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MCB Gazebo Concert – Friday, June 7th, 2019 – Program Notes – page 1

A Summer Concert by the

Medina Community Band

Friday, June 7th, 2019 – 8:30p

Under the baton of Marcus L. Neiman John Connors, associate conductor & Matthew Hastings, assistant conductor

Welcome – James Shields, City Council, City of Medina Amy Muhl, Medina Community Band Association

Ice Cream Social Host – Salvation Army of Medina

* * * Program * * *

Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner (1889) .......................................................... Francis Scott Key John Philip Sousa

Overture, Slava! (1977) .................................................................................................. Leonard Bernstein Clare Grundman

March, March of the Resistance (from Star Wars) (2015) ............................................... John Williams

Paul Lavender

Clarinet Solo, Csárdás (1904/1982) ...................................................................................... Vittorio Monti Kurt Sorban

Mary Ann Grof-Neiman, soloist

March, Washington Grays (1861/1905) ..................................................................... Claudio S. Grafulla G.H. Reeves (Laurendeau)

Vocal Solo, Vienna, City of My Dreams (1914/1991) ............................................... Rudolph Sieczynski

Vocal Solo, By Strauss (1936) (from The Show Is On) ........................................................ George Gershwin Percy Hall

Denise Milner Howell, soloist

Trumpet Quartet, Trumpet Filigree (1964) ................................................................ Harold Walters

Marcia Nelson-Kline, Jeff Danilovic, Lorna Lindsley, & Lu Ann Gresh, soloists

Characteristic, Trombone King (1945) ............................................................................... Karl L. King

Flute Duet, Celtic Flutes (2003) ............................................................................................ Kurt Gäble

Sue McLaughlin & Amy Muhl, soloists

March, Esprit De Corps (1878/2015) ............................................................................. John Philip Sousa

March, The Stars and Stripes Forever (1896) ..................................................... John Philip Sousa

Patriotic, God Bless America (1918) ................................................................................. Irving Berlin

Erik Leidzén

Program subject to change


Slava! Leonard Bernstein / Clare Grundman

Leonard Bernstein

DOB: August 25, 1918 (Lawrence, MA) DOD: October 14, 1990 (The Dakota, New York City, NY) When Leonard Bernstein died in 1990, the world lost one of its most famous and dynamic musical figures. For more than 50 years, he was active as a conductor, composer, pianist, lecturer, music educator, teacher, television personality, and occasional social activist. One of the most recorded classical artists of all time, he left a superb collection of recordings made with the world’s greatest orchestras. His career as a composer was second only to that of conductor. He wrote with equal effectiveness for the concert hall, the opera house, the Broadway stage, and the motion picture screen. As a musician, the range of his talents was exceptional. Unlike

many classical musicians, he had a respect for, and knowledge of, popular music and jazz. Totally American-trained himself, he was a great supporter of American composers and musicians.

Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1918. He came from a family that was not particularly musical, and it was not until he was 15 that he attended his first concert and was exposed to classical music. This event, however, had a far-reaching effect on him. Following his graduation from Harvard University in 1939, he worked for several years with Serge Koussevitzky, the legendary conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Bernstein’s first big break came in 1943, when he made his conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic as the last-minute substitute for the regular conductor who had become ill. In 1958, he was appointed music director of the New York Philharmonic – the first native-born American to hold that position in the more than 100-year history of that orchestra. He spent the last years of his life as a “free-lance” artist, composing, conducting, teaching, and making guest appearances all over the world.

When Mstislav Rostropovich invited Leonard Bernstein to help him launch his inaugural concerts as Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra, he also asked him to write a rousing new opening piece for the festivities. This Overture is the result, and the world premiere took place on October 11, 1977 with Rostropovich conducting his orchestra at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D. C.

Slava! A Political Overture for Orchestra is a short orchestral composition by Leonard Bernstein. It was written for the inaugural concerts of Mstislav Rostropovich's first season with the National Symphony Orchestra in 1977. It premiered on October 11, 1977 with Rostropovich conducting.

Premiere and Influences – Rostropovich was known as “Slava” (from Mstislav) to his friends, thus the unusual name. His dog "Pooks" is honored in the piece.[1] The name is shouted before the 7/8 section, at the spot where the woodblock solo is heard. Although this was not written in the score, it is common for a conductor to perform the piece with it.

Critics generally responded well to the Overture. Paul Hume wrote in The Washington Post:

It's razzmatazz opening led straight into the kind of rouse-'em-up march you might have heard at a rally for William Jennings Bryan. And suddenly, from a tape somewhere back in the orchestra, came a booming voice, saying: "If I am elected to this high office . . . the people are sick and tired of . . . give you the next President of the U . . ."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slava!_A_Political_Overture#cite_note-Kennedy-1


March of the Resistance From ‘Star Wars the Force Awakens’

John Williams / Paul Lavender Williams, John

DOB: February 8th, 1932 (Queens, New York)

John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career that spans six decades, Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in Hollywood history, including: Star Wars, Superman, Home Alone, the first three Harry Potter movies, and all but two of Steven Spielberg’s feature films including the Indiana Jones series, Schindler’s List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and Jaws. He also composed the soundtrack for the hit 1960s TV series Lost in Space.

Williams has composed theme music for four Olympic Games, the NBC Nightly News, the inauguration of Barack Obama, and numerous television series and concert piece. He served as the principal conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1980 to 1993, and is now the orchestra’s laureate conductor.

Williams is a five-time winner of the Academy Award. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards, seven SAFTA Awards, and 21 Grammy Awards. With 45 Academy Award nominations, Williams is together with composer Alfred Newman, the second most nominated individual after Walt Disney. He was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in 2000, and was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004. Williams’ theme music from the film The Patriot was played after Barack Obama’s election victory speech.1

March of the Resistance is the musical track and theme, composed by John Williams, that represents the Resistance in the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. It first plays in the film when Poe Dameron and Resistance forces arrive on Takodana to fight the First Order at Maz Kanata's castle. The motif is continued in "Han and Leia" and "Scherzo for X-Wings."2

This rhythm is easier to hear if you produce it yourself. Try counting this pattern quickly, always emphasizing the “ones”: 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-3, and repeat.3

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (also known as Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens) is a 2015 American epic space opera film directed, co-produced, and co-written by J. J. Abrams. The direct sequel to 1983's Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens is the first installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Max von Sydow. Produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and Abrams' production company Bad Robot Productions and distributed worldwide by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Set 30 years after Return of the Jedi, it follows Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron's search for Luke Skywalker and their fight alongside the Resistance, led by veterans of the Rebel Alliance, against Kylo Ren and the First Order, a successor organization to the Galactic Empire.

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Williams 2 http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/March_of_the_Resistance 3 http://mashable.com/2015/12/31/star-wars-music-theory/#gyqdDhobF8qS


Csárdás

Vittorio Monti/ Kurt Sorban Vittorio Monti

DOB: January 6th, 1868 (Naples, Italy) DOD: June 20th, 1922 (Naples, Italy)

Vittorio Monti was an Italian composer, violinist, mandolinist and conductor. His most famous work is his Csárdás, written around 1904 and played by almost every gypsy orchestra.

Monti was born in Naples, where he studied violin and composition at the Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella. Around 1900 he received an assignment as the conductor for the Lamoureux Orchestra in Paris, where he wrote several ballets and operettas, for example, Noël de Pierrot. He also wrote a method for mandolin Petite Méthode pour Mandoline, 98049, in which he included some of his own works, Perle Brillante, Dans Una Gondola, and Au Petit Jour. There were also works by F. Paolo Tosti.4

"Csárdás" (or "Czardas") is a rhapsodical concert piece written in 1904, it is a well-known folkloric piece based on a Hungarian csárdás. It was originally composed for violin, mandolin or piano. There are arrangements for orchestra and for a number of solo instruments. The duration of the piece is about four and a half minutes.5

Mary Ann Grof-Neiman, clarinet, received her bachelor of science in music education degree from the Bowling Green State University. Ms. Grof-Neiman has served as principal clarinetist with the Sounds of Sousa Band and as clarinetist for the Blossom Festival Band, the Cleveland Winds, Lakeland Civic Band, Lakeside Symphony Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony, Chagrin Falls Studio Orchestra and Erie Philharmonic. She currently performs with the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, Lakewood Home Town Band, Akron Symphonic Winds and Medina Community Band, where she serves as band librarian. She maintains private studios at Baldwin Wallace University Community Music School as well as her home in Medina. She has served the Ohio Music Education Association as a Woodwind Adjudicator for over 30 years and is a member of AFM Local 4. She resides in Medina with her husband Marcus and their cat Dmitri.

4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vittorio_Monti 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cs%C3%A1rd%C3%A1s_(Monti)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vittorio_Monti

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cs%C3%A1rd%C3%A1s_(Monti)


Washington Grays (March)

Claudio S. Grafulla / G.H. Reeves (Laurendeau)

Claudio S. Grafulla DOB: 1810 (Minorca, an island off the coast of Spain) DOD: 1880 (New York, New York)

Claudio S. Grafulla - as is true with so many other composers of marches (E.E. Bagley and F.E. Bigelow, for example), C.S. Grafulla is known throughout the world as the gifted composer of only one March, the brilliant Washington Grays, written in 1861. However, he wrote many spirited and diverse marches. All indications point to a revival of interest in the music of Grafulla, a splendid example of early Americana.

Grafulla was born in 1810 in Minorca, an island off the coast of Spain, and moved to the United States in 1838. It is thought that he may have made this journey as a player in a band aboard a ship, as did

Peter Buys, but this is only conjecture. He soon became a member of the Lothiers Brass Band in New York, which was part of the same Seventh Regiment. In 1860, he was requested to reorganize the band, which he did, and then appointed its musical director, the newly formed band gave its first public concert on February 18th, 1860 in New York, and this was a great success. It was not long before Grafulla became known as composer and arranger military music; his success in this area and the growing fame of his Seventh Regiment Band causes reputation to become recognized nationally. It is interesting to note that he served as the regiment’s bandmaster without a salary for 20 years! Forced to retire from active musical service because of agency is, Grafulla died in New York in December 1880 at the age of 70.

While his name is Italian, his birthplace strongly suggest that like John Philip Sousa, he had Spanish blood. This Italian-Spanish composer’s long and successful association with the Seventh Regiment Band was noted particularly during the Civil War; at the time, newspapers in Washington and New York frankly referred to the band’s skill and to the gifted musicianship of its conductor. Many receptions, weddings, and society balls featured the appearances of Grafulla’s splendid talent as a composer and arranger, and many of his works were performed at these concerts.

C.S. Grafulla was a quiet, unassuming man never married, his whole life centered around music.6

Washington Grays

Written in 1861 for the 8th Regiment, New York State Militia, this work has been called a march masterpiece, a band classic, and the prototype of the concert march. Showing the stylistic influence of both German and Italian marches, the march has a marvelous balance of technique and melody in a continuous flow of musical ideas. It dared to break the old formulas, however, because it has no introduction, no break strain, and no stinger.7

The popularity of Washington Grays is due in considerable part to its early arranger. The Canadian Louis-Philippe Laurendeau (1861-1916) (using the pseudonym G. H. Reeves) made a modern concert band arrangement for Carl Fischer from brass band parts in 1905. Others who have made arrangements and editions include Frederick Fennell and Loras John Schissel. The duration of the march is between three and a half minutes to four minutes.8

6 Heritage of the March, Volume 35 – Rick Van Santvoord, Jon Newsome and Raoul Camus 7 Heritage of the March, Volume 35, front cover notes 8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Grays_(song)


Vienna, City of My Dreams

Rudolph Sieczynski / Leonard Smith Rudolph Sieczyński

DOB: 1879 (Vienna) DOD: 1952 (Vienna)

Rudolf Sieczyński (1879, Vienna – 1952, Vienna) was an Austrian composer of Polish ancestry. His fame today rests almost exclusively on the nostalgic Viennese song Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume (Vienna, City of My Dreams), whose melody and lyrics he wrote in 1914. A well-known recording was made in 1957 by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf with Otto Ackermann conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra. The song was featured in the soundtrack of the Stanley Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut.9

Widely ignored for a century by most reference books, even those in German, Rudolf Sieczynski is saved from oblivion by the popularity of a single song, the haunting Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume (Vienna, City of My Dreams). By day a government clerk, Sieczynski moonlighted most of his life as a composer, specializing in Wienerlieder, songs usually very sentimental and nostalgic about Vienna.

Born there at the height of Austria's Golden Age, Sieczynski learned the piano from his mother, but his formal studies were more practical, culminating in a doctorate in law from Vienna University. Johann Strauss II was still alive and a prominent Viennese musical figure through Sieczynski's youth, but with his death and the coming of the twentieth century, Austrian culture fell into what traditionalists regarded as decay, with a macabre expressionism developing in both music and visual art and the imperial political world falling apart in the years leading up to and including World War I. The period's new Viennese intellectuals and artists were seen as progressive trailblazers by the rest of the world, but at home they seemed more a threat to the comfortable old ways and nostalgia became a hot commodity among the bourgeoisie.

Sieczynski was very much a traditionalist by inclination and career. He was a government functionary all his adult life, toiling as a junior clerk in a provincial office when he wrote Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume in 1913. This he labeled as his Op. 1, and there followed through the war years a modest stream of similar pieces: such Wienerlieder as Das sind die Frauen und Mädchen von Wien and Ja, so ein Wiener Mäd'l, and such "conventional" but only subtly differentiated lieder as Du altes Österreich and the serenade Komm', mein Blondes, Kleines Mädchen. Almost incongruously, while he was writing this innocent-sounding material, he served through the war years as a director of the internment station of the Wöllersdorf prison camp.

Vienna, City of My Dreams Rudolf Sieczynski (1877-1952) Composed in 1843.Premiered on February 3, 1844 in Paris, conducted by the composer. Rudolf Sieczynski was a composer of the Viennese café music known as Schrammel-Lieder, named for the violin-playing Schrammel brothers, Johann and Josef, who founded a trio with a guitarist in 1878 to play at the local wine houses. Clarinet and accordion were later added to the little ensemble, which became the informal counterpart of the full-dress society dances staged by the Strauss family. Among Sieczynski’s waltzes, march-es, galops and songs is the 1914 waltz that captures the imperial city’s allure and sensuality as well as any ever written — Vienna, City of My Dreams.10

9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Sieczy%C5%84ski 10 http://musicfestival.com/images/2018Season/Program1.080718.pdf


By Strauss

George Gershin / Leonard Smith George Gershwin

DOB: September 26, 1898 (Brooklyn, New York) DOD: July 11, 1937 (New York, New York)

George Gershwin (pictured at right) has born Jacob Bruskin Gershvin. George Gershwin's popular songs and compositions from the 1920s and 1930s include "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and the symphonic jazz piece Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin dropped out of high school to work as a songwriter in New York's Tin Pan Alley, and had his first hit with 1919's "Swanee" (performed by Al Jolson). He first earned a living cranking out songs for stage revues and recording player piano rolls. He teamed with his brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin (1896-1983), and together they wrote the songs for Broadway's Lady Be Good (1924), a hit that secured their reputation for lively, clever and memorable songs. Until George died of a brain tumor in 1937, the brothers wrote hundreds of songs -- together and individually -- that were used in Broadway shows and Hollywood movies.11

"By Strauss" is a 1936 song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin.

Performed by the Gershwins at private parties, Vincente Minnelli included it in his 1936 revue The Show is On, where it was introduced by Gracie Barrie and Robert Shafter. It was then performed by Gene Kelly and Oscar Levant in Minnelli's 1951 film An American in Paris. The song was also featured in the musical Nice Work If You Can Get It, performed by the character Estonia Dulworth in a counterpoint with a reprise of "Sweet and Lowdown".12

Denise Milner Howell, mezzo-soprano, is a versatile performer of opera, concerts, and recitals, whose singing has been called “superb” (Cleveland Classical). Ms. Howell’s solo engagements include performances with Cleveland Opera Theater, Opera Cleveland, Chautauqua Opera, Kent/Blossom Festival, Nightingale Opera Theatre, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Akron Lyric Opera Theatre, Akron Baroque, Tanglewood Festival, Carousel Dinner Theatre, and Buffalo Philharmonic.

Recent performances include leading roles in Little Women (Meg), Amahl and the Night Visitors (Mother), Carmen (Mercédès), La cambiale di matrimonio (Clara), Robert Ward’s The Crucible (Rebecca Nurse), and Iolanthe (Celia). A frequent concert soloist, Ms. Howell has performed the alto solos in Handel’s Messiah, Mozart Requiem, Bach Magnificat, Haydn Lord Nelson Mass, Verdi Requiem, Vivaldi Gloria and Duruflé Requiem. Additionally, Ms. Howell is committed to the performance of new works by living composers, and has been heard at Cleveland Ingenuity Festival and New to New York Concert Series.

In addition to performing, Ms. Howell is an active voice teacher. She currently teaches at Cleveland Institute of Music/Case Western Reserve University, and Kent State University Hugh A. Glauser School of Music. She lives in Sharon Township, Ohio with her husband, Gregg, and their three children.

11 http://www.who2.com/bio/george-gershwin 12 http://www.ask.com/wiki/By_Strauss?o=2801&qsrc=999&ad=doubleDown&an=apn&ap=ask.com


Trumpet Filigree

Harold Walters

Harold Walters (29 September 1918, Gurden, Arkansas -22 October 1984, Hollywood) began cornet lessons at the age of eight, later changing to tuba and string bass. After graduating from Little Rock High School he received additional musical instruction at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and the American University.

From 1938 to 1943 he performed and served as chief arranger with the U.S. Navy Band in Washington, D.C. After his military discharge, he was with CBS Radio in Washington for a year and then moved to New York City where he served as conductor-arranger for Warner Brothers Theatre, Fox Newsreel features, Randolph Hurst News, and various orchestras, including the Sigmund Romberg Orchestra.

In 1946 Mr. Walters, who had become an honorary member of Beta (OK) Chapter, invited Alpha (TX) Chapter member Dr. Milburn Carey to charter Gamma Chapter in Indiana. Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Mu was organized and the charter members initiated on November 27, 1953, at the state convention of the Indiana Music Educators Association. He maintained close friendship with several Indiana bandmasters including Frank Cofield who he frequently visited in Seymour, Indiana. In 1949 he joined the Rubank Music Publishing Company as editor, composer and arranger.

Walters’ published compositions and arrangements number over 900 for band and over 600 for strings, woodwind, brass and percussion solos and ensembles, some under the pseudonym Fred L. Frank. He was a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). In 1956 he was elected president of the American Band Masters Association, and some years later he received an honorary doctorate of music at Washington College of Music.13

Lu Ann Gresh, Lorna Lindsley, Jeff Danilovic, and Kevin Wallick, trumpet quartet soloists

13 http://www.windrep.org/Harold_L_Walters


Jeff Danilovic, cornet, is a registered nurse with 16 years’ experience in Cardiothoracic Intensive Care and Home Care nursing, where he has held the role of Nurse Manager for the last 10 years. He earned an Associates Degree in Nursing from Cuyahoga Community College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Ohio University. Prior to his career in nursing, Jeff studied music education at The Ohio State University where he participated in various ensembles including the Trumpet Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, and The Ohio State University Marching Band. Jeff, and his wife Colleen, reside in Medina, Ohio with their children Caitlin, Connor, and Molly. He joined the Medina Community Band in 2018.

Lu Ann Gresh, cornet, is a retired elementary music specialist with 36 years of experience. She has both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in music education from The University of Akron. She has taught for the Revere City Schools, Highland Local Schools, Clark County Schools in Las Vegas, Nevada, and most recently Wadsworth City Schools. She taught preschool music and adult beginning piano classes at The University of Akron. Lu Ann and her husband, Paul, reside in Wadsworth, Ohio. She has two children, Jonathan and Kelsey. She has been a member of the Medina Community Band since 1997. She also plays in the Sounds of Sousa Band, and is a member of the Brass Band of the Western Reserve. Lu Ann currently serves as the trumpet section leader. She is president of the Medina Community Band Association.

Lorna Lindsley, cornet, earned her Nursing degree from The Huron Road School of Nursing. She worked as a Registered Nurse at The Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital in their Step Down Unit. She performed with The Bluecoats and Garfield Cadets Drum and Bugle Corp over a span of seven years and continues to be active with their alumni groups playing several concerts a year. Lorna lives in Medina with her husband Sam and their three children Bella, Sydney and Emerson. She joined the Medina Community Band in 2017.

Marcia Nelson Kline Copley resident Marcia Nelson Kline began her trumpet studies with parents Milton and Sarah Nelson, Lloyd Haines, and further advanced her studies with Harry Herforth and James Darling. She is a member of Medina Community Band (since 1984) and Brass Band of the Western Reserve (since 1997) and has performed with Marcus Neiman's Sound of Sousa Band, Mill Street Brass Quintet, and Cleveland Women's Orchestra. She is featured as a cornet soloist on Medina Community Band's CD "Sounds of Summer". Marcia has an associate degree in medical assisting from The University of Akron and is employed by Cleveland Clinic as an ophthalmic technician. (as of 17 05 09)

Trombone King

Karl L. King


Karl L. King

DOB: February 21st, 1891 (Paintersville, Ohio) DOD: March 31st, 1971 (Fort Dodge, Iowa) Karl L. King joined the circus when he was 19 years old at a time when the circus world was in great need for composers to write special music for the various acts. King’s unique ability and uncanny knack allowed him to write and arrange just to the needs of the circus world. Two of more famous circus Buffalo Bill’s and Barnum and Bailey’s Circus.

King played an important role in the Iowa Band Law, state legislation giving municipalities the right to levy a small tax to support a municipal band. He was also one of the first march composers to write special music for the growing school band programs in America. In addition to writing marches, he also wrote overtures, waltzes, and other selections

that could be used for individual concerts or massed band performances.

The Trombone King March was published in 1945 by the Karl L. King Music House.

The Trombone King was published in 1945 and was dedicated to Charlie Toops, a trombonist and bandmaster in Wilmington, Ohio. As might be expected, the trombone part rarely calms down during this march – nor any King march, for that matter.

Toops obituary in the May 6th, 1950 edition of The Billboard indicated that he was 85 years of at the time of death (Wednesday, April 9th) and a veteran circus band musician. Toops had been with the John Robinson, Barnum & Bailey and Ringling circuses, Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, and Sousa’s Band. For many years, he was a railroad telegrapher. He directed the Columbus (OH) Shrine and Elks bands and the Wilmington Municipal Band. He was survived by his widow and four sisters.

Celtic Flutes


Kurt Gäble

Kurt Gäble

DOB: January 5th, 1953 (x)

Kurt Gäble was born on January 5, 1953. In Augsburg, he studied music, fine arts and pedagogic sciences. He developed his talents as composer and arranger as an autodidact and as an expert in matters of the wind band. He gained recognition as a composer when his piece “Der Komet” (“The Comet”) was awarded a prize at a composers’ competition that was organized by the Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation) in cooperation with the Bayerischer Musikrat (Bavarian Council on Music). In 1992 his composition “Zeitenwende” (“Time of Change”) won a first prize at the national competition of the Kulturstiftung Schwaben (Cultural Foundation of Swabia). That far numerous commissioned works and contemporary arrangements round out his output as a composer. Currently Kurt Gäble is chiefly known to the band community for his contemporary, modern arrangements and compositions.

Celtic Flutes. The flute is an instrument of historic bearing, as it is known in almost all cultures on earth. Some rulers considered the sound to be too erotic and immoral, and therefore prohibited to play it. Today, the flute has become one of the most popular instruments. The ancient Celts originally settled in southern Germany. They used this instrument to accompany their religious rites and in many of their ceremonies. Dances of Celtic-Irish nature presently undergo a true revival. “Celtic Flutes” was composed as solo for two flutes and symphonic wind band. Keeping with the style, the piece uses authentic material of the composer in the dramaturgy of human life, as love and suffering, joy and hope constitute the thematic elements of this work.

Sue McLaughlin (photo on right) has been a member of the Medina Community Band since 1994 and is a former flute student of Deidre McGuire. While in school, she was a member of the band, orchestra, and jazz band, playing clarinet and saxophone. In addition to playing flute and piccolo in the Medina Community Band, Sue has also performed with Marcus Neiman and The Sounds of Sousa Band, Symphony West Orchestra, Medina Show Biz, St. Paul Lutheran Church orchestra, St. Paul Lutheran Celebration Worship Team, the Western Star Flute Choir and several other area churches. She is retired from 24 years with Southwest General Health Center. Sue lives in Medina with her two cats, Truffles and Kokopelli. She has a married daughter and two wonderful grandsons! She is section leader for the flute section, media/public relations contact for the band and secretary of the Medina Community Band Association.

Amy Muhl (photo on left) has been a member of Medina Community Band since 1998. Originally from Lyme, Connecticut, moved to Ohio to study music education at Oberlin Conservatory in 1991. She graduated in 1995 and taught orchestra for two years in the Willard City Schools. Amy received her masters of music education from Kent State University on a scholarship, in 1998. She then taught instrumental music at Buckeye High School, in Medina (OH) and in the fall of 1999, became the elementary band teacher for Buckeye Local Schools. In the fall of 2001, she began teaching elementary instrumental music at Central Intermediate School in the Wadsworth City Schools. Amy also plays flute/piccolo and piano and teaches private lessons, in addition to being a member of Medina Community Band and Sounds of Sousa Band. She is also treasurer of the Medina Community Band Association. Amy resides in Wadsworth with her husband Frank, and three children Kenneth, Eva and Simon.

Esprit De Corps (March)


John Philip Sousa

“Esprit de Corps” (1878) John Philip Sousa DOB: November 6th, 1854 (Washington, DC) DOD: March 6th, 1932 (Reading, PA)

John Philip Sousa wrote the most famous American military marches of all time, including "Stars and Stripes Forever," earning him the nickname "the March King"; he was also known as a great bandleader, and organized the famed concert and military group, Sousa's Band. Born in Washington, D.C., on November 6, 1854, Sousa followed in the footsteps of his father, a musician in the U.S. Marine Corps, and enlisted by the age of 14. Before this, Sousa had studied violin with John Esputa. While active in the Marines, he composed his first march, "Salutation."

Around the age of 16, Sousa began studying harmony with G.F. Benkert, then worked as a pit orchestra conductor at a local theater, followed by jobs as first chair violinist at the Ford Opera House, the Philadelphia Chestnut Street Theater, and later led the U.S. Marine Corps Band (1880-1992). Although most famous for his marches, Sousa composed in other styles as well, including a waltz, "Moonlight on the Potomac"; a gallop, "The Cuckoo" (both in 1869); the oratorio "Messiah of the Nations" (1914); and scores for Broadway musicals The Smugglers (1879), Desiree (1884), The Glass Blowers (1893), El Capitan (1896; which was his first real scoring success), American Maid (1913), and more. Sousa formed his sternly organized marching band in 1892, leading them through numerous U.S. and European tours, a world tour, and an appearance in the 1915 Broadway show Hip-Hip-Hooray. Sousa's Band also recorded many sides for the Victor label up through the early '30s. His most famous marches include "The Stars and Stripes Forever" (1897), "U.S. Field Artillery March," "Semper Fidelis" (written in 1888, it became the Marine Corps anthem), "Washington Post March" (1889), "King Cotton" (1895), "El Capitan" (1896), and many more. In addition to writing music, Sousa also wrote books, including the best-seller Fifth String and his autobiography, Marching Along. Actor Clifton Webb portrayed Sousa in the movie about his life entitled Stars and Stripes Forever. The instrument the sousaphone was named after this famous composer and bandleader. ~ Joslyn Layne, All Music Guide Esprit de Corps. Inspiration for this composition would be obvious had Sousa composed it while he was in service, but he was not. The march was not published for band until the year after he resigned from the U. S. Marine Corps. The dedication reads, “To my old friend Wilson J. Vance of Ohio.” In addition to being Sousa’s friend, Vance (1845-1911) was a Medal of Honor recipient who served with the 21st Ohio Infantry during the American Civil War. He was cited for voluntarily rescuing a wounded and helpless comrade while his command was falling back under heavy fire during the Battle of Stones River in Tennessee on December 31, 1862. Vance later became Captain, 14th U. S. Colored Troops, was the author of several books, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The “Esprit de Corps” Sousa references in this march is the camaraderie, the bond of friendship that forms between those who serve together. The dedication’s timing is not coincidental; the two were beginning to work together in 1878 on the operetta The Smugglers, for which Vance was the librettist.


Reference: Paul E. Bierley, The Works of John Philip Sousa (Westerville, Ohio: Integrity Press, 1984), 50. Supplemented with information provided by Loras J. Schissel.14

The Stars and Stripes Forever (March) is considered the finest march ever written, and at the same time one of the most patriotic ever conceived. As reported in the Philadelphia Public Ledger (May 15, 1897) “ ... It is stirring enough to rouse the American eagle from his crag, and set him to shriek exultantly while he hurls his arrows at the aurora borealis.” (referring to the concert the Sousa Band gave the previous day at the Academy of Music).15

The march was not quite so well received though and actually got an over average rating for a new Sousa march. Yet, its popularity grew as Mr. Sousa used it during the Spanish-American War as a concert closer. Coupled with his Trooping of the Colors , the march quickly gained a vigorous response from audiences and critics alike. In fact, audiences rose from their chairs when the march was played. Mr. Sousa added to the entertainment value of the march by having the piccolo(s) line up in front of the band for the final trio, and then added the trumpets and trombones join them on the final repeat of the strain.

The march was performed on almost all of Mr. Sousa’s concerts and always drew tears to the eyes of the audience. The author has noted the same emotional response of audiences to the march today. The march has been named as the national march of The United States.

There are two commentaries of how the march was inspired. The first came as the result of an interview on Mr. Sousa’s patriotism. According to Mr. Sousa, the march was written with the inspiration of God.

“I was in Europe and I got a cablegram that my manager was dead. I was in Italy and I wished to get home as soon as possible, I rushed to Genoa, then to Paris and to England and sailed for America. On board the steamer as I walked miles up and down the deck, back and forth, a mental band was playing ‘Stars and Stripes Forever.’ Day after day as I walked it persisted in crashing into my very soul. I wrote it on Christmas Day, 1896.”16

The second, and more probable inspiration for the march, came from Mr. Sousa’s own homesickness. He had been away from his homeland for some time on tour, and told an interviewer:

“In a kind of dreamy way, I used to think over old days at Washington when I was leader of the Marine Band ... when we played at all public functions, and I could see the Stars and Stripes flying from the flagstaff in the grounds of the White House just as plainly as if I were back there again.”

“Then I began to think of all the countries I had visited, of the foreign people I had met, of the vast differences between America and American people and other countries and other peoples, and that flag our ours became glorified ... and to my imagination it seemed to be the biggest, grandest, flag in the world, and I could not get back under it quick enough.”

“It was in this impatient, fretful state of mind that the inspiration to compose ‘The Stars and Stripes Forever’ came to me.”17

14 Paul E. Bierley, The Works of John Philip Sousa (Westerville, Ohio: Integrity Press, 1984), 50. Supplemented with information provided by Loras J. Schissel

15 Research done by Elizabeth Hartman, head of the music department, Free Library of Philadelphia. Taken from John Philip Sousa, Descriptive Catalog of His Works (Paul E. Bierley, University of Illinois Press, 1973, page 71) 16 Taken from program notes for the week beginning August 19th, 1923. Bierley, John Philip Sousa, page 71. 17 Ibid., page 72

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