Oakland University
Youth Brass Band
and
The Oakland University
Brass Band
Kenneth Kroesche, conductor
Amanda Ross, conductor
Sunday, March 19, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.
Oakland University West Campus
Oakland University | School of Music, Theatre and Dance
PROGRAM
Oakland University Brass Band
Kenneth Kroesche, conductor
The Cornish Cavalier William Edward Moyle
Elegy from A Downland Suite John Ireland
Heroes Bruce Broughton
The Year of the Dragon Philip Sparke
I. Toccata
II. Interlude
III. Finale
INTERMISSION
Oakland University Youth Brass Band
Death or Glory Robert Browne Hall
Amanda Ross, conductor
A Little Prayer Evelyn Glennie
arranged by Robert Childs
The Journal of Phileas Fogg Peter Graham
Kenneth Kroesche, conductor
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OAKLAND UNIVERSITY BRASS BAND
Soprano Cornet Flugelhorn Bass Trombone
Carlo Perez-Hijar Nicole Tremonti Dustin Freeman
Solo Cornet Solo Horn Euphonium
Shannon Sheldrick* Derek Kolp* Iyla Miller
Amanda Ross James Long
Anna Greyerbiehl First Horn
Christopher Rother Jonathon Esbri E-flat Tuba
Kole Micakaj Brandon Thibault*
Peter Yee Second Horn Brian Wiik
Jessie Pruehs
Repiano Cornet B-flat Tuba
Jordan Berg First Baritone Noah McDonald*
Chris Warren Tarek Murray
Second Cornet
Luke Voight Second Baritone Percussion
Jaden Wood Andrew Pettit Jacob Voight*
Kyle Paoletti
Third Cornet Trombone Collin Arena
August Wicker Mabelynn Dill* Taylor Atkinson
Abbigail Barrows Grant Martinez Makenzie Harrington
* denotes principal player
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OAKLAND UNIVERSITY YOUTH BRASS BAND
Soprano Cornet First Trombone
Chanmin Jung, Novi William Raleigh, Holly
Solo Cornet Second Trombone
Arnav Patri, Novi Gregory Jankowski, Lamphere
Danny Stern, Bloomfield Hills
Sara Zebrowski, Cousino Bass Trombone
Nathan Emeott, Novi Logan Synnestvedt, Anchor Bay
Riya Panicker, Eisenhower Isabelle Rakowski, Cousino
Repiano Cornet Euphonium
Ashley Rennells, Novi Makenzie Barber, Holly
Tiffany Canup, Stevenson
Second Cornet Alex Reszewski, Rochester Adams
Samuel Raleigh, Holly
Mason Kanalas, John Glenn E-flat Tuba
Emma Lang, Lamphere Caden Dillon, Holly
Elijah Cambare, Stevenson
Third Cornet Pierce VanHaaren, Chesaning Union
Julio Peralta, Rochester Adams
Alejandro Zorrilla, Rochester Adams B-flatTuba
Van Bellomo, Rochester Adams
Flugelhorn Jacob Weiss, Rochester Adams
Stevie Canup, Stevenson
Percussion
Solo Horn Tayare Cook, Stevenson
Olivia Shaw, Anchor Bay Lydia Fuller, Rochester Adams
Jessika Scheid, Anchor Bay
First Horn OU Faculty & Student Assistants
Aidan Sage, Anchor Bay Anna Greyerbiehl, cornet coach
Nicole Tremonti, cornet/flugelhorn coach
Second Horn Derek Kolp, tenor horn coach
Markwon Blocker, L’anse Creuse Mabelynn Dill, trombone coach
Chris Warren, euphonium/baritone coach
First Baritone Iyla Miller, euphonium coach
Brenna Jackson, Stevenson Noah McDonald, tuba coach
Mattheas Boelter, percussion coach
Second Baritone
Lucy Lagman, Rochester Adams Dr. James Long, guest conductor & OU faculty
Abigail Burkel, Warren Woods Tower
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Program Notes
Death or Glory Robert Brown Hall
Robert Brown Hall was a virtuoso cornet player, an outstanding bandmaster, and the composer of many fine
marches. He dedicated his march (title Death or Glory in Europe) to the Tenth Regiment Band of Albany, New
York. He had been invited in the summer of 1900 to rebuild the band - described by the National Guard Unit
commanding officer, Col. Raymond L. Fitch, as “musically bankrupt” - and in a year’s time the group was
proficient enough to be invited to participate in the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, New York.
Twenty-two of the finest bands in the nation (including those directed by John Philip Sousa, Patrick Conway,
J.M. Missud, T.P. Brooke, and John Slatter of Toronto, Canada) provided continuous music for the exposition
visitors. Hall’s pride in the progress made by the Tenth Regiment Band is reflected in this composition.
Program Note by the Wind Repertory Project
A Little Prayer Evelyn Glennie
A Little Prayer was composed by percussion virtuoso Evelyn Glennie for solo marimba. The version for brass
and was made in 1998 following her collaboration with Black Dyke Band during the recording of their
Grammy nominated Reflected in Brass CD. Robert Childs, then principal euphonium with Black Dyke,
requested Glennie’s permission to make the arrangement. The composer obliged, and revealed: “When I
wrote this chorale for marimba, it expressed my spiritual feelings and displayed a pleasantly relaxed dimension
of the instrument. Over the years my exposure to brass bands has filled me with wonder; their musical
diversity is considerable. I had no hesitation in giving A Little Prayer to Robert Childs to bring this little
melody to life.” Having composed the work when she was only 13, Glennie continued: “As a child I would
never have believed that such a short and simple piece of music, would come to grow this much. A Little
Prayer serves to prove that one should always bet their chips on what they believe in, for nine out of ten it will
be worth it!”
The Journal of Phileas Fogg Peter Graham
Born in Scotland, Peter Graham read music at Edinburgh and London Universities (Goldsmiths’ College).
His music for brass and wind is performed across the globe, from China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Singapore
in the Far East, across North and South America and in every major European country. Awards include the
American Bandmasters Association/Ostwald Award for Original Composition for Symphonic Winds and the
Iles Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians.
The Journal of Phileas Fogg was commissioned by Dr. Nicholas Childs for the National Children’s Brass Band of
Great Britain. The novels by Jules Verne have been a rich source of inspiration from composers over the
years. I have taken elements of his epic work Around the World in Eighty Days as the outline for a series of
adventures recorded in an imaginary diary by the hero of the story, Phileas Fogg.
Commencing with London bells in the background, the ensuing journey takes our hero by boat and train to
Paris (passing the Moulin Rouge en route), Russia (where he is chased by Cossacks), Vienna at night, Spain
(where he is a spectator at a bullfight) before a final circumnavigation by sea (where we hear hints of foreign
lands) brings him back to London with rich memories of his trip.
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The Cornish Cavalier William Edward Moyle
William ‘Billy’ Edward Moyle was born in 1904 in Cambourne, a town in Cornwall, England. He grew up
playing cornet in brass bands and throughout his life played trumpet, piano and accordion in popular dance
bands. Those interests led him to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where he
received a degree in conducting and brass band arranging. He would eventually play cornet in the famous
Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band and it was with this band that he composed his most popular march, The
Cornish Cavalier. Although his other compositions are not well known, this march was included in Wright and
Rounds publication titled 20 Famous Marches which include the most played marches for brass bands.
Elegy from A Downland Suite John Ireland
A Downland Suite was composed in 1932 by John Ireland. Born in the North of England to a family of
Scottish descent, John Ireland moved to the South of England in the 1920’s, and the downland of the title is
the South Downs in Sussex. He was very fond of the chalky hills and wide grasslands which provided
inspiration for many compositions throughout his lifetime. There are four movements to the suite which
generally follow classical forms: a compound time Prelude contrasts energetic bursts with a lyrical rolling
melody the downs; the famous Elegy, a bucolic idyll featuring both cornet and euphonium; a graceful Minuet
with a traditional Da Capo, which often brings the much-neglected baritone to the fore; and a sprightly Rondo
witch reintroduces a grander version of the Elegy material nearer the close.
Program Note by Philip Harper
Heroes Bruce Broughton
Bruce Broughton is best known for his many motion picture scores, including Silverado, Tombstone, The Rescuers
Down Under, The Presidio, Miracle on 34th Street, the Homeward Bound adventures and Harry and the Hendersons.
With 24 nominations, Broughton has won a record 10 Emmy awards. His score to Silverado was
Oscar-nominated, and his score to Young Sherlock Holmes was nominated for a Grammy. In addition to a vast
number of concert works for orchestra, he has written extensively for the brass band. His relationship with
brass bands stems from his upbringing as a member of Salvation Army bands.
Heroes was selected as the 2020 Championship Section Final for the National Brass Band Championships of
Great Britain. Dedicated to Nicholas Childs and the Black Dyke Band, Heroes pays tribute to the 50th
anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and the incredible achievements of astronauts Neil Armstrong,
Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.
1. “Ignition,” which launches the work, propels us into orbit with dynamic rhythmic writing before
transitioning in the second section…
2. “Tranquility,” provides the soloists an opportunity to revel in a contrasting sound world, reflecting
the remarkable quiet and stillness of The Sea of Tranquility.
3. “Return,” the final section is a technical tour de force, developing material from the earlier sections
before a reprise of the “Tranquility” theme brings the work to a resounding conclusion.
Program Note by Bruce Broughton
The Year of the Dragon Philip Sparke
The highlight of Cory’s centenary celebrations throughout 1984 was a concert held in St. David’s Hall,
Cardiff, in March. The band, with the aid of funds provided by the Welsh Arts Council, commissioned Philip
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Sparke to write a work for first performance at this concert. The result was The Year of the Dragon of which the
composer writes:
“At the time I wrote The Year of the Dragon, Cory had won two successive National Finals and I set out to
write a virtuoso piece to display the talents of this remarkable band to the full.”
The work is in three movements:
Toccata: opens with an arresting side drum figure and snatches of themes from various sections of the band,
which try to develop until a broad and powerful theme from the middle of the band asserts itself. A central
dance-like section soon gives way to the return of this theme, which subsides until faint echoes of the opening
material fade to a close.
Interlude: takes the form of a sad and languid solo for trombone. A chorale for the whole band introduces a
brief spell of optimism but the trombone solo returns to close the movement quietly.
Finale: is a real tour-de-force for the band with a stream of rapid semi-quavers running throughout the
movement. The main theme is heroic and march-like but this is interspersed with lighter, more playful
episodes. A distant fanfare to the sound of bells is introduced and this eventually returns to bring the work to
a stirring close.
Program Note by Philip Sparke
BIOGRAPHIES
The Oakland University Brass Band
The Oakland University Brass Band, formed in September of 2009, enjoys the distinction of being one of the
few collegiate brass bands in the country. The members of the group come from across the state of Michigan,
as well as the United States and Canada. In October, the band was featured in an article for Brass Band World
which is an internationally distributed magazine about brass bands. This past March, the band was named the
University Section winners of the 2021 Kapitol Cory Online Brass Band Championships. In addition, they
were the winners of the Best Cornet Section Award.
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They are the 2019 and 2018 Dublin (OH) Festival of Brass Champions where they consistently swept all three
categories of Best March, Best Slow Melody and Best Major Work. In 2018, adjudicator Steven Mead
commented that “it was wonderful to hear such an authentic ‘English’ sound to the ensemble - rich, textured
and homogeneous and the performance of ‘Essence of Time’ in particular was a joy.” In 2015 they accepted
an invitation to travel to England to perform in the Butlin’s National Mineworkers Open Brass Band Festival
& Competition. While there, the band was awarded 2nd place in their division and now holds the distinction
of being the highest placing American band in the history of the competition. This invitation was extended as
a result of having won the First Section of the North American Brass Band Association Championships in
2014 in Grand Rapids, MI. In June of 2015, the band performed at the Great American Brass Band Festival in
Danville, Kentucky where they gave three featured concerts. The festival is known for being the largest brass
band event of its kind in North America, with audiences in the tens of thousands in attendance each summer.
In May of that same year, they were the featured band at Mid-West Tuba Euphonium Conference at Bowling
Green State University in Ohio, where they accompanied the conference’s headline soloists.
The band is comprised primarily of undergraduate and graduate music majors and non-majors. Graduates of
the school’s brass and percussion programs have gone on to receive scholarships to attend the country’s
leading graduate music programs, as well as perform in major professional ensembles.
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Amanda Ross is an active musician and educator passionate about furthering
music performance and education. Dr. Ross recently served as Acting Principal
Trumpet of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and has performed with
ensembles such as Erie Philharmonic, Flint Symphony Orchestra, and
Macomb Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Ross is a prolific chamber musician. Recently she performed with ÆPEX
Contemporary Performance and International Contemporary Ensemble,
where she was an ensemble member for premieres by Garrett Schumann,
George Lewis, and Alvin Lucier. She has participated in chamber festivals worldwide, including Ensemble
Evolution at the Banff Centre of the Arts and Creativity, Strange Beautiful Music XI and IX in Detroit,
Michigan, Soundscape Exchange in Maccagno, Italy, and Bar Harbor Brass Institute in Bar Harbor, Maine. At
the University of Michigan, Dr. Ross held membership in the University of Michigan Faculty Brass Quintet,
Michigan Chamber Players, and Contemporary Directions Ensemble.
She is co-founder of Girlnoise, a mixed-chamber ensemble committed to celebrating the artistry of women in
contemporary chamber music. Girlnoise has premiered original works by composers Annika Socolofsky,
Nadine Dyskant-Miller, Tanner Porter, and Clay Gonzalez, among others, as well as performing arrangements
spanning early motets to modern popular music and compositions written by ensemble members. Most
recently, in August 2021, Girlnoise presented the ensemble-composed work, For What, For Whom, at the
New Music Gathering in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In May 2020, Dr. Ross earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Trumpet from the University of Michigan. She
earned graduate degrees in Trumpet and Chamber Music at the University of Michigan and completed a
Bachelor of Music in Trumpet with a Jazz Emphasis at Baldwin Wallace University. Her primary trumpet
instructors were William Campbell, Robert Sullivan, Tom Booth, Jason Bergman, Jack Brndiar, and Jack Sutte.
She previously held teaching positions at the University of Michigan as Interim Instructor of Trumpet and
Graduate Student Assistant.
Oakland University | School of Music, Theatre and Dance
Kenneth Kroesche is the Professor of Trombone, Euphonium and Tuba at
Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. He holds a master's and doctorate
of musical arts degree in performance from the University of Michigan, in
addition to a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Texas State University.
He has appeared as a euphonium soloist with a number of notable ensembles,
ranging from the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts to the U.S. Army Band at the West Point Military
Academy. The Washington Post described him as "an expert on the
instrument." As an orchestral musician, he is the principal trombonist of the
Oakland Symphony Orchestra and the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. He is a frequent guest musician
with the area’s leading ensembles which include the Detroit Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Flint
Symphony and Detroit Chamber Winds. In addition, each summer he performs as an euphoniumist with the
Toledo Symphony Concert Band.
In 2009, he formed the Oakland University Brass Band which since its inception has gone on to receive
national and international recognition. From 2008-2011, he served as the conductor of the award winning
Capital City Brass Band of Lansing, Michigan. In addition, he has served as the music director of the Smoky
Mountain Brass Band, and as a regular guest conductor of the Michigan Chamber Brass, the Round Top
Music Festival Institute, among others.
SAVE THE DATE: MUSIC HONORS GALA ON MARCH 25
The Oakland University Department of Music presents the inaugural Music Student Honors Gala Concert, a
celebration of the achievements of our award-winning music students. The evening will include performances
by the awardees, a presentation of MaTilDa and competition awards, and a reception.
Saturday, March 25 at 7 p.m. in Varner Recital Hall | Tickets are available at etix.com.
VARNER RECITAL HALL SEAT NAMING
Want to leave your mark on the newly-renovated Varner Hall? You have
the chance to name a seat in the recital hall. This opportunity is part of
Varner: Act II, a special fundraising campaign, debuting in conjunction
with a comprehensive renovation of Varner Hall, that will support
SMTD students and provide student enrichment experiences beyond
the classroom. Your gift to name a seat can celebrate your personal love
for the arts or honor a loved one. For more information and to support
Varner: Act II, visit oakland.edu/smtd/give/varner-act-ii.
For a full list of upcoming events, visit oakland.edu/smtd/performances-and-events.
Thank you! We hope you enjoy the concert!
Oakland University | School of Music, Theatre and Dance
