UNLV Wind Orchestra

College of Fine Arts presents
UNLV Wind Orchestra
Thomas G. Leslie, conductor
Anthony LaBounty, conductor
Zane Douglass, conductor
Dean Snavely, graduate conductor
Steve Goldeck, graduate conductor
Adam Steff, graduate conductor
Adam Hille, graduate conductor
PROGRAM
Erich Korngold
(1897–1957)
arr. by Jerry Brubaker
Sea Hawk Suite
Anthony LaBounty, conductor
John Philip Sousa
(1854–1932)
edited by Steve Goldeck
At the Movies
I. The Serenaders
II. The Crafty Villain and the Timid Maid
III. Balance All and Swing Partners
Steve Goldeck, conductor
John Williams
(b. 1932)
arr. by Donald Hunsberger
Star Wars Trilogy
I. The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme)
II. Princess Leia’s Theme
Adam Steff, conductor
IV. Yoda's Theme
V. Star Wars (Main Theme)
Adam Hille, conductor
INTERMISSION
John Williams
arr. by James Curnow
The Cowboys
Dean Snavely, conductor
Julie Giroux
(b. 1961)
Riften Wed
Zane Douglass, conductor
Miklós Rózsa
(1907–1995)
arr. by Robert Hawkins
Suite from Ben-Hur
Overture
Parade of the Charioteers
Thomas Leslie, conductor
Thursday, April 23, 2015
7:30 p.m.
Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall
Performing Arts Center
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
PROGRAM NOTES
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was a child prodigy whose remarkable talent was noted by Gustav Mahler and Richard
Strauss, among others. He wrote his first orchestral score at age 14, and began writing operas. In 1934, he immigrated to
Hollywood from his native Austria and became a pioneer in composing film scores that have been recognized ever since as
classics of their kind. His score to the Sea Hawk, written in 1940, plays more like a symphony than a soundtrack. This
treatment for symphonic band was arranged by Jerry Brubaker in 2010.
Program Note from the Conductor’s Score
John Philip Sousa’s At The Movies was originally conceived and written for military band in 1922. In accordance with his
own ideas these “Scenarios for Cinematographers” constitute an effort on his part through music, to elucidate to the
cinematographer is usually done by the written word. The opening number, “The Serenaders,” depicts that happy period in
the college student’s life when he delights in serenading the girl students in a neighborhood university. The happiness and
care-free existence of “The Serenaders” is duly reflected in the music of this number, fairly bubbling over with gaiety and
joyous spirit; at intervals it is interrupted by a male quartet, re-enforced by the xylophone, and this in turn is followed by
solos for saxophone, piccolo, clarinet, trombone and cornets, each solo directed to the one the players love best. The
second number essays the harrowing story of the “Crafty Villain and the Timid Maid:” the timid maid’s pleading and the
crafty villain’s bombast being in evidence throughout the number. The third is a dance on the Village Green – the very
name “Balance All and Swing Partners” telling its own story.
Program Notes from the Conductor’s Score
It is nearly forty years since George Lucas' highly imaginative entertainment experience first transported an audience to an
unknown galaxy thousands of light years from earth. The “Star Wars” experience was a blending of contemporary science
fiction with the romantic fantasies of sword and sorcery. The story follows a young man, Luke Skywalker, on a journey
through exotic worlds in a perpetual struggle of good against evil and the eventual success of love conquering all. “Star
Wars” and its two companion films, “Return of the Jedi” and “The Empire Strikes Back,” form the center of a planned ninepart historical series. Of musical interest, “Star Wars” brought to international prominence the talents of John Williams,
one of the most gifted composers for film and television. Williams worked in a totally different compositional style for the
late 1970s in that he did not write short “cue music” for individual scenes, but rather composed large freestanding
compositions that accompanied large segments of the film. The five movements of the Trilogy were selected by arranger
Donald Hunsberger to display the excitement, beauty, and contrast in these first three films.
The Imperial March, subtitled Darth Vader's Theme, represents the evil might of the Galactic Empire and the supreme
villainy of its leader. Princess Leia's Theme is much gentler and pays tribute to the romantic music of the early film
heroines. Musical themes are scattered and rapidly shifting in the Battle in the Forest, reflecting the cuts in the movie as the
ground battle begins. The almost comedic theme of the teddy bear-like Ewoks contrasts against the huge, but mechanical,
armament of the Empire's forces. The old Jedi Master of Dagobah is honored in Yoda's Theme. The gentleness and
understanding of the Master is conveyed in the ethereal setting of the swamp where Yoda harnesses the power of the
Force to raise Luke's crashed X-Wing fighter. The transition into the heroic Star Wars (Main Theme) seems natural as the
power of good, embodied in the Force, is triumphant.
Program Notes from Foothill Symphonic Winds and the Conductor’s Score
John Williams’s The Cowboys, arranged by Jim Curnow, is a typical example of John Williams' capacity to enrich a film
story with an almost narrative musical score. Through music, we are transported to the Old West and experience the joys
and hardships of cowboy life. Taken from the 1972 motion picture “The Cowboys” starring John Wayne and Roscoe Lee
Browne, the music complements the story of a 60 year old Montana cattleman who enlists (and ultimately mentors) ten
schoolboys as cowboys after the regular ranch hands have left with Gold Rush fever. The 400-mile cattle drive provides the
boys with a different and harsher schooling as they learn the rigors of the job and have to deal with rustlers. The music
conveys the high spirit of wild horses and their taming. Jollity around the campfire is contrasted against the loneliness of the
open range. The plains have a beauty, though, which is reflected in the song of a lark. The hard work of the cattle drive,
including the fording of the wide, muddy river and dealing with many fears and threats, succeeds in maturing the boys into
men.
Program Notes from Foothill Symphonic Winds
Emmy Award-winning composer Julie Giroux has been writing music since the age of 8. Following studies in piano
performance at Louisiana State University, Giroux moved to Hollywood after being hired by famed composer and conductor
Bill Conti to score music for the TV mini-series North and South. In addition to dozens of film and television scores, as well
as scoring for pop artists such as Madonna, Celine Dion, and Michael Jackson, her diverse compositional talents have led
her to create works for symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, concert bands, and solo instruments.
Premiered in the fall of 2013, Riften Wed takes listeners on a journey into the immersive world of the popular role-playing
video game saga Skyrim. Riften, a lawless town located on a waterfront in the fantasy world, is the place where Skyrim’s
inhabitants go to get married, as much for survival in the dangerous and violent online world as for love and
companionship. Giroux’s composition uses expansive melodic and harmonic language, echoing with sentiment, to create
images of a geographically massive virtual world. The piece reflects “the music for loves and unions, past and present.
Where ‘till death do us part’ is not only a reality, it’s a given. One life, one love, one ending. This music is for those that are
truly Riften Wed.”
Program Note from The U.S. Army Band, “Pershing’s Own”
It can certainly be said that the prodigious musical score of Ben Hur played an important role in making this presentation
one of the screen's most memorable experiences. Miklos Rozsa's superb musical background with its brilliant rhythmic
patterns, its remarkable diversity of mood, its sensitive artistic regard for setting and story, immeasurably heightened the
dramatic proportions of the production as a whole and contributed materially to the great success of this spectacular film.
Without a doubt, one of the most exciting episodes in Ben-Hur is the now famous chariot race. The musical prelude to this
climactic sequence has also been acclaimed as a rare gem in creative staging. In this movement, Parade of
the Charioteers, the composer has fashioned a magnificent musical tapestry, rich color and rousing in mood - a mood
which dramatically heralds the thrilling screen events to come. Here, mirrored in music, is all of the flamboyant pageantry
of an ancient Roman sports spectacle - the stirring martial call of trumpets, the electrifying entrance of high-spirited horses
and proud drivers, the clamorous echo of people and parade midst an overriding promise of conflict and animal
excitement. Here too is music, which in its big scope and sound, is particularly suitable for the Concert Band.
Program Notes from the Conductor’s Score
BIOGRAPHIES
Thomas G. Leslie
Director of Bands, UNLV
As Director of Bands, and Professor of Conducting, Thomas Leslie has earned recognition for high quality performances of
the UNLV Bands. During his tenure at UNLV, his bands have received critical acclaim from members of the international
music world. Such notables include composers Malcolm Arnold, Bruce Broughton, Eric Whitacre and Frank Ticheli, United
States Marine Band Conductor Emeritus Colonel John Bourgeois, (Ret.), Colonel Lowell Graham, Conductor United States
Air Force Band, (Ret.), United States Navy Band Conductor Commander John Pastin (Ret.), Dr. Harry Begian, Director
Emeritus, University of Illinois, Grammy Award winning recording artists Eric Marienthal, Jimmy Haslip, Will Kennedy and
Russell Ferrante.
Recognized for a fresh, interpretative style among collegiate wind orchestras, Thomas Leslie and the UNLV Wind
Orchestra continue to excel in their commitment to commission new works by the next generation of the world’s finest
young composers. This ensemble, under Professor Leslie’s baton, has premiered numerous pieces commissioned by
UNLV, Professor Leslie and the Wind Orchestra. Professor Leslie has conducted, and recorded eighteen compact disc
recordings with the UNLV Wind Orchestra. They are: 1994 – The UNLV Wind Symphony; Ghost Train; Gawd$illa Eats Las
Vegas; It Takes a Village; Monkey; No Mo’ Chalumeau, and Chunk (all title tracks commissioned by Thomas Leslie),
BCM… Saves the World, Bandanna, the complete Daron Hagen opera, 3 Steps Forward, the premiere disc in the new
UNLV Wind Orchestra Series for Klavier Recordings, Spiritual Planet, 4 Flew Over the Hornet’s Nest, The Quest, Vegas
Maximus, Concerto for Marienthal, Marquee Mojo, Lost Vegas, and Ventanas, the newest release in the collection. All of
these recordings have received noteworthy acclaim in professional journals in addition to high praise from colleagues
throughout the world.
An adjudicator and conductor throughout the United States, Professor Leslie has also been invited to conduct
performances and clinics internationally in Australia, Ireland, Japan, England, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Austria,
Germany, and Canada. Under his direction, the UNLV Wind Orchestra has appeared as an invited performing group at the
College Band Directors National Association Conference in March 1994, the Music Educators National Conference Biennial
Convention in April 1998, the American Bandmasters Association National Convention in March 2001, and numerous state
music educator conferences. The UNLV Wind Orchestra performed as the featured ensemble at the Hokkaido Band
Association Clinic in Sapporo, Japan, in May 2002, and was featured in multiple performance tour at the La Croix Valmer
International Music Festival in St, Tropez, France in June 2005. Professor Leslie is the founder and Musical Director for
the Las Vegas Youth Wind Orchestra, an honor ensemble comprised of Las Vegas’ most accomplished wind and
percussion musicians. The UNLV College of Fine Arts awarded Professor Leslie the CFA Teacher of the Year Award in
2006.
Thomas Leslie received degrees in Music Education from The University of Iowa and Indiana State University. Elected in
March of 2012, Professor Leslie served office as the 75th President of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association
and currently serves as Chairman of the ABA Nominating Committee. He was originally inducted to membership in 1997
and he hosted the National Convention of this very distinguished group in Las Vegas in March 2001. He continues to be a
long-standing member of the College Band Directors National Association, and has served as Western Division Chair for
the National Band Association. Professor Leslie currently serves on the Board of Directors for the John Philip Sousa
Foundation.
Anthony LaBounty
Associate Director of Bands, UNLV
Anthony LaBounty is Professor of Music and the Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where
he directs the UNLV "Star of Nevada" Marching Band, UNLV Symphonic Winds, the UNLV "Runnin' Rebel" Basketball Pep
Band, and the UNLV Community Concert Band. Since his appointment to the faculty in 1988, he has helped develop the
UNLV Bands to become one of the finest collegiate band programs in the nation. He teaches courses within the music
education degree programs and is an active clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States. He has served as a
guest conductor and performer throughout Europe, Japan, Mexico and China.
He has conducted special performances by the UNLV Community Band at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland (March
2009) and at the Teatro Principe in Palestrina (Rome), Italy (June 2012). In 2005, he directed the UNLV Band before an
estimated multi-national Asian television audience of 340 million viewers in a special invited performance at the Cathay
Pacific International Chinese New Year Parade and Festival in Hong Kong, China.
He is past state chairman of the Nevada Chapter of the National Band Association, and is a member in the Phi Delta
Kappa Honorary Fraternity, the National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and is a past member of the Texas Music
Educators Association. In 2005, LaBounty was awarded UNLV College of Fine Arts Outstanding Teacher of The Year. In
2014, LaBounty was distinguished by election to the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and was the first ABA
member to be elected in the new, dual category of band conductor/composer.
Under his leadership, the UNLV Symphonic Winds has performed as a special exhibition ensemble premiering the wind
band transcription of Sonata for Alto Saxophone, Op. 29 by Robert Muczynski at the North American Saxophone Alliance
Conference (2011). The group has also performed with special guest soloists John McMurtery (flute), Gary Cook
(percussion), and Timothy Jones (percussion). The Symphonic Winds have also recorded numerous catalogued wind band
repertoire holdings of TRN Music Publisher, Inc.
LaBounty is a published composer of original works for band. Among his original compositions for wind orchestra: Salmo
Della Rinascita (2012, published by TRN Music Publisher, Inc.), Favor and Treasure (2013, published by Opus III/C.L.
Barnhouse), Sharakan (2010, published by LudwigMasters/E.F. Kalmus), Prayer For Asia (2008, published by Opus III/C.L.
Barnhouse), and Le Sentier (2007, published by TRN Music Publisher, Inc.). LaBounty’s wind orchestra setting of How
Deep The Father’s Love For Us is published by Opus III/C.L. Barnhouse. Sonata Op. 29 for Alto Saxophone by Robert
Muczynski transcribed for band by LaBounty is published by G. Schirmer/Hal Leonard Corporation. Salmo Della Rinascita,
Favor and Treasure, Le Sentier, Prayer For Asia and How Deep The Father’s Love For Us are recorded by the UNLV Wind
Orchestra and available on the Klavier records label.
Dr. Zane Douglass
Visiting Professor of Conducting, UNLV
Dr. Zane Douglass is the Visiting Instructor of Conducting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His duties at UNLV
include teaching Graduate and Undergraduate Conducting, conducting the UNLV Brass Ensemble; co-conducting the
UNLV Wind Orchestra and UNLV Community Band; and instructing the ‘Star of Nevada’ Marching Band and the UNLV
Basketball Pep Band. From 2007-2011, Dr. Douglass was Director of Bands and Low Brass Studies at Montana State
University in Bozeman, Montana. His duties at MSU included: Conductor and Music Director for the Montana State Wind
Symphony, director of the “Spirit of the West” Marching and Pep Bands. He taught multiple courses in Music Education,
Brass Pedagogy, Conducting, Graduate Theory and History, and coordinated and taught the Trombone/Euphonium/Tuba
studio. Students in Dr. Douglass’s Low Brass studio have been selected to perform in various clinics and honor groups,
including the Rafael Mendez Institute and the American Intercollegiate Wind Ensemble.
Dr. Douglass has transcribed and arranged orchestral works for wind orchestras and chamber groups. His transcriptions
have been performed regularly by University and High School bands around the world, and recorded by UNLV on the
Klavier label, and featured on the national tours of Gustavus Adolphus and St. Olaf Universities. His 2009 transcription of
the Michael Kamen ‘Concerto for Saxophone’ was performed and recorded by Grammy-winning saxophonist Eric
Marienthal.
Dr. Douglass earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a Masters of Music
in conducting from Central Washington University, and a Bachelor of Music Education from Montana State UniversityBozeman. Prior to his appointment to UNLV, Dr. Douglass was Director of Bands at Montana State University and
McNeese State University, director of the Snohomish High School Band Program in Snohomish, Washington, instructor of
music at Central Washington University, and band teacher in Bozeman and Park City, Montana School Districts.
Dr. Douglass has given clinics and performances throughout the country, has served as guest conductor for the Lake
Charles (Louisiana) Symphony Orchestra, and was Principal Trombone with the Bozeman Symphony, the Montana Ballet
Orchestra, and performed in the Intermountain Opera Orchestra. His 2007 televised performance of Keith Gates’ An
American Requiem with the Voices of London has aired numerous times on Louisiana Public Television. He has guest
conducted at the Louisiana Music Educators State Conference, the College Band Directors National Association WestNorthwest bi-annual conference, and has presented at the Montana Music Educators Conference, the Montana
Bandmasters symposium, and the Nevada Music Educators annual conference.
UNLV WIND ORCHESTRA
Piccolo
Melanie Addington Salt Lake City, UT
Contra Alto Clarinet
Jason Burchette Mililani, HI
Flute
Rodrigo Corral*^ Houston, TX
Brandon Denman Las Vegas, NV
Amber Epstein Las Vegas, NV
Contra Bass Clarinet
Sean Myers Las Vegas, NV
Soprano Saxophone
Patrick Garcia* Las Vegas, NV
Oboe
Sharon Nakama* Kula, HI
Erika Hill Ewa Beach, HI
Rachel LaRance Henderson, NV
Alto Saxophone
Patrick Garcia* Las Vegas, NV
Emilio Rivera San Pedro, CA
English Horn
Erika Hill Ewa Beach, HI
Tenor Saxophone
Bonson Lee Las Vegas, NV
Bassoon
Brock Norred Las Vegas, NV
Bronson Foster Salt Lake City, UT
Baritone Saxophone
Justin Marquis^ Cincinnati, OH
Contrabassoon
Kevin Eberle*^ Redlands, CA
E-Flat Clarinet
Daniel Nuñez^ Navasota, TX
B-Flat Clarinet
Brandilyn Davidson*^ Dallas, TX
Chris Armeno Las Vegas, NV
Ivan Ivanov^ Bulgaria
Daniel Nuñez^ Navasota, TX
Isaiah Pickney Las Vegas, NV
Quinn Ngo Las Vegas, NV
MyungSuk Han Seoul, Korea
Jonathan Cannon Bountiful, UT
Dora Ivanov Las Vegas, NV
Jay Savoy Las Vegas, NV
Annie Douglass Sutherlin, OR
Bass Clarinet
Erin Vander Wyst* Appleton, WI
Trumpet
Kevin Tague*^ LaPorte, IN
Hazen Mayo Halifax, NS
Justin Bland Clinton, MD
Michael Weber Brooklyn, NY
Juanpablo Macias Las Vegas, NV
Bronson Pascual Honolulu, HI
Jorge Machain-Vega Las Vegas, NV
Horn
Linnie Hostetler*^ Hollsopple, PA
Tom Frauenshuh Ocala, FL
Jon Holloway*^ Carson City, NV
Sarah Walton^ Gainesville, GA
Alina Eckersley Las Vegas, NV
Trombone
James Nelson* Las Vegas, NV
Chandler Sison Honolulu, HI
Dylan Musso Arcadia, CA
Bowen Gass Las Vegas, NV
Euphonium
Leanne Stamp* Las Vegas, NV
K.C. Singer Las Vegas, NV
Keoni Sailer Moab, UT
Tuba
Stephen Turner*^ Augusta, GA
Troy Hart Henderson, NV
Cello
Katharine Smith Henderson, NV
Double Bass
Summer Kodama Las Vegas, NV
Harp
Emily Montoya Las Vegas, NV
Piano/Celesta
Dejan Daskalov Skopje, Macedonia
Timpani
Caleb Pickering* ^Paris, TX
Percussion
Ryan Harrison*^ Adelaide, Australia
Adam Steff*^ Orlando, FL
Luigi Ng Quezon City, Philippines
Alex Tomlinson Broken Arrow, OK
Dennis Garza Corpus Christi, TX
Paul De La Torre Las Vegas, Nevada
*Principal
^Graduate Teaching Assistant
Bass Trombone
Allan Quan Las Vegas, NV
UNIVERSITY BAND STAFF
Thomas G. Leslie, Director of Bands
Anthony LaBounty, Associate Director of Bands
Dr. Zane Douglass, Visiting Instructor of Conducting
GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Adam Hille
Dean Snavely
Adam Steff
LIBRARIAN
Erin Vander Wyst
Michael Villarreal
GRADUATE STAFF
Steve Goldeck
Jimmy Smerek
INSTRUMENT INVENTORY
Erin Vander Wyst
COMMUNITY LIAISON
Col. Allan Ginsberg (U.S. Army, Ret.)
UNLV appreciates the leadership and support of our Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents.
Kevin J. Page, Chair
Rick Trachok, Vice Chair
Dr. Andrea Anderson
Cedric Crear
Robert Davidson
Mark W. Doubrava, M.D.
Jason Geddes, Ph.D.
Trevor Hayes
Sam Lieberman
James Dean Leavitt
Kevin C. Melcher
Allison Stephens
Michael B. Wixom
Scott Young, Acting Chief of Staff to
the Board