Concerts> 2025-2026> Dance Until You Drop!
Charles River Wind Ensemble Concerts
"Dance Until You Drop!"
Program notes by Richard M. Kesner
Kevin Beavers (1971 - ), Vintage Collection [World Premiere]
Kevin Beavers was born in Medellín, Colombia but spent his early years in Keyser, West Virginia. He has degrees from West Virginia University (BM) and the University of Michigan (MM and DMA) and has studied at the Tanglewood Music Festival and in Amsterdam (Fulbright). Beavers has taught at the Interlochen Arts Camp, the University of Texas in Austin, and at University of Colorado (Boulder). He has also held a three-year residency with the California Symphony. His compositions include a range of orchestral, band, chamber, and vocal works. Currently, Beavers serves on the Composition and Music Theory Faculty at the Anton Rubinstein International Music Academy (Düsseldorf, Germany). Vintage Collection (2024) is a playful and nostalgic journey through diverse 20th-century musical forms and styles. Each movement draws inspiration from the past, reimagining it with a modern twist while celebrating the vitality and charm of bygone eras. The forms span a wide stylistic gamut: a humoresque in ‘That Smirk,’ a minuet in ‘Minuet Antique,’ and a samba in ‘Evening Attire.’ ‘The Stinger’ channels a rock ethos, while ‘Stroke of Green’ draws on a jazzy pop idiom. Vintage Collection thrives on contrast, with each stylized short contributing its own distinct character and mood but coming together collectively to create a harmonious and memorable musical experience.
Davor Bobić (1968 - ), Zagorski Slike
Composer, pedagogue, organizer and long-time director of the Varaždin Baroque Evenings, Davor Bobić is one of the most influential musicians of contemporary Croatian musical life. Born in Varaždin, where he finished primary and secondary school, he graduated in accordion, composition and musical theory at the P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Kiev. Immediately after finishing his studies, Bobić started his teaching career at the Varaždin School of Music. He continued his teaching career at the Academy of Arts in Osijek, where he now a full professor. His compositional work includes instrumental, vocal, and musical/stage works. Zagorski Slike (2006) – Zagorski images or scenes – draws on the Zagorje region of Croatia which is known especially for its nationalistic music, dance and folklore traditions. Bobic gives us three dramatic movements, each its own miniature tone poem. The first is entitled: Zagorje in Primordial Times, describing the creation of Zagorje. The second movement - The Benja Legend - describes Benja, a mysterious village in the northern part of Zargoje. The final section - Zagorje Wedding depicts a typical Zagorje wedding full of drunken fun!
Luis Serrano Alarcon (1972 - ), Concertango
Alto Saxophone Soloist, Ana Diaz Asencio
Born in Valencia in 1972, Luis Serrano Alarcón is a Spanish composer and conductor. His works have been performed in more than 30 countries and many were commissioned for important national and international musical organizations. He has twice won the First Prize of the International Composition Competition for Band at Corciano (Italy) - in 2006 with the piece Preludio y Danza del Alba, for brass quintet and symphonic band, and in 2009 with La Dama Centinela. He is currently principal conductor of the UMSC Symphonic Band of Villar del Arzobispo (Valencia) and professor at the Conservatorio Superior de Música of Valencia. Our alto saxophone soloist, Ana Diaz Asencio was born in Sevilla, Spain. She graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree at the Sevilla Conservatory and Master’s Degree at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Ana is currently completing her Doctorate with the renowned saxophone player Ken Radnofsky at Boston University where she serves as the saxophone teaching assistant. In addition to performing and teaching, Ana’s eagerness for artistic development has led her to explore other roles within the music world, including conducting, research, and music administration. Concertango (2006) is first and foremost a work of fusion. On the one hand there is the instrumental fusion, combining a classical symphonic group (in this instance CRWE) with a jazz trio (piano, bass, drums). Above these two groups, the saxophone soloist is the absolute protagonist. On the other hand, the work offers stylistic fusion. We can find in this piece different stylistic reminiscences, from 20th Century symphonic music to modern jazz elements. And above all, the tango is always present, especially as represented in the works of the great tango composer Astor Piazzolla. The title is a clear reference to Piazzolla’s most famous pieces, such as Libertango or Violentango, making it clear from the very beginning that Piazzolla was the true inspiration for this musical composition.
Jennifer Jolley (1981 - ), March!
Jennifer Jolley is a composer, conductor, and professor. Her work is founded on the belief that the pleasures and excesses of music have the unique potential to engage political and provocative subjects. Addressing a range of topics such as climate change, #MeToo, feminist history, and the abuses of the Putin regime, Jolley strives to write works that are equally enjoyable and meaningful. Jolley received degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. She is now an Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition in the Department of Music, Multimedia, Theatre, and Dance at Lehman College in the Bronx and was a Fulbright Scholar to Egypt in 2023. She has been a composition faculty member at Interlochen Arts Camp since 2015. March! (2021) was commission by the American Bandmasters Association. The work is a combination of composer’s devotion to a type of musical composition and her uncertain feelings towards its historical past and present. To reconcile these ambivalences, Jolley has turned to Dmitri Shostakovich’s March of the Soviet Militia (1970) as a guide. Like Shostakovich’s work, March! is a dark parody. Jolley employs crisp, uncomplicated anthems and quotations of North Korean patriotic melodies broken apart by irreverent percussion, sputtering tempos and audio taken from the Korean demilitarized zone. The intention here is to blunt the march’s aural seductions while retaining its bravado. This work has a deep personal connection for the composer, who has stated: “my mother was orphaned during the Korean War—the selection of North Korean marches should ultimately be understood as representative of our contemporary moment: one where dictatorships and backsliding democracies embrace repression, ethno-nationalism, and brutality to thunderous cheers and fanfare.”