Wind Symphony: Reminiscence

PROGRAM NOTES 

FIRST SUITE IN E-FLAT

The First Suite in E-flat for Military Band was composed in 1909 after Holst had penned well over one hundred compositions. By the time Holst began this work in his music room at 10 the Terrace, Barnes, he was well into his second stylistic period, one that was heavily influenced by two diverse areas: the English folk song movement and Sanskrit literature. All three movements of the suite are based on the same motif: an ascending major second followed by an ascending perfect fifth. The Chaconne is, with the exception of the final movement of Brahms’ Fourth Symphony, the best-known post-Baroque movement in this form. The second movement, Intermezzo in C minor, sums up Holst’s compositional development at this stage of his career: a trio in dorian mode, hinting at his recent trip to Algeria, with a second of non-abrasive polytonality in its coda. The March, with its idiomatic brass and woodwind themes first played separately and then together, is the work of a master craftsman, recalling Tchaikovsky’s presentation of themes through differing orchestral colors in the Scherzo of his Fourth Symphony. The development of the germ motif heard in the opening measures of the suite leads to a rousing conclusion.

Edited from notes by Jon C. Mitchell

REMEBRANCE

Composed in 2018, Remembrance is a tender, melancholic wind band piece reflecting on the sacrifices that shaped the present, often performed with a powerful climax. As a winner of the 2019 Canadian Band Association Howard Cable Memorial Prize, it urges audiences to carry the torch of those before us, offering a, poignant, and reflective atmosphere. Composer, Dong-In Danny Choi is a young, largely self-taught composer and multi-instrumentalist based in Vancouver, Canada, known for collaborating with ensembles like the Vancouver and Victoria Symphony Orchestras. 

Edited Program Note by composer, D.I.D. Choi

A PROPER GOODBYE

I have never been good at saying goodbye. I find it difficult to quickly sum up time shared with a pithy comment or words of gratitude. I usually prefer to simply vanish and remember the meaningful time spent together. Let me be clear: This is a terrible way to say goodbye.

I recently said goodbye to a great friend and mentor who lost an epic battle with cancer. Fortunately, he did not share my fondness for ghosting. He demanded I come to his hospice bed to spend long afternoons sitting quietly together listening to a good hard rain, talking about music, family, and a life meaningfully lived. I am so grateful he did.

I miss him.

Program Note by composer, Joel Puckett

RESCUE

RESCUE was originally conceived as a work for youth orchestra, having been commissioned in 2019 on the Kingston Youth Orchestra’s 50th anniversary. Having completed the orchestral version in early 2020, the composer then created this wind band adaptation in 2021, which was selected as the winner of the 2023 Howard Cable Memorial Prize in Composition, the annual national award for composition hosted by the Canadian Band Association. RESCUE is grounded in everyday reality. At its heart, this piece is for young people, about young people. In our youth, we often rely on people close to us to rescue us from moments of distress. Additionally, our youth is a period when we develop the ability to see beyond our immediate surroundings and serve a purpose greater than our own. RESCUE is a celebration of this exciting, tumultuous time in our lives and everything that becomes of it.

Program Note by composer, E. K. R. Hammell

TAROT

Gustav Holst was incredibly interested in Indian culture, going so far as to teach himself Sanskrit. Some evidence suggests that he tried to incorporate Indian rāgas into his works, and after investigating Holst’s resources and analyzing his Planets, I believe that Holst tried to reference rāgas that evoked similar characters to those of the planets in his suite. Holst’s access to authentic performance of Indian music was limited, however, and like many composers—especially as a British composer entrenched in modal composition during the English folksong revival of the early 20th century—he took what he understood of rāgas and filled in the gaps with western theoretical knowledge, resulting in the treatment of what were once rāgas as scales or modes.

I decided to compose a suite that traces Holst’s footsteps but applies his musical experimentation to a new topic: Tarot. Like astrology, Tarot cards have been used for divination, and as each planet in modern astrology represents specific characteristics and personality traits, so too does each Tarot card. Some elements of the Hindustani thāṭs, Karnāṭak mēḷakarta rāgas, and pitch sets Holst references in his Planets are referenced in Tarot using a similarly western approach to portray Tarot card analogs.

Program Note by composer, Lindsay Bronnenkant

BIOGRAPHY 

Sommer Helweh Forrester is an Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Toronto. She teaches courses in music education, conducts the Wind Symphony, and serves as the Coordinator of Music Education.

Forrester is a sought-after music educator and conductor who works with scholars, K-12 educators, and performing artists in various contexts. Through her scholarship, Dr. Forrester investigates how reflective practice and critical inquiry can inform inclusive and socially responsive approaches to teaching and learning music. Forrester is published in prominent peer-reviewed research and practitioner journals. Forrester serves on the executive board for the Society for Music Teacher Education and the editorial board for the Journal of Music Teacher Education. She is an active guest conductor and clinician in North America and the Middle East.

Forrester holds Doctoral (Ph.D.) and Masters degrees in in Music Education with a cognate in Wind Conducting from the University of Michigan; Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto; and Honors Bachelor of Music Education from Western University. A former K –12 classroom teacher, Forrester proudly taught music in Canada, Palestine, Israel, and Kuwait. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

Eric Chow, Concert Office - Supervisor 

Karen Wiseman, Performance Collection – Librarian 

Sara Ainsley Ko, Performance Collection – Student Librarian 

Eddy Aitken, Performance Office – Administrator 

Amanda Eyer Haberman, Performance Office – Assistant 

Ilinca Stafie – Performance Office - Staff

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