Alex Harrington, Graduate Assistant

Romanza was commissioned by the Luverne High School Symphonic Band in 1991. Written by Ralph Ford, this piece pays tribute to a former member of this ensemble whose life was tragically taken in an automobile accident. This arrangement took the original melody from the 1991 premier and re-scored it to maintain the lyrical style and sentiment so that it can be played by advanced ensembles.

Tenor Trombones: Juan Figueroa, Noah Reader, Onalee Fidder, Chris Lowery
Bass Trombone: Juan Garcia

Christopher Coleman, composer, conductor, trombonist, is currently Composition Coordinator and Associate Head of the Hong Kong Baptist University Department of Music, where he has taught for the past 28 years.

Coleman’s works range from large-scale multimedia/improvisation pieces to works for orchestra, symphonic band, chamber ensembles, instrumental solo, and voice. Most recently he has been developing the technique of massive replication and time shifting through a series of electro-acoustic compositions that have been widely acclaimed in the US and Europe. A prize-winning composer, he has received numerous commissions and grants, including those from from local groups the Hong Kong Wind Kamerata, the Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia, the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, RTHK Radio 4, and the Hong Kong University Grants Committee.

​His music is published by Vanderbilt Music, Maecenas Music, Theodore Presser, Ensemble Publications, C. Alan Publications and Crown Music Press.

Program notes from the composer’s website

Enrique Crespo, born in Montevideo, Uruguay, built much of his career as a low brass performer in German orchestras. Bruckner Etude für das tiefe Blech (“Bruckner Etude for the Low Brass”) is his tribute to Anton Bruckner, a composer renowned for the role he gave to the tuba and low brass in his symphonic works. Originally written for four tubas or trombones, the piece reflects the bold and powerful sounds often associated with Bruckner’s music. In this arrangement for six trombones, the expanded ensemble creates an even fuller and more resonant sound, showcasing the strength, blend, and expressive qualities of the low brass section. Program notes by Tessa Kirkman

Incantation and Dance came into being during Chance’s residency at Greensboro. He wrote it in 1960 and originally called it Nocturne and Dance — it went on to become his first published piece for band. Its initial “incantation,” presented in the lowest register of the flutes, presents most of the melodic material of the piece. Chance uses elements of bitonality throughout the opening section to create a “sound world mystically removed from itself.” This continues as the dance elements begin to coalesce. Over a sustained bitonal chord (E-flat major over an A pedal), percussion instruments enter one by one, establishing the rhythmic framework of the dance to come. A whip crack sets off furious brass outbursts. When the dance proper finally arrives, its asymmetrical accents explicitly suggest a 9/8 + 7/8 feel, chafing at the structure of 4/4 time.

– Program Note from Wind Band Literature

Alex Harrington, Graduate Assistant

Composed by Steve Danyew (b. 1983), this piece is a modern depiction of the Magnolia Star train line part of the Illinois Central Railroad, connecting Chicago to New Orleans. Based on the C blues scales, driving rhythms and train-like sounds provide the listener with an idea of the culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and jazz influences of those times. The harmonies and melodies challenge that of a typical blues scales while still staying true to the original blues scale and highlighting an integral piece of inspiration for countless blues songs of the 20th century.

Alex Harington, Graduate Assistant

This march was written by John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) for an essay contest sponsored by a newspaper of the same name in 1889. It was premiered by the U.S. Marine Band during the awards ceremony of the contest. At the time, the two-step dance was being introduced and this march gained popularity as it’s 6/8-time signature fit the dance. Its popularity increased in the U.S. and in Europe, making this Sousa’s second most famous march, next to The Stars and Stripes Forever.

Alex Harrington is a current Graduate Student at Northern Illinois University 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. She has been a frequent participant at the NIU Wind Conducting Symposium, and is scheduled to take the podium at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Conducting Symposium in March of 2026.