The Ridgewood Concert Band Presents

The Lincoln Legacy

Sunday, March 8, 2015
7:00 PM
West Side Presbyterian Church
Ridgewood, New Jersey

Special Guest
Ramapo College Chorale - Dr. Lisa Lutter, Director

Soloist
Diana Powers Rettie - Flute


Diana Powers Rettie

Program Highlights

Major Dwayne S. Milburn is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. In 1986 he graduated from UCLA with a BFA in Music and received a Masters of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1992. In 1993 he became the Director of Cadet Music for the Unites States Army Military Academy at West Point. He received his Ph.D. in Music from UCLA in 2009 and is in great demand as a conductor, composer, arranger and clinician. Milburn notes that "American Hymnsong Suite is firmly rooted in [his] family history as church musicians." He grew up singing and playing many different hymns, including the four hymns featured in this work: Prelude on "Wondrous Love" ("What Wondrous Love Is This"), Ballad on "Balm in Gilead," Scherzo on "Nettleton," and March on "Wilson." Milburn says that "whilst many audience members will certainly make various religious connections to the piece, the ongoing goal is to introduce all listeners to the richness of our American musical heritage."

Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.

Lincoln Portraitwas commissioned by Andre Kostelanetz for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in early 1942. Copland initially chose Walt Whitman as his subject, but immediately picked Lincoln instead when Kostelanetz suggested a historical government figure. For the narration, which occurs only in the Portrait's third and final section, Copland used Lincoln's words, adding his own brief descriptions of the former president. Characteristic of Copland's populist and patriotic music, Lincoln Portrait quotes traditional popular tunes: "Springfield Mountain" and Stephen Foster's "Camptown Races," while the largest portion of the musical work is Copland's own genius.

Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.

Battle Hymn of the Republicoriginated when Julia Ward Howe, the wife of a prominent Boston abolitionist, visited a Union army camp in Virginia during the Civil War. There she heard soldiers singing "John Brown's Body" to a tune attributed to William Steffe, a Philadelphia insurance salesman, and probably composed in 1855 or 18566. Howe decided to write new verses more fitting to the conflict between the North and theSouth. Her "Battle Hymn" was published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862 and has expressed America's resolve during every conflict since. The arrangement heard here was prepared by Mr. Wilhousky, a New York-based chorus master. This setting has become the definitive rendition of the work as it never fails to stir the emotion of its audience.

Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.

This classic march is Grafulla's most widely known composition, and it has been arranged and rearranged for countless contemporary bands. Research indicates that The Washington Greys were the 8th Regiment of New York, based at Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx. Their name is chiseled in stone in the Armory entranceway. The 8th became the 258th Field Artillery and is still part of the 42nd InfantryDivision (Rainbow) of the Army National Guard. Prior to the Civil War, gray was a standard color for military uniforms; it was not until the development of the Confederacy that the Union uniform color became blue. The Washington Greys were the original honor guard for George Washington when he was welcomed back to New York City after the British evacuated in 1783. The Washington Greys March is Grafulla's most famous work because of the way the march is constructed. It is musically cohesive, with its running sixteenth notes and a responding rich bass voice making a magnificent counterpoint. This very spirited march demands virtuosity from its performers.

Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.

Sousa marches often bear a dedication to people, places, or events. Marching Through Georgia is a powerfully inventive patrol setting of Henry Clay Work's immensely popular 1865 civil war song. It was written to commemorate William Tecumseh Sherman's famed and decisive Union Army "March to the Sea" which historically broke the backbone of the rebellious Confederacy. The patrol setting gives the listener the aural view of the band approaching from the distance, sounding full as it passes, and fading in its retreat.

Program notes compiled by Marcie Phelan.