Wind Ensemble: Harvest

PROGRAM NOTES

Shimmering Sunshine

The work that opens tonight’s program is also the first piece in the M.O.T.I.F. triptych, commissioned in 2019 from a trio of composers. In his contribution, Shimmering Sunshine, composer Kevin Day “depicts the sun… at high noon”, with “shimmers” of light and colour bouncing around the ensemble. This piece was also one of the first to be recorded as part of the And We Were Heard project, which connects composers from underrepresented communities with ensembles to perform and record their works.

Fields of Grain As Seen From a Train

The inspiration for this piece by Timothy Mahr came from an almost identically named painting by Arthur Dove, Fields of Grain As Seen From Train, painted in 1931. Taking a familiar landscape and reducing the forms to near-abstraction, Dove nevertheless retains their essence in his painting: rows of crops and a hedge run off into the background, meeting some distant trees; the water in a nearby pond forms gentle waves; bold strokes convey a sense of motion, as though the viewer’s perspective is fleeting. Mahr’s music is similarly abstract, with motives blurring across changing meters and tempos, and gently persistent ostinatos providing a sense of constant motion. Melodies come and go, sometimes interrupting each other, in an unpredictable fashion, never giving the listener a chance to settle for long. But, just as in Dove’s painting, the abstracted musical ideas nevertheless form a complete and lasting impression.

Harvest: Concerto for Trombone

In Greek mythology, Dionysus was ostensibly the god of wine, fertility, and the harvest. But the worship of Dionysus also took on a cult-like fervour, with practitioners leaning heavily into intoxication and hedonism as a form of escape, as well as the cycles of life, death, and rebirth that are signified by the changing seasons. John Mackey’s trombone concerto, Harvest, incorporates all of these ideas. It is divided into three continuous sections which loosely represent the fall harvest, the melancholy quiet of winter, and the joy of spring. The soloist personifies Dionysus himself, the leader of the festivities, and the ensemble are his followers who work themselves into a frenzy and, ignoring the deity’s attempts to placate them, tear him to pieces with their bare hands. The middle section begins with stillness, then grows into an anguished plea before receding. The chiming of piano, harp, and vibraphone heralds the start of the final section and the coming of new life—the return of Dionysus—and his followers rejoice in celebration.

Earthdance

In much the same vein as the previous work, Earthdance celebrates the natural cycles of life on Earth: circadian rhythms, tidal cycles, the seasons, and more. Composer Michael Sweeney employs an eclectic combination of sound effects, colours, and grooves to encourage audiences to contemplate and explore the interconnectedness of living beings to our home planet.

Symphony No. V, “Elements”

Composer Julie Giroux’s goal for this work was to immerse the audience in the “elements” represented by each of the movements of the symphony. In the first, she exposes the listener to the intensity of the chemical processes by which the Sun generates incredible amounts of heat and light, pausing only briefly to nod to its long solitude as well as the dependence upon it of all life on Earth. The second movement begins with the gentle fall of raindrops accompanying long, flowing brass melodies. After some contemplation on water’s own role in supporting life on our planet, the entire ensemble joins together to drown the listener in a musical deluge. The final movement features various forms of wind, from a gentle breeze to mischievous gusts to an eventual storm. Giroux even graphically depicts a tornado in the music towards the end of the movement. A renewal of energy and references to the themes of the previous movements bring the symphony to a close.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Pratik Gandhi (he/him) is an award-winning freelance conductor and researcher based in Toronto. He is a sessional lecturer at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, where he directs wind bands and teaches conducting. He is also music director of the Rouge River Winds and the Milton Philharmonic Orchestra, and was the founding music director of Soup Can Theatre. In addition to regularly guest conducting and adjudicating bands and orchestras, Pratik is active in several organizations that support music educators, most notably the Ontario Band Association. Since 2017, he has also served as Vice-Chair of the Concert Band Division of MusicFest Canada. Pratik is currently a doctoral student at York University, where his research, supported in part by an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, investigates issues of equity and representation among wind band composers in Canada. Pratik received a B.Mus. in music education and an M.Mus. in conducting from the University of Western Ontario, where he studied conducting with Colleen Richardson, Jerome Summers, and James McKay, and percussion with Jill Ball.

Ethan Whitlow is a Canadian trombonist currently pursuing his Master of Music with Peter Sullivan at Carnegie Mellon University. A graduate of the University of Toronto (2025), he studied under the tutelage of Vanessa Fralick and Megan Hodge, where his training also encompassed Contemporary Music, Historical Performance, and Euphonium. Passionate about education, Ethan maintains a growing private studio; his students have recently performed internationally in venues including New York's Carnegie Hall and Chicago's Symphony Center. Ethan is an alumnus of the National Academy Orchestra (Brott Music Festival, 2024) and has since performed under the baton of renowned conductors including Gerard Schwarz, Gustavo Gimeno, and Edwin Outwater. In 2026, Ethan will perform John Mackey's concerto Harvest as the winner of both the University of Toronto and Carnegie Mellon University Winds Concerto Competitions. Additionally, he will join the Aspen Music Festival this summer as a fellowship recipient.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CONCERT OFFICE
Eric Chow, supervisor; Cory Bertrand, front of house coordinator; Tam Nguyen, marketing & communications officer

PERFORMANCE COLLECTION
Karen Wiseman, librarian; Sara Ainsley Ko, student library assistant

PERFORMANCE OFFICE
Michelle Kitsis, administrator; Amanda Eyer Haberman, performance assistant; Ilinca Stafie, performance staff

YORK UNIVERSITY PERFORMANCE FACILITIES
Ian Albright, manager; Kimberly Guidolin, events administrator; Victor Wolters, coordinator, technical services; Angela Kegel, technical services assistant

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