Hodgson Wind Ensemble concert spans “joyride” to “Daydreams”

The Hodgson Wind Ensemble (HWE) opens the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s March slate with a strong, diverse program in Hodgson Concert Hall on Tuesday, March 1, at 8 p.m.

The ensemble’s first Hodgson Hall appearance of the spring will be a varied, repertoire-spanning affair, with wind band classics from Václav Nelhýbel and Ralph Vaughan Williams, newer works by Tyler Grant, Takuma Itoh and Roberto Sierra and a clarinet concerto from the turn of the 20th century.

Grant’s “Panoramic Fanfare” opens the concert with a single minute of music. Though short, the vibrant piece is, according to HWE director Dr. Cynthia Johnston Turner, “a competition winner for brass and percussion.”

“’Folk Song Suite’ and ‘Symphonic Movement’ by Vaughan Williams and Nelhýbel, respectively, are classics and representative of a time in the wind band world that celebrated the new color possibilities in the wind ensemble,” said Johnston Turner.

Two of the works that fall into the “modern” category of the program have personal connections to Johnston Turner. Steven Stucky was a friend and former Cornell colleague of Johnston Turner, and following his passing on February 14, it was decided that the performance of “Daydreams” by Itoh, a student of Stucky, would be dedicated to the late composer.

“It's an ethereal, musical daydream that surrounds the listener with color and fantasy,” said Johnston Turner. “Indeed, some of it is performed in the balconies.”

“Montuno” by Sierra, a long-time colleague of Stucky’s at Cornell, is described by Johnston Turner as a “'knock-out-of-the-park' Latin-infused joyride for everyone in the room.”

The concert also features some of the School of Music’s faculty talent with Henri Rabaud’s “Solo de Concours.” D. Ray McClellan, professor of clarinet, will perform as soloist for what the concert program notes describe as a “showpiece of musical mastery.”

Assisting Johnston Turner with conducting duties will be two of her graduate students, Jack A. Eaddy Jr. and Tyler Ehrlich.

Tickets are $10 each or $5 with a UGA student ID and are available at pac.uga.edu, 706-542-4400 or by visiting the Performing Arts Center box office.

The UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music sponsors more than 350 performances each year. To view the performance calendar, subscribe to the weekly email concert listing or learn more about the School of Music, go to music.uga.edu.