The Savannah Wind Symphony presents Masterworks for Band!

Masterworks for Band
Sunday, November 3, 2024 | 3:00 PM
Georgia Southern University – Armstrong Campus Fine Arts Auditorium

In the performing arts, a “masterwork” is considered “among the most outstanding works of that creative person.” In our case, the creators are the composers whose repertoire we have chosen to perform in our Savannah Wind Symphony season opening fall 2024 concert. These masterworks might also be considered “cornerstones” of band compositions, given to us during a crucial developmental period in the history of the band world, the early to mid-20th century. It is also important to note that each of these pieces has staying power and continues to be performed and enjoyed in 2024 by audiences all over the world.

The concert is built on the shoulders of the renowned British composer Gustav Holst and his First Suite in E flat for Military Band, composed in 1909. Today, we are 150 years past Holst’s birth year of 1874. Certainly, this is an anniversary of note. Band scholar Jacob Wallace notes that “this immortal work occupies a legendary position in the wind band repertory and can be seen, in retrospect, as one of the earliest examples of the modern wind band instrumentation still frequently performed today.”

Beyond Holst, the concert will feature two other original band works and four important transcriptions. Although the Brahms and Wagner transcriptions come from the mid and late 19th century, their transcriptions were created in 1964 and 1970, respectively, as bands were interested in this repertoire for their musicians and audiences.The concert opens with a classic original for the band from 1956, Fanfare and Allegro, by Clifton Williams. Williams attended LSU and The Eastman School and then taught composition at the University of Texas and The University of Miami.

The concert will close with a transcription of Italian composer Ottorino Respighi’s "The Pines of the Appian Way,” the 4th movement of his more extensive work, The Pines of Rome. This transcription came about in 1974 and was created by Guy Duker, a professor at the University of Illinois from 1953-1978. You don’t want to miss this! Please join us on November 3 for our annual fall concert at the Fine Arts Auditorium of Georgia Southern University on the Armstrong campus. On behalf of the entire 2024 Savannah Wind Symphony, we thank you in advance for your attendance, and we look forward to seeing you on November 3rd!

Program Includes:

• Fanfare and Allegro, Clifton Williams
• Liebestod, Richard Wagner/ arr. Bainum
• First Suite in E Flat for Military Band, Gustav Holst
• Pas Redouble, Camille Saint- Saëns/ arr. Frackenpohl
• Armenian Dances, Alfred Reed
• "Blessed Are They" from a German Requiem, Johannes Brahms/ arr. Buehlman
• "Pines of the Appian Way" from the Pines of Rome, Ottorino Respighi/ arr. Duker