When played for the first time by Sousa’s Band in Philadelphia’s Academy of Music on April 21, 1899, “many feet were beating a tattoo.” The band was obliged to repeat it three times. Hands Across the Sea was off to a good start, and it has since remained a standard in band literature.

The march was addressed to no particular nation, but to all of America’s friends abroad. It has been suggested that Sousa was inspired by an incident in the Spanish-American War in which Captain Chichester of the British Navy came to the support of Admiral Dewey at Manila Bay. A second (and more likely) source is a line by Frere, which was printed on the front cover of the music: “A sudden thought strikes me … Let us swear an eternal friendship.”

The line by Frere apparently appeared in a play which Sousa read. In answering questions sent to him while serving in the navy, he gave this account in the Great Lakes Recruit in March 1918:

After the Spanish War there was some feeling in Europe anent our republic regarding this war. Some of the nations … thought we were not justified while others gave us credit for the honesty of our purpose. One night I was reading an old play and I came across this line, A sudden thought strikes me … Let us swear an eternal friendship.” This almost immediately suggested the title Hands across the Sea for that composition and within a few weeks that now famous march became a living fact.

Dwayne Milburn’s American Hymnsong Suite is firmly rooted in the composer’s family history as church musicians. He grew up singing and playing many different hymns, including the four tunes featured in this work. The final impetus to compose this particular treatment came during the course of an organ concert in Atlanta, Georgia. One section of the program featured innovative settings of three hymns. With the gracious consent of composers Joe Utterback and Brooks Kukendall, Milburn adapted their settings to act as the inner movements of the suite, bracketed with his own original treatments of favorite hymns.

Prelude on “Wondrous Love” (“What Wondrous Love is This”) opens with a chant-like statement of this Southern tune before proceeding to a more kinetic retelling. The origin of “Wonderous Love” can be traced back to 1811, and its inclusion in William Walker’s 1835 book of shapenote spirituals “The Southern Harmony” made it a well known favorite in the American South. 

“There is a Balm in Gilead” is a well-known traditional Black-American spiritual. The “Balm in Gilead” is a reference from the Old Testament, but the lyrics of this spiritual refer to the New Testament concept of salvation through Jesus Christ. The balm in Gilead is interpreted as a spiritual medicine that is able to heal Israel (and sinners in general). The first appearance of the spiritual in something close to its current form is uncertain. A version of the refrain can be found in Washington Glass’s 1854 hymn The Sinner’s Cure. Glass attributed this hymn to himself, but like several of the hymns so attributed, it is substantially the work of another. Ballad on “Balm in Gilead” features a rich jazz harmonization of this familiar spiritual.

The Scherzo on “Nettleton” (“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”) contains all the rhythmic playfulness inherent in the best orchestral third movements, and the March on “Wilson” (“When We All Get to Heaven”) calls to mind the wildest marching band ever heard. While audience members will certainly make various connections to this piece, the ongoing goal is to introduce all listeners to the richness of our American musical heritage.

Shenandoah is one of the most well-known and beloved Americana folk songs. Originally a river song detailing the lives and journeys of fur traders canoeing down the Missouri River, the symbolism of this culturally significant melody has been expanded to include its geographic namesake — an area of the eastern United States that encompasses West Virginia and a good portion of the western part of Virginia — and various parks, rivers, counties, and academic institutions found within.

Back in May of 2018, after hearing a really lovely duo arrangement of Shenandoah while adjudicating a music competition in Minneapolis, I asked myself, after hearing so many versions of this iconic and historic song, how would I set it differently? I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it, and before I realized it, I had composed and assembled just about all of this arrangement in my head by assigning bass notes to the melody and filling in the harmony in my head afterwards. I would intermittently check myself on the piano to make sure what I was imagining worked, and ended up changing almost nothing at all from what I’d heard in my mind’s ear.

This arrangement recalls the beauty of Shenandoah Valley, not bathed in golden sunlight, but blanketed by low-hanging clouds and experiencing intermittent periods of heavy rainfall (created with a combination of percussion textures, generated both on instruments and from the body). There are a few musical moments where the sun attempts to pierce through the clouds, but ultimately the rains win out. This arrangement of Shenandoah is at times mysterious, somewhat ominous, constantly introspective, and deeply soulful.

As the title suggests, Melodious Thunk was inspired by the famous jazz pianist Thelonious Monk. There are no direct quotes from the music of Monk, although a short fragment from Dizzy Gillespie’s tune Salt Peanuts is used. The composer, David Biedenbender, writes:

“I really liked the idea of playing around with Monk’s name, first, because I personally really enjoy goofing around with “spoonerisms” (silly, ridiculous, mix-and-match letter games, which often happen by accident: for example, slip of the tongue becomes tip of the slung), and, second, because this nickname actually provided great musical inspiration. Melodious: well, that’s fairly obvious; and thunk (which is a great onomatopoeia!) became the starting points for the piece. Big, fat thunks are interspersed with pointy, clunky, bluesy blips, which are then transformed into a long, smooth, laid-back melody accompanied by a funky bass line … I hope you’ll hear some similarities between this piece and Monk’s iconic musical style and quirky attitude.”

Gavorkna Fanfare was composed for and dedicated to Eugene Corporon and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony.

The work exploits the idea of a fanfare for full wind band, rather than the traditional brass and percussion instrumentation. The opening pyramids lead to the melodic minor third cluster heard in original and inversion simultaneously. A polychordal transition based on the upcoming “fugato” subject leads to a minimalist accompaniment to the four-part counterpoint. The opening idea returns with a coda based on the melodic minor third.

Aaron Copland composed An Outdoor Overture for an entirely indoor occasion: a concert by the orchestra of the High School of Music and Art in New York City on December 16, 1938. The school’s conductor, Alexander Richter, was in the process of launching a campaign to foster the writing of “American music for American youth,” and the composer found the invitation to write such a work “irresistible” (all the more, perhaps, because his music was undergoing a stylistic change). An Outdoor Overture was a milestone in confirming this change, since it was written for young people to play, and the vague criterion of accessibility therefore mattered more to Copland than it had before. This change proved crucial, of course, as the works of this period, including Appalachian Spring and Rodeo, and culminating in the Third Symphony of 1946, have remained his best-loved, most-performed scores.

This band arrangement was made by Copland himself — at his publisher’s suggestion — several years after its composition. The “outdoor” in the title stems from the style of spacious chordal writing, implying that very high and very low sonorities are present throughout.

Sousa consistently stated that this march was divinely inspired and was born of homesickness. In his autobiography, Marching Along, he provides the details of its creation after he had received a cablegram in Italy that his manager, David Blakely, had died:

“Aboard the Teutonic, as it steamed out of the harbor on my return from Europe in 1896, came one of the most vivid incidents of my career. As I paced the deck, absorbed in thought, suddenly I began to sense the rhythmic beat of a band playing within my brain. It kept on ceaselessly, playing, playing, playing. Throughout the whole tense voyage, that imaginary band continued to unfold the same themes, echoing and reechoing the most distinct melody. I did not transfer a note of that music to paper while I was on the steamer, but when we reached the shore, I set down the measures that my brain-band had been playing for me, and not a note of it has ever changed. The composition is known the world over as The Stars and Stripes Forever and is probably my most popular march.” (By permission of John Philip Sousa, Inc., New York City)

Paul Bierley states that The Stars and Stripes Forever is “by far the most popular march ever written, and its popularity is by no means limited to the United States.” A ten-year international march popularity survey confirms Bierley’s statement. The universal appeal of Sousa’s march is illustrated by an article in The New York Times by Harold Schonberg which tells of a tour to China by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1973. After sitting politely but stonily through a program which ranged from Beethoven to Copland, the orchestra struck up The Stars and Stripes. “All of a sudden electricity permeated the hall. Faces broke into smiles; feet began tapping; there was a general air of understanding and happiness. Maybe,… (it) really is the greatest piece of music ever written by an American. In any case, it has made more friends for America than any other piece of music…”

Singing is a part of the African American experience in the church and has been used in church to worship, provide different forms of communication, and create a sense of relief and encouragement. Hallmarks of the church experience such as the call-and-response method and the hymn-lining traditions are rooted in the history of slaves not being able to read. Both methods featured a leader reading the scripture and then the congregation repeating the material, signifying their understanding of the information.

The services transitions from hand claps and stomps to instruments in the early twentieth century during the beginning of the gospel era. The invention of the Hammond organ changed the church service, The Hammond organ became a cheaper alternative to the pipe organ and strengthened the ability to play melodies, harmonies and rhythmic accompaniments, becoming the foundation of the church services. Come Sunday represents this church tradition through the Hammond organ’s role and provides an understanding of this individualized experience.

Flute/Piccolo
Patrick Deese
Taylor Gall
Alanna Grettler
Victoria Higdon-Jimenez
Autumn Latiolais
Alexa Moss
Clariza Richert

Oboe
Noemi Luna
Miller Scoggins
Campbell Underwood
Cailey van Heugten

Bassoon
Ally Clark
Audrey Johnson

Clarinet
Caldonia Carmello
Mads Groennegaard
Riley Heywood
Jacob Johnson
Avery Lindecamp
Owen Maur
Janelle Rasp
Holden Robertson
Vivid Sunman
Madison Trask
Jordan Washington

Bass Clarinet
Brent Bennett
Jackson Marshall

Alto Saxophone
Deanna Bennett
Steve Qiu
Nathan Rein
Isa Rodriguez
Adam Tart
Coleman VanDyke
Caleb Werghis

Tenor Saxophone
Samuel Baker
Emma Callahan
Aden Kirby
Madeline McCaulley
Mackenzie Lovelace
Blake Zampino

Baritone Saxophone
Nate Lowe
Brandon Moore

Trumpet
Jairo Azamar-Trejo
William Barriocanal
Abigail Campbell
Sydney Haggard
Torrie Hedrick
Mitali Mirchandani
Nhan Phan
Aidan Storey
Jill Tice
Johannes van Die

Horn in F
Wilson Brittain
Damaris Caesar
Alexis De Castro
Dawson Green
Ethan Harrell
Eli Henning
Hailey Stephens

Euphonium
Kaylie Awalt
Cooper Jameson
Diego Pichardo

Tuba
Eva Francis
Alex Patterson

String Bass
Arsyn McBride

Percussion
Jake Appelbaum
Joshua Paul Buenavides
Blue Burgess-Johnson
Audrey Chretien
Kate Grundman
Evan Hancock
Zach Hanspal
Everest Pfauth
Logan Prenda
Ejay Tan
Yannet Torres
Katherine York

Flute/Piccolo
Dominic Nguyen
Annie Cheek
Sharvi Gandhi
AJ Magistrado
Caitlyn Yount
Ambar Tejada Compres
Chloe Morton
Teja Sista

Oboe
Emma Teeter

Bassoon
Ethan Satina
Erika Fetvedt

Clarinet
Kyle Hinckley
Jordan Eilers
Jake Timin
Maegan Nielander
Kate Buckner
Tristan Castellini
Claire Siegel
Lizzie Rappaport
Sela Bettoli
Mia Olgine
Layla Vaughn

Bass Clarinet
Emily Dodson
Gavin Macrone
Eevee Chapman

Alto Saxophone
Nathaniel Baird
Seth Olanovich
Julie Gale
Nate Robinson
Vincent Quaintance

Tenor Saxophone
Edmund Armistead
Jack Fulp

Baritone Saxophone
Karson Yount
Ethan Newhouse

Trumpet
Owen Forbes
Srikar Desemsetti
Eiad Yakout
Adah Morton
James Rhile
Ablam Akakpo
Teague Atwell
Bebe Staton
Dylan Whitehead
Cooper Bryan
Bonnie Jo Taylor
Virginia Griffith

Horn in F
Trevor Petzold
Grayson Chaffin
David Cumby
Jonah Catlin
Hannah Williams
Jaden Smith

Euphonium
Matthew Pearce
Daniel Bailey
Mira Mistry

Tuba
Joey Carbone
Maggie McSawley

Piano
Elaine Wolochuk

String Bass
Colby Vasquez

Percussion
Liam Courtright
Emma Dale
Bodey Good
Amanda Hallacher
Elizabeth Ingram
Mason Lizotte
Alec Russell
Josh Schmid