MUSIC OF THE AMERICAS

Come join us for an afternoon of music that celebrates the many cultures and ethnic groups of North, Central, and South America.

March 9, 2008
3 p.m.
Royal Oak High School
Download the flyer

Program Notes

West Side Story
Leonard Bernstein (1918 – 1990)
Leonard Bernstein, an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer, and pianist, was the first conductor born and educated in the United States of America to receive world-wide acclaim.  He is known for both his conducting of the New York Philharmonic, including the acclaimed Young People's Concerts series, and his compositions, including West Side Story, Candide, and On the Town.  Set on Manhattan's Upper West Side, West Side Story explores the rivalry between two teenage gangs of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

The Liberty Bell March
John Philip Sousa (1854 – 1932)
Even 150 years after his birth, the music of John Philip Sousa is still an integral part of the American experience. While he was known as the “March King” he also wrote countless overtures, operettas, suites, songs, waltzes, and fantasies.

The Cowboys
John Williams (1932 - )
The iconic John Williams has won numerous awards for his legendary film scores. “The Cowboys” features the exciting sounds of the motion picture, The Cowboy and the Girl. The soaring melodies, rhythmic energy, and raw emotion are all distinctive yet typical of the great music we associate with the mythic American west.

Amparito Roca
Jaime Texidor (1884 - 1957)
Born in 1884, Jaime Texidor was a composer, conductor, and publisher. Many of his compositions were in the paso doble genre, including “Amparito Roca,” which is one of the most well known of its kind in the North American band repertoire. This fast, Spanish-influenced march is one of the world’s most popular paso dobles.

Montego Bay
Sammy Nestico (1924 - )
Although best known for his prolific big band arrangements, Sammy Nestico was also a performer who played trombone with the Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, and Charlie Barnet bands. He also served a 15 year tenure in the United States Air Force and served as an educator at the high school and university levels. His contribution to American music is broad; Nestico’s film and television credits are too numerous to list and his collaborations with recording artists run the gamut from Frank Sinatra to Phil Collins. His official biography indicates he is most proud of the nearly 600 numbers published in the education field and played in schools across America.

The Voyageurs
Pierre LaPlante (1943 - )
The three movements of this piece typify the lyrical lifestyle of the voyageur, 18th century French-Canadian fur traders.

"En Roulant" (rolling along or traveling along), the first movement, is a common paddling song, sung in time to move the canoes along at a brisk and steady pace. The tunes were short, very singable, and often a narrative with many verses. A lead singer might sing out a phrase to be answered by the rest of the group; all would join in the chorus.

"A La Claire Fontaine" (At the Clear Fountain), the second movement, has been called French Canada’s unofficial national anthem. It was known by voyageurs everywhere and could be sung for any occasion. The longing, almost introspective, nature of the song appealed to the gentler nature of the voyageur and helped him forget the drudgery, roughness, and danger he faced each day.

The final movement of The Voyageurs is based on two lively songs: "Ah Si Mon Moine Voulait Danser" and the well-known "Alouette, Gentille Alouette,” songs which were probably sung at the great rendezvous at Grand Portage in late June-early July, a much anticipated event in the life of a voyageur. Located on the western shore of Lake Superior, Grand Portage served as a junction point in the vast expanse of waterways that extended from east to west, where voyageurs traveled to meet other groups of voyageurs who had set out from Montreal. Besides being a time to conduct business, a rendezvous was the once-a-year opportunity to see old friends, swap adventures, catch up on the latest news, sing, feast, dance, and celebrate having stayed alive for another year.

The composer, Pierre LaPlante, of French-Canadian descent, was born in Milwaukee and grew up in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. He resides in the Madison area where he composes and plays in the Madison Wind Ensemble.

A Longford Legend
Robert Sheldon (1954 - )
A recipient of numerous awards from the American School Band Director's Association, Phi Beta Mu and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Robert Sheldon composed “A Longford Legend” for the Normal Community West High School Band in Normal, Illinois. The piece is based on 18th century Irish street ballads. Written in three movements, “A Longford Legend” is a tribute to the Irish enclaves found all over North America.

Americans We
Henry Fillmore (1881 - 1956)
A prolific composer, Fillmore wrote over 250 tunes and arranged orchestrations for hundreds more; he also published a great number of tunes under various pseudonyms such as Harold Bennett, Ray Hall, Harry Hartley, Al Hayes, and Henrietta Hall. An irresistible performer, Fillmore spent time touring the United States as a circus bandmaster with his wife, an exotic dancer. While best known for march music, he also wrote waltzes, foxtrots, hymns, novelty numbers, overtures, and waltzes. “Americans We” is regarded as his finest march.