Winds on Wednesdays: Lully, Philidor, Reich, & McKee

Welcome to Winds on Wednesdays, a musical tapas of winds, brass, and percussion. This 5-week series features short digital mini-concerts, each just 20-30 minutes in length, in celebration of the bold music-making of NEC's Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Winds, and Percussion Ensemble during the Fall semester of 2020.

In each mini-concert, hear a selection of contemporary and classic works, recorded live in Jordan Hall and presented unedited.

"COVID inspired us to think anew about how we bring music to you. In spite of the limits in musical preparation posed by the pandemic, we are bringing you live and unedited performances; not full concerts, but in smaller portions – musical tapas.

Just as with that Spanish delight, the tastes and flavors are varied and more delightful for being served in smaller bites. So, pour a glass of cava and enjoy our musical Tapas. Buen Provecho."

—Charles Peltz
 

ABOUT THE ENSEMBLES:

NEC Wind Ensemble, NEC Percussion Group, and Symphonic Winds have established reputations as premier presenters of woodwind and brass repertoire from the Renaissance through the present day, performing works for small and full ensemble. The ensembles highlight classics and new works, including those that are sometimes neglected because of unusual instrumentation, and have commissioned and premiered new works by Pulitzer Prize composers Michael Colgrass, John Harbison, and Gunther Schuller, plus other distinguished composers such as Sir Michael Tippett, Daniel Pinkham, and William Thomas McKinley.
 

WATCH CONCERT STREAM:

Ensembles
  • NEC Wind Ensemble
  • NEC Percussion Group
  • NEC Symphonic Winds

  1. Jean Baptiste Lully (arr. Debra Nagy) | from "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme"

    I. Overture

    In the court of Versailles during the reign of Louis the 13th and 14th music had a place of high esteem.  Under the towering presence of Jean Baptiste Lully, musicians honed performances of grandeur and detail to rival the palace itself.  So numerous were the musical events that the musicians were divided into two now famous ensembles. The strings formed Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roiand the winds intoLes Grand Hautbois or Douze grands hautbois du roi. These ensembles of twenty-four and twelve not only supplied the court with music, but their sense of ensemble, their musical discipline and their command of the French style dominated music of the time and set standards which are the foundation of today’s ensembles.
         The hautbois made up of the strong projecting members of the oboe and bassoon family, primarily served the ceremonies of court as well as other outdoor activities.  Marches were a staple of their repertoire, but they performed as well dances and other incidental music. Music from Lully’s stage work Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme makes up the lion’s share of this program, as well as two marches by the master.                                                                                        

    – Charles Peltz

    Personnel

    Oboe
    Kip Zimmerman
    Elias Medina
    Ryoei Kawai

    English horn (Taille)
    Spencer Grasl

    Bassoon
    HanYi Huang
    Morgan Pope
    Delano Bell

    Percussion
    Parker Olson

     
    Ensembles
    • members of NEC Wind Ensemble

  2. Pierre Danican Philidor (arr. Debra Nagy) | from "Suite VI"

    Premier et deuxième Passepied
    Marche en rondeau

    Pierre Danican Philidor was a virtuoso oboist, composer and maker of oboes who rivalled Lully in his ability to write compellingly for the double reeds.                                                                       

    - Charles Peltz

    Personnel

    Oboe
    Kip Zimmerman
    Elias Medina
    Ryoei Kawai

    English horn (Taille)
    Spencer Grasl

    Bassoon
    HanYi Huang
    Morgan Pope
    Delano Bell

    Percussion
    Parker Olson

     
    Ensembles
    • members of NEC Wind Ensemble

  3. Steve Reich | Mallet Quartet (2009)

    Mallet Quartet is a composition by Steve Reich scored for two marimbas and two vibraphones, or for four marimbas. It was co-commissioned by the Amadinda Quartet in Budapest, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, and by Nexus in Toronto, So Percussion in New York, and Synergy Percussion in Australia. It received its world premiere in December 6, 2009 at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in Hungary and its US premiere at Stanford University on January 9, 2010.

    Personnel

    Taylor Lents
    Parker Olson
    Leigh Wilson
    Felix Ko

     
    Ensembles
    • NEC Percussion Group
    Artists

  4. Kevin McKee | Dürrenhorn Passage (2009)

    Written for six trumpets, Dürrenhorn Passage was commissioned by Dr. James Zingara and the Troy University trumpet ensemble. Premiered at the 2009 ITG Conference in Harrisburg, PA, McKee strives to “depict flight through an epic alpine landscape.” The first section is propelled by motor rhythms and a soaring melody traded in pairs amongst the ensemble. An introspective chorale provides a moment of calm before a return of the original material leads to a triumphant conclusion.

    Born in 1980, Kevin McKee graduated from the University of Maryland with his Master of Music degree, and has become a prolific composer of trumpet repertoire and brass music in general. His music draws inspiration from movie scoring, the sweeping views in the state of Colorado, and serves as an homage to his grandmother.                      

    – Luke Camarillo

    Personnel

    Trumpet
    Jon-Michael Taylor
    Cody York
    Sarah Heimberg
    Grant Knippa
    Daniel Venglar
    Qiyun Liu

     
    Ensembles
    • members of NEC Symphonic Winds
    Artists
    • Luke Camarillo '21 MM, conductor
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