Stamp
SGM Rick Gerard, narrator

PROGRAM NOTES

Valor

Professor James Barnes, a member of both the history and theory/composition departments at the University of Kansas, teaches orchestration, arranging, composition, wind band history and repertoire courses. He also served as an assistant and later as Associate Director of Bands for 27 years. Barnes has twice received the coveted American Bandmasters Association Ostwald Award for outstanding contemporary wind band music. Mr. Barnes has traveled extensively as a guest composer, conductor and lecturer throughout the United States, Europe, Australia, Japan and Taiwan.

Professor Barnes' motivation for writing Valor is truly touching. When he was eight years old, he fell off of a horse and was seriously injured. He nearly died as a result of those injuries; however, he survived having lost one of his kidneys. In 1966 when Professor Barnes was eighteen, he reported to his local draft board to receive his draft card. The board listed Professor Barnes as “4F,” a classification that would make him ineligible for service. He begged the draft official to change the designation, which she did, however Barnes was never able to serve in the military. He sees the writing of Valor as a small chance to give something back to his country.

Concerto Grosso, opus 121

Norwegian composer Trygve Madsen was born in 1940 into a family of rich musical traditions. He began composing at the age of seven. Among his compositions are roughly fifty Lieder, myriad chamber music for varying ensembles, concerti for various solo instruments and a satirical opera, Circus Terra. Concerto Grosso is a large scale work for brass and percussion. The piece was premiered on April 4, 2003 by the U.S. Military Academy Band. Concerto Grosso is in three movements: “Overture," "Passacaglia" and "Finale.” Mr. Madsen's style is neo-romantic, combining the passion of Brahms and Schubert with jazz influences. His melodies are in a neo-classical style, however, the underlying harmonies and rhythms are rife with the jazz idiom. Mr. Madsen lists heavyweight jazz pianist Oscar Peterson as one of his major influences.

Three Utterances

The West Point Clarinet Quartet commissioned Three Utterances by British composer Paul Harvey in October of 2000. Harvey was born in Sheffield, England in 1935 and began studying the clarinet at age twelve. He was a member of the Band of the Irish Guards, the Scottish National Orchestra and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He was also the leader of the London Saxophone Quartet for the entire sixteen years of the group's existence (1969-1985). The first movement of Three Utterances, “Harangue” is mainly concerned with chains of alternate major and minor triads. The following “Soliloquy” is a slow fugue with a peaceful chorale in the middle section. Beneath the chorale is an underlying ostinato rhythm. The perfect fifths of “Declamation” announce an unresolved conflict between 6/8 and 2/4.

The West Point Clarinet Quartet, consisting of Sergeant Major David Hydock, Sergeant First Class Christopher Jones, Staff Sergeant Diana Cassar-Uhl and Staff Sergeant Shawn Herndon, is one of a handful of clarinet quartets dedicated to exploring and performing the literature written and transcribed for this unusual ensemble. Founded in 1992, the group has since evolved into an integral part of the Military Academy Band Chamber Music Series.

Quintet, opus 120

Trygve Madsen's Quintet, opus 120 was written for the U.S. Military Academy Band's Regimental Brass Quintet. It is a work in three movements: “Allegretto," "Menuetto" and "Larghetto.” Quintet resembles Concerto Grosso in its neo-classical style. It is also interspersed with hints of the jazz idiom as well as morsels of romantic passion.

The Regimental Brass Quintet, consisting of Master Sergeant Greg Alley, trumpet, Master Sergeant Gerald Cates, tuba, Sergeant First Class Martin Tyce, trombone, Staff Sergeant Bryan Uhl, trumpet and Staff Sergeant Troy Messner, horn, is one several chamber ensembles at the U.S. Military Academy. Their first appearance west of the Mississippi River occurred in 1999 when they performed at the Kansas Music Educators Conference in Wichita. The group performs throughout the year at official military functions and presents concerts for church, school and civic groups in the tri-state region.

Ike

Jack Stamp's Ike was premiered in 2003 in Eisenhower Hall at West Point. The piece, scored for band and narrator, is a musical retelling of Eisenhower's career from cadet to president. Ike is comprised of three sections: his early years and West Point, D-Day and the presidency. The work's text was written by Dr. Joseph M. Dailey, professor of communication at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Dr. Dailey also served as a First Lieutenant with the 25th Division in Vietnam, where he received the Bronze Star for valor.

According to Mr. Stamp: “Though another fanfare would have been expeditious to write, I felt that a work befitting and uniquely composed for West Point would be appropriate. I realized that there were works on many [West Point] alumni, but not Dwight David Eisenhower. There is a collection of themes used in the work, many appearing in a leit motif setting. There is an original “Ike” theme, somewhat pastoral in nature, the West Point Alma Mater, as well as two additional themes, including a D-Day theme composed on Ike's initials D.D.E. that binds the work.”

Born in 1954, Dr. Jack Stamp is professor of music and director of bands at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he conducts the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band and teaches courses in conducting.

SSG Sam Kaestner

CONCERT BAND

PRODUCTION CREDITS