And the Heart Replies was commissioned by the Indianapolis Symphonic Band, Indianapolis, Indiana, to honor of their late director, Mr. Robert Phillips.

The title is based on the following excerpt from William Cowper’s (1731-1800) Winter Walk at Noon:

There is in souls a sympathy with sounds;

And as the mind is pitched the ear is pleased

With melting airs or martial, brisk, or grave:

Some chord in unison with what we hear

Is touched within us, and the heart replies.

This chorale-style work features the opening statement by the brass choir, followed by development of chorale fragments and the secondary theme by the woodwinds. After further thematic development by the percussion choir and a re-entry by the brasses, the piece ends with a final statement of the opening chorale.

– Program Note from Program Notes for Band

Conducted by Thomas Bough

Angels in the Architecture was commissioned by Kingsway International and received its premiere performance at the Sydney Opera House on July 6, 2008, by a massed band of young musicians from Australia and the United States, conducted by Mathew George. The work unfolds as a dramatic conflict between the two extremes of human existence — one divine, the other evil. The work’s title is inspired by the Sydney Opera House itself, with its halo-shaped acoustical ornaments hanging directly above the performance stage.

Angels in the Architecture begins with a single voice singing a 19th-century Shaker song:

I am an angel of Light

I have soared from above

I am cloth’d with Mother’s love.

I have come, I have come.

To protect my chosen band

And lead them to the promised land.

This “angel” — represented by the singer — frames the work, surrounding it with a protective wall of light and establishing the divine. Other representations of light, played by instruments rather than sung, include a traditional Hebrew song of peace (“Hevenu Shalom Aleichem”) and the well-known 16th-century Genevan Psalter, Old Hundredth. These three borrowed songs, despite their varied religious origins, are meant to transcend any one religion, representing the more universal human ideals of peace, hope, and love. An original chorale, appearing twice in the work, represents my own personal expression of these aspirations.

Just as Charles Ives did more than a century ago, Angels in the Architecture poses the unanswered question of existence. It ends as it began: the angel reappears sings the same comforting words. But deep below, a final shadow reappears — distantly, ominously.

– Program Note by composer

As a member of, and musical arranger for the Eighth U.S. Army Band, John Barnes Chance served in Seoul, South Korea, during the Korean War. It was during this time that he became familiar with a traditional Korean folk song called Arirang. Chance explains, “The tune is not as simple as it sounds, and my fascination with it during the intervening years led to its eventual use as the theme for this set of variations”.

Arirang is a tune based on the pentatonic scale, and it can be dated back to the 18th century as a song of love and heartbreak. It was utilized in the 20th century as a resistance anthem during the Japanese occupation of Korea, when the singing of patriotic songs, including the national anthem, was criminalized. Chance’s set of variations, written for concert band in 1965, begins by presenting the Arirang theme, and proceeds to develop it through five variations. The piece alternates between fast and slow variations, with the final variation being marked “Con Islancio” (“with impetuousness”), and it uses a variety of time signatures and rhythmic motives to alter the theme. Chance maintains the Eastern influence of the original tune through his use of the pentatonic scale, as well as prominent use of distinct percussion instruments, such as temple blocks, cymbals, and a gong.

The piece was awarded the Ostwald Award in 1966 by the American Bandmasters Association.

– Program Note adapted from Baylor University Symphonic Band concert program, 15 September 2022

Conducted by Thomas Bough

A multiple prize winner in composition, Quinn Mason has received numerous awards and honors from such organizations as the American Composers Forum, Voices of Change, Texas A&M University, The Diversity Initiative, the Dallas Foundation, Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble, the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York, the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, the Heartland Symphony Orchestra and the Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra. In 2020, Quinn was named by the Dallas Morning News as a finalist for ‘Texan of the Year’.

Quinn’s mission is to compose music for various mediums “Based in traditional western art music and reflecting the times in which we currently live”. Quinn has studied with Dr. Lane Harder at the SMU Meadows School of the Arts, Dr. Winston Stone at University of Texas at Dallas and has also worked with renowned composers David Maslanka, Jake Heggie, Libby Larsen, David Dzubay and Robert X. Rodriguez.

​Upcoming world premieres include his ‘Symphony in C Major’ with the Heartland Symphony Orchestra, Symphony No. 4 “Strange Time” by the Meadows Wind Ensemble and ‘Princesa de la Luna’ by the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra and conductor Brett Mitchell. Upcoming guest conducting appearances include concerts with the MusicaNova Orchestra and the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra.

The composer writes: Soul to Soul is an elegy for wind ensemble written in the memory of David Maslanka (1943-2017), who I had the pleasure of working closely with for a brief period in February 2017. The work is a tribute to Dr. Maslanka and his unique style of writing for wind ensemble, complete with chorales and hopeful trumpet fanfares. In addition to the chorales, this piece also contains a quote from his 8th symphony.

Variations on “America” was originally a composition for organ. Composed in 1891 when Ives was seventeen, it is an arrangement of a traditional tune, known as My Country, ‘Tis of Thee, and was at the time the de facto anthem of the United States. The tune is also widely recognized in Thomas Arne’s orchestration as the British National Anthem, God Save the Queen, and in the former anthems of Russia, Switzerland, and Germany, as well as being the current national anthem of Liechtenstein and royal anthem of Norway.

The variations are a witty, irreverent piece for organ, probably typical of a “silly” teenage phenom like Ives. According to his biographers, the piece was played by Ives in organ recitals in Danbury and Brewster, New York, during the same year. At the Brewster concert, his father would not let him play the pages which included canons in two or three keys at once, because they were “unsuitable for church performance – They upset the elderly ladies and made the little boys laugh and get noisy!”

This work was transcribed for orchestra in 1964 by William Schuman and for band in 1968 by William Rhodes.

Composer James Reece Europe, one of the most famous African-American musicians of his day, was called the “Martin Luther King of music” by pianist Euble Blake. He became the first African-American bandmaster in the U.S. Army. Europe was born in Alabama in 1881. When he was ten years old, his family moved to Washington D.C. and he began to study violin. Later in life, he served as the bandmaster for the dance duo of Vernon and Irene Castle, the inventors of the foxtrot. He joined the U.S. Army and was eventually made a lieutenant whereupon he was ordered by his commanding officer to form a military band. He enlisted people from a variety of places, some as far away as Puerto Rico to join his band. This band became known as the 369th U.S. Infantry “Hell Fighters” band. Europe’s legacy includes bringing ragtime into mainstream society and elevating African-American music into an accepted art form.

-Program notes taken from the Arranger, Chandler L. Wilson (ASCAP)

Featuring Prof. Liam Teague, Steel Pan

The title Rhapsody in Steel carries two meanings, the first being the obvious reference to the Steelpan, which is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. The second reason refers to the City of Pittsburgh, famously known as the “Steel City,” which the River City Brass Band calls home. The piece takes the listener on a virtuosic journey exploring the broad technical and musical capabilities of the steelpan throughout a variety of musical styles. Rhapsody in Steel was composed in 2023 for steelpan virtuoso Liam Teague and the River City Brass Band under the direction of James Gourlay. 

Bough’s diverse performance background includes wind bands, brass bands, orchestras, chamber music, jazz bands, Dixieland, the Walt Disney World All American College Band and the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps. He is a Yamaha sponsored artist, and performs on the Yamaha 822 CC tuba and Yamaha 822 F tuba. In this capacity, he served as a brass consultant and guest instructor with the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps for six years. He was also an instructor with the Phantom Regiment Alumni Corps in 2016. Bough has contributed over twenty articles and hundreds of new music reviews to the Instrumentalist magazine, School Band and Orchestra magazine, and DCI Today, as well as articles to five volumes of the Teaching Music Through Performance series as well as Teaching Music Through Performance in Jazz. He is also an ambassador for the Denis Wick company, and a lifetime performer on their mouthpieces and mutes.

Bough is an active conductor, arranger, composer, clinician, and adjudicator for concert band, marching band, and brass band, with dozens of appearances per year to his credit across the United States. His music is published by Alfred Publications, Cimarron Music and GPG Publications. He has served as a frequent masterclass clinician and/or conductor for the Music For All Summer Symposium and the Music For All National Concert Band Festival for over fifteen years. He has presented masterclasses at the Eastman School of Music, the Crane School of Music, Arizona State University, the University of Michigan, the University of Toledo, and UNC-Greensboro, among many others. Bough has presented four times at the Midwest Clinic and twice at the U.S. Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Conference, as well as the International Society for Music Education Conference in Beijing, China, and Helsinki, Finland, four NAFME multi-state regional conventions, the International Horn Society Conference, the International Women’s Brass Conference, and the Midwest Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference. In addition, he has presented at Music Educators Association State Conventions in Illinois, Arizona, Texas, Iowa, Tennessee, Alaska, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Colorado, Nebraska, Arkansas, North Carolina, Indiana, New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Washington, Florida and the Texas Bandmasters Association.

In May of 2014, his first compact disc was released, entitled, Concertos for Brass: The Music of Thomas Bough. This disc features three original concerti for solo brass instruments and wind band, as well as a transcription of the Concerto in Eb by Neruda. It is available on the Summit Records label at www.summitrecords.com. Since then, recent commissions have included “Ring the Bell” for The University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley; “Esse Quam Videri” for Olivet Nazarene University; “Chester’s Diadem” for Hauser Junior High School; “Musings on Mahler” for Solo Trumpet and Band; “Legacy of Luther” for Concordia University in Chicago; “Air Mobility Fanfare” for the U.S. Air Force Band at Scott Air Force Base; and “Poorest of the Poor: Music for Mother Teresa”, for the University of San Diego.

Learn more about his work at www.TomBough.com.

Liam Teague is Professor of Music and Director of Steelpan Studies at Northern Illinois University (NIU), where he also leads the renowned NIU Steelband. Teague is the recipient of an NIU Board of Trustees Professorship Award (2022) and a Presidential Research, Scholarship and Artistry Professor Award (2018).

Hailed as the “Paganini of the Steelpan”, his commitment to demonstrating the great musical possibilities of the steelpan has taken him to throughout the world, and he has received many awards from his homeland of Trinidad and Tobago, including the Hummingbird National Award (Silver) and the Ansa McAl Caribbean Award for Excellence. In 2022, The San Fernando City Council honored Teague with the Keys to the City of San Fernando, his hometown in Trinidad and Tobago. He is also the recipient of an Illinois Arts Council (IACA) 2023 Artist Fellowship Award. In 2024, the Fox Valley Orchestra honored Teague with its Champion of the Arts Award.

Teague has won several notable competitions such as the Trinidad and Tobago National Steelband Festival Solo Championship and the Saint Louis Symphony Volunteers Association Young Artist Competition. He has also performed with many diverse ensembles which include National Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan National Symphony, Czech National Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, Panama National Symphony, Chicago Sinfonietta, Vermeer String Quartet, Avalon String Quartet, Hannaford Street Silver Brass Ensemble, River City Brass Band, Nexus, Dartmouth Wind Ensemble, Indiana University Symphonic Band, University of Wisconsin-Madison Marching Band, Nutrien Silver Stars Steel Orchestra, and the BpTT Renegades Steel Orchestra.

Teague has appeared in concert with Grammy-Award winning musicians Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Samuels, Zakir Hussain and Dame Evelyn Glennie, and has regularly collaborated with NIU colleagues Robert Chappell(multi-instrumentalist) and Faye Seeman(harp) with whom he co-founded the steelpan and harp duo Pangelic.

He has also presented and performed at several Percussive Arts Society International Conventions (PASIC) and educational institutions across the globe. Liam Teague has served as an adjudicator for many events including the International Pan Ramajay Competition and Virginia Arts Festival- PANorama Caribbean Music Festival.

Many of his compositions and arrangements are published with MaumauMusic, PanPress, RamajayMusic, Wendeln Music Works, and he has commissioned outstanding composers to write for the steelpan, including Michael Colgrass, Jan Bach, Libby Larsen, Andy Akiho, Deborah Fisher Teason, Joey Sellers, Ben Wahlund, Erik Ross, Kevin Bobo, David Gordon, Robert Chappell, Geof Bradfield, Casey Cangelosi, Gustavo Leone, Victor Provost, Etienne Charles, James Gourlay, and Reggie Thomas.

He served as steelband director at Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Door County, Wisconsin, and has also taught and performed at the California State University Summer Arts Camp, and at the Interlochen Academy for the Performing Arts.

Teague is also the author of a steelpan method for beginners published by the Hal Leonard Corporation, the world’s largest publisher of print music.

Liam Teague has created arrangements for Panorama, the most celebrated steelband competition in the world, for Nutrien Silver Stars Steel Orchestra, Harvard Harps Steel Orchestra, Starlift Steel orchestra, and Skiffle Steel Orchestra. He has many recordings to his credit, including Hands Like Lightning, For Lack of Better Words, Panoramic: Rhythm Through an Unobstructed View, Open Window, and Sorcerer

The Piphat ensemble has served ceremonial and functional purposes, often performed in royal courts or during religious rites. The pieces performed within this framework were designed to accompany rituals, dances, and dramatic performances, conveying both grandeur and reverence.

Tonight’s performance, curated by the TME group, offers a new arrangement of the traditional Piphat ensemble, allowing audiences to experience its distinctive heterophonic texture. In heterophony, multiple variations of the same melodic theme are played simultaneously, creating a rich, layered sound. Through this arrangement, you will hear how the main melodic line is supported by intricate elaborations from the accompanying instruments. This interplay between the core melody and its elaborations allows for a deeper understanding of the musical conversation within the ensemble and highlights the intricate relationships between the instruments.

The Ponglang, a traditional ensemble featuring large wooden xylophones and percussion instruments, is a key part of the musical heritage in northeastern Thailand (Isan). For many students, this composition serves as an essential introduction to the unique rhythmic and melodic structures of the Ponglang style. Its accessibility and repetition make it an ideal piece for learning, offering foundational insight into the playing techniques, ensemble coordination, and cultural significance of Ponglang music.

Through this composition, students gain familiarity with the instrument’s timbre and become attuned to the interplay between melody and rhythm that is characteristic of the Ponglang tradition. Over time, as they refine their skills, the piece becomes more than just a learning tool; it represents a personal milestone and a connection to the rich cultural legacy they are continuing.

The music of Isaan reflects the vibrant and welcoming spirit of the people from Northeastern Thailand, a region known for its rich cultural traditions and warm, generous hospitality. Rooted deeply in the everyday lives of the Isaan people, the melodies and rhythms of Isaan music often evoke a sense of community, celebration, and a connection to the land. The lively, infectious rhythms and distinctive melodies speak to the heart of the Isaan people—who are known for their resilience, joy, and sense of unity. This piece is a musical reflection of the Isaan community’s culture: vibrant, welcoming, and always ready to share in the happiness of life. Accompanying the music is a carefully choreographed dance, which embodies the spirit of celebration. Whether it’s marking a seasonal festival, a harvest, or an important event in the life of the community, the choreography expresses the joy, gratitude, and exuberance that is characteristic of Isaan culture. The dancers’ movements reflect the communal sense of togetherness and festivity, inviting the audience to join in the celebration through movement and music.

“Nok Sai Bin Kham Tung” is a beloved traditional Isaan folk song, originally performed by the Ponglang ensemble, which tells the story of a little bird that flutters from one rice field to another. Through its melody and rhythm, the song reflects the simplicity and beauty of rural life in Northeastern Thailand, symbolizing the bird’s journey as it navigates the vast fields, much like the migration patterns of people within the region.

In this new arrangement, the core of the Ponglang music is preserved, but it is enhanced with the addition of electronic music elements. This blend of traditional folk sounds and modern electronic textures transforms the song, allowing it to take on a new meaning—one that resonates with the experiences of diasporas: people who migrate in search of better opportunities, new beginnings, and improved lives.

This reimagined version of “Nok Sai Bin Kham Tung” speaks to both the timelessness of migration and the contemporary reality of diasporas, blending the old with the new, the rural with the urban. Through this fusion of traditional folk music and electronic soundscapes, we explore the universal themes of longing, hope, and the search for a place to call home.

1. Fernando Marroquin Mendeza
2. Ethan Cowburn
3. Gabriel Roethle
4. Patcharita Pankaew*
5. Elizabeth Vieyra*
6. Corinn Schusteff
7. Anna Lantz
8. Sillas Ashby
9. Joelyn Kuntz
10. Osabo Elabor-Christopher
11. Emma Bell
12. Wanwipa Na Udon*
13. Sathapat Sangsuwan*
14. Chamni Sripraram+

* indicates guest performer, + for faculty

Wanwipa Na Udon is a resilient and talented artist, celebrated for her unwavering spirit and dedication to Thai music. Today, she is warmly welcomed to perform with the renowned TME group, an exciting opportunity that reflects her commitment to both her craft and her community.

Throughout her life, Wanwipa has faced significant health challenges, yet she remains an inspiring example of strength and perseverance. Despite these hurdles, she has never wavered in her dedication to her passion for music. Her ability to continue pursuing her artistic goals, even in the face of adversity, speaks volumes about her character and determination.

One of Wanwipa’s greatest aspirations is to contribute to the preservation and promotion of traditional Thai music, particularly the art of playing the “Pin” — a traditional Thai stringed instrument. This musical goal has been a driving force in her life, motivating her to keep pushing forward, no matter the obstacles in her path.

Wanwipa Na Udon stands as a symbol of resilience, an advocate for cultural preservation, and a gifted musician whose commitment to Thai music continues to inspire others.

Sathapat Sangsuwan (Electronic Music Arranger) Sathapat Sangsuwan is a Thai music composer known for his versatile compositions and contributions to both the Thai music scene and international church music. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music from Silpakorn University in Thailand, where he honed his skills in composition and music theory. Following his academic training, Sangsuwan worked at Studio28 in Bangkok, Thailand, gaining experience in music production and working with various artists.

Currently, Sangsuwan serves as the music director for the Thai Lutheran Church in Forest Park, where he creates and arranges music for worship services and community events. His work reflects his deep passion for both traditional and contemporary music, blending his Thai cultural heritage with global musical influences.