Current Concert Season

Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director.

● “The Pursuit of Happiness: A Symphony for Wind Ensemble” by Jim Colonna. World premiere of a Yale Concert Band commission. Written in 2024, this twenty-minute work celebration of optimism in the face of hardship is inspired by The Happiness Lab, a positive psychology podcast hosted by Laurie Santos, the Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon Professor of Psychology at Yale University. Each movement (“The Seeker,” “When I looked to the sky, the stars sparkled with love,” “Simply, Play,” and “Be Here, Now”) is named after a quotation from philosopher Alan Watts and derived from Colonna’s favorite consonant and dissonant musical intervals.

● David Maslanka’s monumental “Symphony No. 4” (1993) is inspired by the spontaneous rise of the impulse to shout for the joy of life. Structured as a single thirty-minute movement, the symphony’s main melodic material is derived from Bach chorales and hymn tunes, most notably “Old Hundred.” According to Maslanka, these allusions take the composer’s fascination with the life of Abraham Lincoln as an entry point for contemplating the fundamental human issues of unity, transformation, and rebirth in times of chaos.

● Kevin Day’s energetic “Stride” (2023), a Yale Concert Band commission, contrasts brass and drum grooves with a lyrical section featuring the woodwinds. The piece is inspired by the two meanings of its title: to decisively overcome obstacles, but also to march on the field, a homage to Day’s background in the Texas marching band tradition.

● Charles Ives, Yale class of 1898, composed the “Country Band March” in 1903. The “out-of-tune” introduction and eclectic allusions to nursery rhymes, country fiddling and Sousa marches parody the sounds of a country band.
________________________________________

Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. Program:

● Gustav Holst composed his “First Suite in Eb for Military Band” in 1909. This milestone in the history of band literature is one of the few early band originals that has been transcribed for symphony orchestra. The Yale Concert Band is pleased to welcome Yale staff and faculty musicians to join this performance (click link below for music and information on how to join.)

● Viet Cuong wrote “Deciduous” after his father’s death, comparing the experience of grief and healing to the cycle of life, where there is the loss of one’s “leaves,” after which the leafless winter eventually is followed by a spring.

● Edward Elgar dedicated his “Enigma Variations” “to my friends pictured within,” each variation being an affectionate portrayal of one of his circle of close acquaintances. This classic band arrangement by Earl Slocum is reminiscent of the mighty orchestral transcriptions that comprised the wind band repertoire of the early and middle 20th century.

● L’homme armé diptych: “The Armed Man” (Karl Jenkins) and “The Philosopher’s Stone” (Thomas C. Duffy) Two contemporary settings of the medieval French secular song, “L’Homme Armé.”

● “The Cancer-Free Party” by Jonathan F. Weiss ’24, composer and narrator. This piece was commissioned through the Sing Me A Story Foundation and inspired by the story written by Lola (age 7) and Hamish (age 12) from Cancer Support Community Greater NY & CT at Gilda’s Club. (SMASF is a non-profit whose mission is to serve children and families in need through the imaginative stories of their children and the power of music).

Other music: “Like an Altar with 9000 Robot Attendants” (Ryan Lindveit), “Handel in the Strand” (Percy Grainger)

Wayne Escoffery, Music Director. In celebration of his 50th birthday and 8th year at Yale, Escoffery reflects on collaborations with friends and colleagues, with the band presenting big band arrangements and compositions by Steve Davis, Conrad Herwig, Michael Mossman, and others.

Thomas C. Duffy, Music Director. Feat. Jennifer Jolley’s “Dust” for brass quintet and wind ensemble, Seraph Brass, guest artists. “The Other Side of Silence” (Stephen Roberts), “Tarot” (Lindsay Bronnenkant), “Second Suite in F” (Gustav Holst).

All-female chamber group Seraph Brass was founded by trumpet soloist Mary Elizabeth Bowden with a mission to showcase the excellence of female brass players and highlight musicians from marginalized groups, both in personnel and in programming. Winners of the American Prize in Chamber Music, the group has been praised for their “beautiful sounds” (American Record Guide), “fine playing” (Gramophone), and “staggeringly high caliber of performance” (Textura). Seraph primarily performs as a quintet, with a dynamic roster drawing from America’s top brass musicians.