 The Sounds of Sousa Band Complete information on each concert, literature performed, soloists, and guest conductors, as well as personnel for each concert can all be found on our website: http://www.soundsofsousa.com/ This material covers the Happy Days Lodge Performance – Sunday, July 8th, 2012, 6:30p – 7:30p Site: Happy Days Lodge (500 West Streetsboro Road, Peninsula 44264 (81° 30.499' W) (41° 13.859' N). PENSINSULA: The Sounds of Sousa Band will present a concert at Happy Days Lodge on Sunday, July 8th, 2012, at 6:30p. The concert is presented by the Conservancy and the National Park Service, this popular concert series continues this summer. Admission: $20, $17 Conservancy members (includes a dessert reception). Season ticket subscription (all 3 concerts): $54, $45 Conservancy members. General seating. Advance sales are available until 3 p.m. on Friday for that Sunday's show by calling 330-657-2909 330-657-2909 ext. 100. Performances begin at 6:30 p.m. Dessert reception to follow. Grounds open at 5 p.m. for picnicking. On concert days, call the Cultural Arts Hotline at 330-650-4636 330-650-4636 ext. 228 after 2 p.m. for ticket availability and severe weather. The Sounds of Sousa Band is under the baton of conductor Marcus Neiman and associate conductor Mark Tryon. The concert will feature works by Shostakovich, Holsinger, Sullivan, Bernstein, Ticheli, King, Fillmore, and Sousa. Conductors  He received his bachelor of science in music education degree from The University of Akron, master of music in music education degree from The University of Michigan, postgraduate hours at The Kent State University, and The University of Akron. He was appointed as the interim assistant director of bands and administrator for the division of bands at the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music at Kent State University in May of 2010 and held that position 2010-2011 academic year. In addition to his duties with the division of bands, he also teaches their “Music Teaching as a Profession” course and supervises music education student teachers. Neiman has served The Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) as state president from July 1, 1998 through July 1, 2000. He was presented with OMEAs highest award “The Distinguished Service Award” at the 2010 Professional Development Conference in Cincinnati, on Friday, January 29th, 2010, becoming only the 57 recipient in the association’s history to receive the honor. Neiman has appeared with junior high/middle and high school, college and university, community bands, and American Federation of Musicians union professional bands as a guest conductor and in his characterization of famed bandmaster John Philip Sousa in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, (state of) Washington, and Wisconsin. Neiman made his first international appearance as John Philip Sousa in October of 2004 when he appeared as special guest conductor of the Volga Concert Band in Saratov, Russia (October 15th). During Neiman's visit to Russia, he also presented lectures at the Moscow Conservatory of Music and Saratov Conservatory of Music. Marcus and his wife Mary Ann, who is a professional clarinetist and program administrator - preparatory and continuing education department for the Cleveland Institute of Music, reside in Medina with their two cats Sasha and Dmitri. Marcus has two daughters (Nancy and Jennifer) from a previous marriage, three granddaughters, one grandson, and a godson. 
Program Notes Star Spangled Banner (John Stafford Smith arranged by John Philip Sousa) uses lyrics from a poem written in 1914 by Francis Scott Key, a then 35-year-old amateur poet after seeing the bombardment of Fort McHenry at Baltimore, Maryland, by Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812. The poem was set to the tune of a popular British drinking song, written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a London social club. Set to Key’s poem and renamed “The Star-Spangled Banner,” it would soon become a well-known American patriotic song. It was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover. Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom. Most prominent among them was “Hail, Columbia” which served as the de facto national anthem from Washington’s time and through the 18th and 19th centuries. Following the War of 1812 and subsequent American wars, other songs would emerge to complete for popularity at public events, among them “The Star Spangled Banner.”  Like many Soviet composers who were his contemporaries during his lifetime, Shostakovich found himself constantly under pressure from restrictions imposed by the Soviet musical world. There were many restrictions placed upon artists because of the Soviet concern for moral and social aspects rather than the pure aesthetic aspects of music. From the Soviet point of view, music works were meant to be of immediate and practical value for the imposing of Soviet viewpoints on culture. Therefore, the musical style of Shostakovich is a mixture of works containing parodies, programmatic devices, and conventional simplicity countered by works of originality, distinction, and significance. The composer’s output consists of three operas; three ballets; incidental music; scores for 15 films; 15 symphonies, as well as other orchestral works; two jazz suites; a concerto for piano, trumpet, and strings; music for voice and orchestra; chamber music; songs; and music for piano. (Action Ostling, University of Maryland). Folk
Dances. From his suite Native Country Leningrad
“Motherland,” op. 63, third movement “Dance of Youth” Native Leningrad was
the suite Shostakovich drew from his incidental music to the variety review
Native Country. Composed on commission by the Song and Dance Troop of the NKVD,
the Soviet Secret Police, in late 1942, Native Country proved such a hit at its
premiere in Moscow that Shostakovich compiled the suite of seven movements.
Although there has been no recording of either Native Country or Native Leningrad
in memory, the music apparently was so successful the NKVD commissioned
Shostakovich to compose the music for two further variety shows for their Song
and Dance Troop: Russian Rivers (1944) and Victorious Spring (1946).  King played an important role in the Iowa Band Law, state legislation giving municipalities the right to levy a small tax to support a municipal band. He was also one of the first march composers to write special music for the growing school band programs in America. In addition to writing marches, he also wrote overtures, waltzes, and other selections that could be used for individual concerts or massed band performances. Barnum and Bailey’s Favorite (March) – In 1913, Ned Brill, noted cornetist and director of the 32 piece Barnum and Bailey Circus Band, asked King to write a march for the band. At that time, King, twenty two years old, played euphonium and was about to join Brill's band. Barnum and Bailey's Favorite March was the result, and it was to be King's most famous composition. King, in this march as in many of his others, featured his instrument, the euphonium. Barnum and Bailey's Favorite March ranks very high in international popularity polls. On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss is a radical departure of style of this composer. The frantic tempos, the ebullient rhythms we associate with Holsinger are replaced with a restful, gentle, and reflective composition based on the 1876 Philip Bliss – Horatio Spafford hymn, “It is Well with my Soul”. Written to honor the retiring Principal of Shady Grove Christian Academy, On A Hymnsong Of Philip Bliss was presented as a gift from the SGCA Concert Band to Rev. Steve Edel in May of 1989. (David Holsinger – pictured at right)  Words to the hymn "It is Well with my Soul": It Is Well With My Soul When peace like a river,
attendeth my way, This hymn was written by Horatio Spafford following the death of his four daughters at sea on a voyage to England.  According to Charles MacKerras, the British composer who composed this ballet, “The score is a patchwork quilt of tunes from most of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Every bar of Pineapple Poll, even the short bridge passages, is taken from some opera or other. In 1950, the copyright on Sullivan's music expired. Gilbert's words would still enjoy another eleven years of protection, but the music was now fair game. One of the first to exploit it was Sadler's Wells, who mounted a ballet called Pineapple Poll based on Gilbert's Bab Ballad "The Bumboat Woman's Story" and set exclusively to music by Sullivan, arranged by a young Charles Mackerras. The ballet premiered in March, 1951, to coincide with the Festival of Britain. It caused an immediate sensation and remained in the Sadler's Wells repertoire for years to come.  Mackerras's arrangement weaves tunes from the Savoy Operas together brilliantly. The orchestration bounces from one tune to the next so quickly that the listener can scarcely keep up. His arrangement uses a much larger orchestra than Sullivan's forces — three each of woodwind and trumpets, plus lots of percussion. (A suite from the score that Chappell published reduced the orchestration to a more manageable size for amateur performers.)  In 1982 it became part of the New York City Opera's repertory. After Candide's unfortunate short run in its first production, the New York Philharmonic, under the direction of the composer, premièred the Overture to Candide, in 1957. It has been a favorite of orchestras and bands since. Bernstein (pictured at left) attended the Boston Latin School and Harvard University. At Harvard, he studied composition with Walter Piston and later, at Curtis, he studied with Randall Thompson and Fritz Reiner. In 1942 he was Serge Koussevitzky’s assistant at Tanglewood. While serving, at age twenty five, as assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic, the orchestra's guest conductor, Bruno Walter, became ill just sixteen hours before a broadcast concert. Bernstein conducted the performance and did it so adeptly that it brought him instant fame. In 1944 he composed the Jeremiah Symphony, his first important work. He was one of America's greatest musical geniuses. He achieved success as a conductor, pianist, composer and orchestrator. He also contributed greatly to the musical knowledge of laymen and is particularly well known in that regard for his series of television programs for young audiences. In 1969, after twelve years as conductor of the New York Philharmonic, he left that post to devote himself to composing, lecturing, and guest conducting. His legacy includes three symphonies, three ballets, an opera, a film score, four Broadway musicals, and several works for solo, chamber, and choral groups.  According to Herb Block, Henry got into a conflict with his father (who composed and published liturgical music in Cincinnati) over the kind of music that Henry was composing. Henry liked march music and said, “I will huff and puff and I will write my own music.” Hence, the name Will Huff. Fillmore was a true free spirit. He was brought up by a conservative family in a conservative town. When he couldn’t do as he wished, he ran away with a circus and played trombone in the circus band. To top it all off, he married an exotic dancer. Footlifter (March). The march was composed for a Cincinnati insurance agency which sponsored the radio broadcasts of the Fillmore Band, and was dedicated To Harry T. Garner, Secretary of the Cincinnati Automobile Dealers’ Association. The motto of the agency was “A penny a day” for insurance and, as he had done with other marches, Henry used the rhythm of the phrase “A penny a day” to dictate the opening rhythm of the march. The title was suggested by a personal friend of Henry’s who made the comment that the march was “a footlifter.”  The work begins at the bottom of the ensemble's register, and ascends gradually to a heartfelt cry of hope. The main theme that follows, stated by the horns, reveals a more lyrical, serene side of the piece. A second theme, based on a simple repeated harmonic pattern, suggests yet another, more poignant mood. These three moods - hope, serenity, and sadness - become intertwined throughout the work, defining its complex expressive character. A four-part canon builds to a climactic quotation of the Columbine Alma Mater. The music recedes, and an offstage trumpeter is heard, suggesting a celestial voice - a heavenly message. The full ensemble returns with a final, exalted statement of the main theme.  From Maine to Oregon march. This stirring and strongly upbeat march From Maine to Oregon is based on the grand finale of Sousa’s operetta The American Maid (The Glass Blowers). Stars and Stripes Forever march is considered the finest march ever written, and at the same time one of the most patriotic ever conceived. As reported in the Philadelphia Public Ledger (May 15, 1897) “ ... It is stirring enough to rouse the American eagle from his crag, and set him to shriek exultantly while he hurls his arrows at the aurora borealis.” (referring to the concert the Sousa Band gave the previous day at the Academy of Music). The march was not quite so well received though and actually got only an over-average rating for a new Sousa march. Yet, its popularity grew as Mr. Sousa used it during the Spanish-American War as a concert closer. Coupled with his Trooping of the Colors , the march quickly gained a vigorous response from audiences and critics alike. In fact, audiences rose from their chairs when the march was played. Mr. Sousa added to the entertainment value of the march by having the piccolo(s) line up in front of the band for the final trio, and then added the trumpets and trombones join them on the final repeat of the strain. The march was performed on almost all of Mr. Sousa’s concerts and always drew tears to the eyes of the audience. The author has noted the same emotional response of audiences to the march today. The march has been named as the national march of The United States. There are two commentaries of how the march was inspired. The first came as the result of an interview on Mr. Sousa’s patriotism. According to Mr. Sousa, the march was written with the inspiration of God. “I was in Europe and I got a cablegram that my manager was dead. I was in Italy and I wished to get home as soon as possible, I rushed to Genoa, then to Paris and to England and sailed for America. On board the steamer as I walked miles up and down the deck, back and forth, a mental band was playing ‘Stars and Stripes Forever.’ Day after day as I walked it persisted in crashing into my very soul. I wrote it on Christmas Day, 1896.” The second, and more probable inspiration for the march, came from Mr. Sousa’s own homesickness. He had been away from his homeland for some time on tour, and told an interviewer: “In a kind of dreamy way, I used to think over old days at Washington when I was leader of the Marine Band ... when we played at all public functions, and I could see the Stars and Stripes flying from the flagstaff in the grounds of the White House just as plainly as if I were back there again.” “Then I began to think of all the countries I had visited, of the foreign people I had met, of the vast differences between America and American people and other countries and other peoples, and that flag our ours became glorified ... and to my imagination it seemed to be the biggest, grandest, flag in the world, and I could not get back under it quick enough.” “It was in this impatient, fretful state of mind that the inspiration to compose ‘The Stars and Stripes Forever’ came to me.” The Sounds of Sousa Band Marcus Neiman, artistic conductor Sunday
Evening, July 8th, 2012
Program
National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner (1931) ............. Francis Scott Key/John Philip Sousa Overture, Festive Overture, Op. 96 (1965) ............................. Dmitri Shostakovich/Donald Hunsberger March, Barnum and Bailey’s Favorite (1913) ........................ Karl L. King Hymn, On a Hymnsong by Philip Bliss (1989) ...................... David R. Holsinger Suite, Pineapple Poll (1952) ................................................ Arthur Sullivan/Charles Mackerras and Charles Duthoit No. 1 – Opening Number No. 2 – Jasper’s Dance No. 3 – Poll’s Dance No. 4 – Finale Overture, Candide (1965) ................................................... Leonard Bernstein/Clare Grundman March, Footlifter (1935) ..................................................... Henry Fillmore/Richard Blatti Dance, Folk Dances (1979) ................................................ Dmitri Shostakovich/H. Robert Reynolds Tribute, An American Elegy (2000) ..................................... Frank Ticheli March, From Maine to Oregon (1913) ................................ John Philip Sousa/John Bourgeois National March, The Stars and Stripes Forever (1896).......... John Philip Sousa
Program subject to change |
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