Wind Ensemble: Brief Incarnations
Wind Ensemble: Brief Incarnations
Gillian MacKay, conductor
Toby Moisey, conductor
Kannan Bloor, saxophone, Winner of the 2024 Winds Concerto Competition
PROGRAM
Overture in C, Op. 24
Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1947)
Toby Moisey, conductor
D’un matin de printemps
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
Hot-Sonate for Saxophone
Erwin Schulhoff (1894–1942)
I. Moderato
II. Vivo
III. Andante
IV. Molto vivo
Kannan Bloor, alto saxophone, Winner of the 2023 Winds Concerto Competition
Erwin Schulhoff's 's Jazz Concerto Hot-Sonata for Saxophone (orchestrated by Richard Rodney Bennett) by arrangement with Schott Music Group/European American Music Distributors.
Intermission
Prelude No. 2
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
Waking Angels
David Gillingham (b.1947)
Funeral Music for Queen Mary (after Purcell)
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Transcribed and elaborated by Steven Stucky (1949-2016)
Henry Purcell's Funeral Music for Queen Mary (transcribed by Steven Stucky) by arrangement with Theodore Presser Company.
WIND ENSEMBLE
Gillian MacKay, conductor
Flute
Ivy Bumanglag
Josh Chong
Gihae (Lisa) Han
Lauren Radeschi
Oboe
Clara Aristanto (English Horn)
Yeonji Oh
Christopher Vishy
Clarinet
Cheng Cheng (bass)
Marco Ding
Benjamin Gillingham-Murray
Dario Hila
Eliza Abbott
Bassoon and Contrabassoon
Kendal Morrison
Grace Qiu
Rita Ren
Saxophone
Kanna Bloor
Charlotte Chau
Kung Huang
Adrian Leung
Chantelle Tom-Ying
Yunfei Xie
Piano
Tina Chen
Bass
Matthieu Savard
Trumpet
Kevin Hayward
Naomi Hunter
Jayang Kim
Daniel Rofaiel
Tamsin Spiller
Kevin Weijie Zhao
Horn
Nathan Bergman
Ethan Chialtas
Ewen Hutton
Paolo Rosselli *
Ilinca Stafie *
Trombone
Abellia Chan
Kenzie Ford
Ian Tong (bass) +
Euphonium
Lionel Stanway
Tuba
Elizabeth Fair +
Jack Shiels
Percussion
Reuben Faigao
Arthur Lo *
Yi-Hsuan Lo *
Jerry Yuan
Yue Yin Zhang
Jeffrey Zhu
Harp
Emmanuel Luna Wong
Graduate Conductors
Toby Moisey
James Wu
* guest musicians
+ ensemble managagers
PROGRAM NOTES
Our program tonight showcases composers did not live to enjoy old age. Five of our six composers this evening lived unusually short and productive lives, and sixth is in memory of the lives cut short by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We choose to honour these young composers in a sense of awe and gratitude - for much work done early. As such, our concert is not focused on death but on a celebration of the energy and output of young creatives.
Mendelssohn – Overture in C Op. 24
Felix Mendelssohn was a teenager when we wrote his Overture in C. Originally written for the military band of the day, its original orchestration was more closely related to the Classical-era harmoniemusic ensembles (pairs of woodwinds and horns) than the larger ensemble you see this evening. Mendelssohn lost the original score and later recreated it with larger instrumentation, and there have been multiple versions created since that time. Even in this early period Mendelssohn’s music had the craft, joy, and lightness of character that we know as his more mature style. Although Mendelssohn only lived to age 38, he left us with a great deal of orchestral, piano, and chamber music, as well as this buoyant overture.
Lili Boulanger – D’un matin de printemps
Originally for violin and piano, this work is one of about 25 extant pieces by Lili Boulanger. Despite a short life overshadowed by chronic ill health, Lili was on the way to establishing herself as a major talent of her generation when she passed away at age 24. She was the first woman to win the coveted Prix de Rome, the Paris Conservatoire’s highest honour for a graduating composer. Boulanger’s music has been quietly admired and publicly ignored for a century. It has enjoyed a resurgence in the past decade, as performers all over the world have begun to highlight music that was systemically undervalued in its time. Originally written in 1918 at the end of WWI, this piece is full of optimism, and clearly showcases the thematic and harmonic language that was characteristic of Boulanger’s style.
Erwin Schulhoff – Hot-Sonate
Many European composers of the early 20th century were fascinated with the sound of jazz – not least of these was Erwin Schulhoff, a Czech composer who wrote piano music, violin sonata, symphonies, and a variety of chamber music. Tonight’s piece was written in 1930 for piano and saxophone. Those familiar with the music of Kurt Weill from the inter-war period will recognize the style. As a Jew in Hitler’s Europe, Erwin Schulhoff tried to flee in 1941 but was apprehended, and he died at 48 in a concentration camp at Wülzburg. This piece was transcribed for wind band by jazz pianist Richard Rodney Bennett. The saxophone sings, dances and screams in this four-movement work. Tonight’s soloist is Kannan Bloor, who won the Winds Concerto competition in March of 2024.
George Gershwin – Prelude #2
Another early twentieth-century composer influenced by jazz, George Gershwin was most well known in his lifetime his jazz-oriented music for the concert hall and Broadway stage. Gershwin composed Rhapsody in Blue, which we performed last season on this stage with Jamie Parker, as well as American in Paris, Piano Concerto in F. He also composed the classic American songs: I’ve Got Rhythm, The Man I Love, Summertime, the last of which is featured in his opera Porgy and Bess. He wrote music over 15 Broadway shows and several movies. Gershwin was known as a pianist, and wrote Three Preludes for solo piano in 1926, before he turned 30. The second of these, which we are playing this evening, was described by the composer as “a kind of jazz lullaby.” Gershwin died of a brain tumour at age 38.
David Gillingham – Waking Angels
This work is one exception to this evening’s theme, in that the composer, happily, is enjoying life in his 70s. The piece is a response to a poem by Olga Broumas, depicting the upward path of the souls of victims of HIV/AIDS. At the time of the poem’s writing, this epidemic was devastating and seemingly unstoppable. To date, the disease has killed over 42 million people. Many of the victims of the disease are young, it seemed appropriate to honour them here by including this haunting work. Nearly all the musical material comes from the hymn Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling, a gospel hymn that refers to being “called home” to heaven. One does not need to share the theology of the hymn to understand Gillingham’s skillful deconstruction of the hymn’s melody- pulling apart the hymn in the ruthless way the virus itself behaves in the human body.
Henry Purcell/Steven Stucky – Funeral Music for Queen Mary
There are two brief incarnations related to this work. Funeral Sentences and Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary (four trumpets, choir, and basso continuo) was written by English composer Henry Purcell in 1695, to honour the life of Queen Mary II. Mary herself died in her early thirties, and as organist of the Chapel Royal, Purcell was called upon to compose music for the funeral. Purcell himself died the following year at 36, but during his brief life established himself as primary English composer of the Baroque period. The original music is divided into funeral marches that would have been played outdoors by slide trumpets, and four-part anthems to be sung inside. While resident composer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Steven Stucky took the original music and pushed it through a contemporary filter – listen for the trombones and contrabassoon to emerge from the fog with the original slow melody from the beginning.
Program Notes by Gillian MacKay
BIOGRAPHIES
Gillian MacKay is Professor of Music of the University of Toronto, where she conducts the Wind Ensemble and teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting. She has conducted honour ensembles through hout Canada and internationally, and serves as Associate Conductor of the Denis Wick Canadian Wind Orchestra. Dr. MacKay has adjudicated and guest conducted in Canada, the USA, Asia and in the UK.
Known for her earlier research into the relationship between conducting and mime, Gillian is currently exploring the application of the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique in the development of expressivity and character in conducting gesture. She has undertaken study of clown to encourage joy and spontaneity in rehearsal and performance.
Dr. MacKay leads the University of Toronto Wind Conducting Symposium each July, and has been the guest instructor at other symposia in Canada and abroad. She has been honoured twice by the Canadian Band Association, with both their National and International Award. Born in Prince Edward Island, Gillian grew up in Alberta, and earned degrees and diplomas from University of Lethbridge, University of Calgary, McGill University, and Northwestern University.
Kannan Bloor is a Canadian classical saxophonist and educator. Most recently, Kannan won the University of Toronto Winds Concerto Competition (2024) and is the Emerging Artist for the Edmonton Recital Society’s 2024-25 season. Beyond his solo playing he shows versatility in his ensemble work, with experience as a member of the University of Toronto Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, and Saxophone Chamber Ensembles, as well as the Toronto Saxophone Collective and the Queen’s Own Rifles Band of the Canadian Armed Forces. Additionally, he has worked with world-class saxophonists at prestigious programs such as the Orford Music Academy, Université Européenne de Saxophone, and the Frederick L. Hemke Saxophone Institute. Kannan is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Music degree in Saxophone Performance at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Dr. Wallace Halladay.
Toby Moisey (b. 1986) is a graduate of the Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, Russia, (2014) where he studied flute under Prof. Alexandra Vavilina, former Soloist with the legendary Mravinsky Orchestra. He holds a Bachelor of Education from McGill University, Quebec (2018) and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria, BC (2009) Toby grew up in Smithers, BC, Canada where he began his music studies with Gail Olsen. Sharing his passion for creative exploration, Toby has performed with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, Major Funk, Problematic Orchestra, and collaborated on soundtrack projects with Montréal puppet theater group Ombres Folles. As Director of Bands with the Whitehorse All-City Band Society Mr. Moisey has overseen the commission of several works for wind ensemble by Yukon composers Keitha Clark, Schott Maynard, Dennis and Jenny Shorty and John C. Curtis. In 2022 Toby received the Yukon Advance Artist Award to pursue conducting masterclass and is currently in the second year of the MMus in Wind Conducting at the University of Toronto with Dr. Gillian MacKay.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PERFORMANCE COLLECTION
Karen Wiseman, librarian
CONCERT OFFICE
Eric Chow, supervisor
Cory Bertrand, front of house coordinator
PERFORMANCE OFFICE
Amanda Eyer Haberman, performance assistant
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