Description:

Shawn D. Vondran, conductor 

The Symphonic Band’s second winter-quarter concert features five contemporary voices who are adding fresh perspectives to the wind band medium. Adam Schoenberg conceived his two-movement work Rise as a piece that could bookend an entire program, and the ensemble will honor this vision by separating the two movements. Omar Thomas’s setting of the well-known folk song “Shenandoah” is, in the words of the composer, “mysterious, somewhat ominous, constantly introspective, and deeply soulful.” Kevin Charoensri’s Rising Light is a powerful statement about anti-Asian hate and represents his non-apologetic celebration of the bicultural identity of Asian Americans. Kevin Day’s energetic Shimmering Sunshine opens the second half of the program, followed by Ryan George’s An Gé Fhiáin (The Wild Goose), a celebration of the Celtic people and their belief that the Holy Spirit was represented by this wild, untamed bird. 

Adam Schoenberg, Rise, mvmt. I: “Beginnings” 
Omar Thomas, Shenandoah 
Kevin Charoensri, Rising Light 
Kevin Day, Shimmering Sunshine 
Ryan George, An Gé Fhiáin (The Wild Goose) 
Adam Schoenberg, Rise, mvmt. II: “Farewell Song”