Stephanie San Roman, Guest Conductor

Orange Rondo was composed in 2009 for Oswego High School in Oswego, Illinois. This program has been very strong for many years, and it was a pleasure to write music specifically for them. The directors at the time were Glen Schneider and Stephanie San Roman. Glen has gone on to do great work at Wheaton College and Vandercook College, on top of a thriving career in real estate, as well as raising a large and energetic family. Stephanie continues to lead the program at Oswego, and has received a number of national and regional honors, including a CMA Music Teacher of Excellence award in 2023, performing at the Music for All National Concert Band Festival, the Illinois Music Educators State Convention and the Superstate Band Festival. She also is raising a family with three children, alongside her husband Juan. I am grateful to have enjoyed a 20 year relationship this is outstanding band program. Musically, the form of the piece is in the title! The introductory material returns several times throughout the piece, scored for various combinations of instruments. The second, highly chromatic section of the piece likewise returns throughout the structure of the composition. Glen was a percussionist, so the piece begins with the rhythmic motif of the melody played by the percussion section. They form the backbone of the piece, as well as playing an important part in the development section that leads back to the final statement of the theme. Frequent time signature changes give the music a lively feel, undergirding a memorable melody that the audience will be humming long after the concert.

Alex Harrington, Conductor and Graduate Assistant, NIU Bands

Joy, and its companion piece, Joy Revisited, are the results of an experiment I have been wanting to try for many years: the creation of two works using the same general melodic, harmonic, and expressive content. In other words, I endeavored to compose un-identical twins, two sides of the same coin — but with one major distinction: Joy was created with young players in mind, while Joy Revisited was aimed at more advanced players. Thus, Joy is more straightforward than its companion piece. Where Joy sounds a dominant chord (as in the upbeat to measure 10), Joy Revisited elaborates upon that chord with a flourish of 16th notes. While Joy Revisited moves faster, develops ideas further, and makes use of a wider register, Joy is more concise.

Despite these and many more differences between the two works, both come from the same essential cut of cloth. Both were composed more or less simultaneously, and both were born out of the same source of inspiration. In short, Joy and Joy Revisited serve as two expressions of the feelings experienced by one expectant father (who happens also to be a composer) on one wonderfully anxious and exciting day.

– Program note by composer

1. Ishmael
2. Queequeg
3. Father Mapple
4. Ahab
5. The White Whale

Narrator: Harry Crawford IV

Of Sailors and Whales (Five Scenes from Melville) is a five-movement work based on scenes from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. It was commissioned by and is dedicated to the California Band Directors Association, Inc., and was premiered in February 1990 by the California All-State Band, conducted by the composer. The work is sub-dedicated to Robert Lanon White, Commander USN (Ret.), who went to sea as a simple sailor.

William Francis McBeth (9 March 1933, Ropesville, Texas – 6 January 2012, Arkadelphia, Arkansas) was a prolific American composer and educator who wrote for piano, choir, symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, and over thirty works for wind band.

McBeth was professor of music and resident composer at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, from 1957 until his retirement in 1996. In 1962, McBeth conducted the Arkansas All-State Band, with future president Bill Clinton playing in the tenor saxophone section. He served as the third conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra from 1970 until 1973 and was appointed Composer Laureate of the state of Arkansas by Governor Bob C. Riley in 1975, the first such honor in the United States.

His musical influences included Clifton Williams, Bernard Rogers, Howard Hanson, Kent Kennan, Wayne Barlow, and Macon Summerlin. The popularity of his works in the United States during the last half of the twentieth century led to many invitations and appearances as a guest conductor where he often conducted the premiere performances of his compositions, the majority of which were commissioned. His international reputation as a conductor and clinician had taken him to forty-eight states, three Canadian provinces, Japan, Europe, and Australia. At one time, his “Double Pyramid Balance System” was a widely used pedagogical tool in the concert band world.

Alex Harrington, Conductor and Graduate Assistant, NIU Bands

Katahj Copley was born on January 15, 1998 and is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and composition from the University of West Georgia and is pursuing a master’s degree in composition. He has written over sixty pieces for various ensembles, including twenty-five for wind band. Copley believes music is the ultimate source of freedom and imagination and composing is the way to open one’s heart and show the world his spirit, drive, and passion.

 Salutations.
Greetings.
Hello.
Hi.
Hey.
Yo.
Ayo.

These terms along with countless others have been used to greet people throughout history. However, the term “AYO” is different. Rooted from hip hop and jazz cultures, AYO is built in the black language. It’s used to tell when something is right, when something is wrong, when something is awesome, and when something is too sweet for words. Its use is seen with your closest people, your family, or people who know you best. It’s personal.

In short, “AYO” is a personal embrace that can represent life. With this piece I wanted build the kind of embrace you would get from this one word while also honoring its beginnings – using hip hop rhythms and colorful harmonies. By the end of the piece, we the listeners go from uncertainty to home; and with the uniqueness of the piece, we in turn celebrate not only a word like AYO but also celebrate life.

Festive Overture was composed in 1954, in the period between Symphony No. 10 and the Violin Concerto. Its America premiere was given by Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony Orchestra on November 16, 1955. In 1956, the New York Philharmonic under Dimitri Mitropoulos presented the overture in Carnegie Hall. A Russian band version of the overture was released in 1958 and utilized the standard instrumentation of the Russian military band, i.e., a complete orchestral wind, brass and percussion section plus a full family of saxhorns, ranging from the Bb soprano down through the Bb contrabass saxhorn. This new edition has been scored for the instrumentation of the American Symphonic Band. The Festive Overture is an excellent curtain raiser and contains one of Shostakovich’s greatest attributes – the ability to write a long sustained melodic line combined with a pulsating rhythmic drive. In addition to the flowing melodic passages, there are also examples of staccato rhythmic sections which set off the flowing line and the variant fanfares. It is truly a “festive” overture.

Notes by Donald Hunsberger

Known for his energetic rhythms, rich harmonic language, and striking colors, award-winning Colombian-American composer Josh Rodriguez (b. 1982) continues to gain recognition as an emerging composer and collaborator on a national and international scale. Born in Argentina and raised in Guatemala, Mexico and the United States, Rodriguez’s musical imagination has been formed by this bilingual, multi-cultural heritage. He collaborates regularly with theatre and film directors and has received several notable concert commissions in a wide range of musical genres. Rodriguez serves as Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Elmhurst University.

“The title for this work comes from a modified phrase in C. S. Lewis’s science fiction novel Out of the Silent Planet. In the story, an English academic travels to another planet, and at one point notes the striking landscape which he describes as a “forest that had become stone.” This phrase stayed with me as an apt description for the devastation of nature through air pollution, mass deforestation, and the poisoning of our oceans through discarded single-use plastics.

I had every intention of writing a lamentation, and the music begins on an introspective funereal tone. However, as I composed (in 2021), the music surged toward a more hopeful conclusion; sometimes creativity flows in a different direction than initially intended, and the work of the composer is simply to listen. Instead of a dirge, the musical drama comes from the terse twisting tension of new life bursting forth. In this sense, When Stone Becomes Forest is a celebration of resurrection, a musical sonnet to the coming spring which thaws winter’s death — a musical symbol of the new life that may be possible when we care for the earth and make the needed changes to preserve our planet.

– Program note by composer

Alex Harrington, Conductor and Graduate Assistant, NIU Bands

Eleanor Roosevelt is rightfully recognized as one of America’s most formidable and influential First Ladies. Widely regarded as the benchmark for those to follow, Roosevelt mightily used the platform to make better the lives of those less fortunate than herself.

From helping immigrants adjust to American life, to championing rights for women and African Americans to lending hands-on support to the American war effort, ER endures as a true beacon of justice and equality for all Americans.

“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” Eleanor Roosevelt

The music is inspired by this simple yet powerful thought, which encourages us to be open to positive change and recognize that no matter how difficult previous times were, the new day always brings a fresh start.

The introspective opening statement aptly illustrates the day anew, as we contemplate the good things to come. Beginning quite serenely with clarinet solo and a gentle harmonic compliment, the music gradually blossoms into a lush “pastorale” section. The energetic and brisk statement that follows is a true celebration of life, as the mood becomes lively and jovial. Throughout this sprightly section, an array of colors and textures are heard with strong melodic concentration and a driving rhythmic pulse at its core. The final statement calls us to reflect on the day’s end, as the music concludes serenely and peacefully.

And With This New Day…comes through the generosity and creativity of the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equality, Access) Commissioning Project, proudly sponsored by the American Bandmasters Association.

William Owens (b. 1963) is a native of Gary, Indiana. A seasoned music educator, he is highly active as a composer, clinician, and conductor throughout North America. His compositional style for young ensembles displays a keen, practical approach, which has firmly established him as a leader in the field. Since 1993, Mr. Owens has over 300 titles to his credit for concert band, string orchestra, and small ensemble. His music is performed and appears on required music lists nationally and abroad. Many of his works have been analyzed in educational texts and are staples of the young band repertoire.

William is a 1985 graduate of Chicago’s VanderCook College of Music and the recipient of numerous awards and grants for composition. Principal commissions include those from the South Plains College (TX) Department of Fine Arts, Phi Beta Mu International, and the American Bandmasters Association. Professional memberships include the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), the Association of Texas Small School Bands (ATSSB), and Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity. He is recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus by his alma mater and a recipient of the Texas Bandmasters Association’s Meritorious Achievement Award.

In 2014, William formally retired from duty as band director in Texas after 30 years of service. His spare time interests include traveling, U.S. presidential history, and being a proud Chevrolet Corvette owner/enthusiast. William resides in Fort Worth, TX, with his wife and best friend, Georgia.

AMEN! (2017) was commissioned by the University of Michigan Symphony Band and is a homage to my family’s four-generational affiliation with the Pentecostal church. My intent is to re-create the musical experience of an African American Pentecostal church service that I enjoyed being a part of while growing up in this denomination. Pentecostal denominations, such as Church of God in Christ (C.O.G.IC.), Pentecostal Assemblies of God, Apostolic, Holiness Church, among many others, are known for their exuberant outward expressions of worship. The worship services in these churches will often have joyous dancing, spontaneous shouting, and soulful singing. The music in these worship services is a vital vehicle in fostering a genuine spiritual experience for the congregation.

The three movements in AMEN! are performed without break to depict how the different parts of a worship services flows into the next. In the first movement, I’ve imagined the sound of an exuberant choir and congregation singing harmoniously together in a call-and-response fashion. The soulful second movement quotes a gospel song, I’ll Take Jesus For Mine, that I frequently heard in many services. The title, AMEN!, refers to the plagal cadence or “Amen” cadence (IV-I), which is the focal point of the climax in the final movement. Along with heavily syncopated rhythms and interjecting contrapuntal lines, this cadence modulates up by half step until we reach a frenzied state, emulating a spiritually heighten state of worship.

– Program note by composer

Prof. Megan Bailey and Nick Anderson, trumpet; Julia Broome-Robinson, trombone; Dennis Meacham, tuba; Anna Jacobson, horn

I am deeply grateful to Northern Illinois University for granting me a semester of sabbatical leave in the Spring of 2025. The time away from teaching proved to be incredibly refreshing, and offered me time to both learn the music notation software Dorico and to write “Made in America” using it. I am indebted to the Alliance Brass Quintet for providing inspiration for this piece of music. They invited me to compose music to be used on a substantial tour in the middle of the United States in the coming year, and specifically asked for thematic material that might be well received in that area.

Meanwhile, the Ives “Variations on America” was bouncing around in my head, after performing it with the NIU Wind Ensemble during the fall of 2024. Inspired by Ives, a few more variations on this theme began to take shape in my mind. Other “Americana” themes offered themselves alongside “America”, thus “Made in America” started to take shape. Some of my earliest memories of music were the hymn songs sang by my mother around our home, and of these, “Great is Thy Faithfulness” fit nicely with the patriotic music.

Tonight’s performance marks the premiere of this work for brass quintet and concert band. I am grateful to the quintet performers who prepared the music, and the students in the Wind Ensemble. I am also grateful to those who supported the creation of this work, and want to acknowledge them here:

Dr. Sue Samuels, Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina
D. J. Alstadt and Brandon Estes, Naperville Central High School, Naperville, Illinois
Mr. Chuck Schneider, retired music education, principal and superintendent
Dr. Matt Frederickson, Troy High School, Troy, Missouri
Sean Sroka, Spring Valley Concert Band, Schaumburg, Illinois

I truly hope you enjoy the performance!

Thomas Bough, Nov. 21, 2025

Although best known as the “March King”, Sousa was first a professional violinist and orchestral performer. His primary composition teacher had a direct musical link to both Brahms and Bruckner. As much an entrepreneur and task master as a musician, Sousa’s band gave 3,500 concerts in 400 cities during its first seven years, an average of more than a concert per day for every single day of the year. Sousa was a prolific composer whose output included operas, cantatas, symphonic pomes, suites, and waltzes in addition to marches. He was a champion of great music in the United States and around the world, who opened the ears and minds of audiences by combining the best transcriptions of classical music with popular song, ragtime, and folk music. The virtuosity of his band, as well as the showmanship Sousa brought to each performance, made his public concerts an occasion for celebration in towns across America. When Sousa was appointed the conductor of the U.S. Marine Band in 1880, his fame as the “March King” became a national point of pride. The Stars and Strings Forever was written by Sousa on Christmas Day, 1896. President Ronald Reagan signed into a law a bill declaring it the national march of the United States of America. Notes taken from the score.

Mrs. San Roman is the Director of Bands at Oswego High School. She co-conducts the six curricular concert bands and is the head director of the Panther Marching Band. Mrs. San Roman received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Illinois in 2006 and a Master’s in Music Education from Vandercook College of Music in 2010.  She began her teaching career at Oswego High School as Associate Director of Bands in 2006 and became Director of Bands in 2009. Bands under her direction have been selected to perform at the Illinois Music Educators Association All State Conference, the Superstate Band Festival at the University of Illinois, the WIU Showcase of Bands, and the Music for All National Concert Band and Chamber Music Festivals. Mrs. San Roman was a first runner up in the 2012 National Band Association Young Conductor Mentor Project Competition. She also studied under Dr. Mallory Thompson in the 2011 Northwestern Summer Conducting and Wind Music Symposium. She has articles published in both the Illinois Music Educator and The Instrumentalist along with her guidebook Score Study Fundamentals for the School Band Director.  Mrs. San Roman holds three Citations of Excellence from the National Band Association. Her professional memberships include the Illinois Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Educators and The National Band Association. She lives in Oswego with her husband, Juan, and their children Sophia, Santiago, and Estafania.

Alex Harrington is a current Graduate Student at NIU studying Wind Conducting and assisting with the Huskie Marching Band. Prior to NIU, she taught K-12 band and general music in Novi, MI and taught private woodwind and piano lessons to children and adults. She received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Olivet Nazarene University where she was a drum major for the Tiger Marching Band for two years. In addition to her college conducting experience, she was a frequent participant at the NIU Wind Conducting Symposium.