NW Wind Symphony winter concert, “Entrees,” Jan. 20

Bernstein. Reed. Sousa. Del Borgo. Saucedo. If you appreciate rich harmonies, melodies both new and familiar, and high-level professional musicianship, you won’t want to miss this program:

Overture to Candide – Leonard Bernstein
Symphony No. 3 – Alfred Reed
The Corcoran Cadets – John Philip Sousa
Symphonic Paraphrase – Elliot Del Borgo
Symphonic Dances from Westside Story – Bernstein
Wind Sprints – Richard Saucedo

We’re playing them all on Jan. 20 at 7 p.m., at Corbet Theatre in Centralia. $12 general admission. Students free with paying adult.

NWWS celebrates the “Williams boys” on Jan. 21

On Saturday, January 21, 2023, the NW Wind Symphony presents a concert of classical and movie music, all by composers named Williams.

Film reels.

John Williams might be the most well-known composer on the evening’s program. Listeners will enjoy music from movies like Star Wars, Raiders, Cowboys, and The Terminal.

Ralph Vaughan Williams was “not only a composer of the utmost importance for English music but also one of the great symphonists of the 20th century,” according to the R.V.W. Society. The evening’s program includes one of his most well-known pieces, English Folksong Suite. Also on the program are Flourish for Wind Band and Sea Songs.

Clifton Williams initially focused on orchestra music, but was later encouraged to compose for wind band also, which is what he’s perhaps better known for. The night’s program includes his Symphonic Dance No. 5 and Post War Prelude.

This show starts at 7 p.m. at Corbet Theatre on the Centralia College campus. Get tickets for $12 (general admission) now at Book ‘n’ Brush in Chehalis, or at the door the night of the event.

Tonight’s Concert Cancellation

Musicians and concert goers arrived for tonight’s “All Jazz” Northwest Wind Symphony concert to find three firetrucks parked outside Corbet Theatre. The hall’s fire alarm was tripped. Smoke was detected by fire department personnel, who narrowed the affected area down to somewhere backstage. The source remained unidentified, however. The fire alarm was deactivated and reset. While it did not reactivate, a warning remained on the panel, which meant that no one could be safely allowed into the building. NWWS personnel then cancelled the concert. Fire department personnel remained both inside and outside the building to escort small groups of musicians into the hall to retrieve equipment and instruments.

Tonight’s “All Jazz” music will be performed on April 18th. The April concert was to feature music of women composers. NWWS plans to reschedule the women composers’ concert for next season. We hope you’ll plan to join us April 18th for the rescheduled jazz concert. This is an exciting, energetic program with wonderful soloists, sure to please audiences of any age.

If you purchased tickets for tonight, or are a season ticket holder, we will be working to see that you are appropriately compensated. We don’t know the details of how that will work at this time, however. If you have any questions, please contact us at: secretary@northwestwindsymphony.org

We’d like to thank our local fire fighters for working to protect everyone’s safety. We want to express our gratitude to our loyal patrons and fans who turned out for tonight’s concert, and we wish to apologize for the inconvenience you may have experienced tonight.

NWWS Winter Concert – “All That Jazz”

The Northwest Wind Symphony will be in concert at 7pm, January 24, 2015 at Corbet Theatre on the Centralia College Campus. If you prefer music with a groove or a swing, this is the show for you! Tickets are $12 for general admission and are available at the door or at Book n Brush in Chehalis. Students are admitted free; younger students must be accompanied by an adult.

The program features a mix of jazz old and new:

Shortcut Home by Dana Wilson (b. 1946)
Clarinet Concerto by Artie Shaw (1910 – 2004), arr. Daniel Heuschen
All Blues by Miles Davis, (1926 – 1991), arr. Michael Simpson
Bayou Breakdown by Brant Karrick (b. 1960)
Symphonic Dance #5  “New Generation”  by Clifton Williams (1923 – 1976)
Salute to American Jazz by Sammy Nestico (b. 1924)
Awayday by Adam Gorb (b. 1958)

The evening will begin with a fanfare of sorts. Shortcut Home is a rather elaborate fanfare that features each section of the ensemble.  Drawing upon various jazz styles, the music proclaims and cascades, always driving towards the “home” of the final C major chord! Dana Wilson holds a doctorate from the Eastman School for Music, and is currently a professor of Music in the School of Music at Ithaca College.  Known primarily for his symphonic and chamber compositions (not jazz), it is curious to note that he is a proficient jazz pianist.

Tonight’s Clarinet Concerto celebrates Artie Shaw, widely regarded as “one of jazz’s finest clarinetists of his generation. He was also an early proponent of what became known much later as “third stream” music, which blended elements of classical and jazz forms and traditions. A self-proclaimed “very difficult man,” Shaw was married eight times and his wives included actresses Lana Turner, Ava Gardner, and Evelyn Keyes; he also briefly dated Judy Garland.

Few jazz musicians have had greater impact on American music than Miles Davis. He bridged the gap between Bebop and Cool jazz! Principal hornist Mike Simpson will be featured as the NWWS performs his arrangement of Miles Davis’ All Blues.

In his brief introductory notes, composer Brant Karrick indicates that Bayou Breakdown is a fugue in the style of J.S. Bach. The four-part fugue begins with woodwinds, transitions to the brass, and eventually the entire ensemble gets into the fray!  Bach? Well . . .  maybe Bach in the style of some back woods, down home, hillbilly banjo pickin’ jazz!

Clifton Williams is a venerated composer, well known to all of us in the band world: taught at UT in Austin Texas, played horn in the San Antonio, winner of the very first American Bandmaster’s Ostwald Award for composition, and also a second one a year later. Although he composed for all types of ensembles, he devoted his final years to creating new works for the wind band.  Symphonic Dance #5 was originally composed for the San Antonio Symphony orchestra as one of five commissions to commemorate their twenty-fifth anniversary. Williams felt that it signified the “wedding of symphonic music and old time big band jazz in one style.”

Upon graduation from Duquesne University, Sammy Nestico joined the Air Force as staff arranger for the Air Force Band. He also kept busy as a freelance arranger for the US Marine Band and even performed functions at the White House.  He also wrote arrangements for the Count Basie Band and even arranged entire albums for that band.  Salute to American Jazz features melodies from famous jazz tunes such as “Night in Tunisia,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing,” and “Birdland.”

Our final selection, Awayday, features a work by Adam Gorb who first studied music in Cambridge, and then Royal College of Music in London, England. It is a thoroughly classical wind piece, in which elements of jazz are interwoven. Jazz rhythms, “licks,” and break-neck speeds give this work a solid place in the world of “Third Stream” music.

For more information, contact us at secretary@northwestwindsymphony.org or visit our Tickets page.