Spring Break
JHU Band pays homage to Vonnegut
Issue date: 4/26/07
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The JHU Band presented its annual Wind Ensemble concert last Sunday at 6 p.m. in Shriver Hall. "This is the largest crowd we've ever had," joked ensemble director Brian Drake to the 40 or 50 audience members.
The relatively small turnout did not discourage the ensemble from an enthusiastic, inspired performance. They began the concert with the obligatory "Johns Hopkins University Ode" and moved quickly into a dynamic program that demonstrated the out-and-out talent of the entire ensemble.
The second piece on the program came from conductor/composer David R. Holsinger, entitled "Havendance." (The composition is one of a three-part work composed for Holsinger's three children, Haven, Niles and Tracey.) The energetic and eclectic melody soared from cartoonishness to turbulence, heavily engaging both oboes and horns.
Following "Havendance" was director Brian Drake's own composition, "V," a work he originally wrote for the Peabody wind ensemble. The four-part piece is based on the works of recently deceased author Kurt Vonnegut. "I'm not a big reader," Drake admitted, but after reading Slaughterhouse-Five he became an avid fan of Vonnegut's literature.
The first movement in "V," "Hapless Hero" is a piece that, in Drake's estimation, "goes through adversity": it is meant to reflect the trials and tribulations typically facing of Vonnegut's protagonists. The melody of this piece persistently relied on a variety instruments and "got [repeatedly] reset," as Drake described it.
"Unstuck," the second movement, reflects the comedy characteristic of Vonnegut's work. Appropriately enough, the introduction of this piece could only be described as "goofy." The somewhat choppy beginning of the piece swiftly crescendoed to a swelling vibrancy of melody, with frequent pauses to allow comical instrument play.
Perhaps the most atmospheric movement in the piece, "Storm" represents Vonnegut's villains who, as Drake explains, "usually come in the abstract forms of society and ideas." "Storm" was fittingly thunderous and slow at first, building in speed and intensity to establish a melody reminiscent of Gotham City. The piece ended in increasing tranquility and transitioned smoothly, almost hopefully into the final movement, "So It Goes."
The relatively small turnout did not discourage the ensemble from an enthusiastic, inspired performance. They began the concert with the obligatory "Johns Hopkins University Ode" and moved quickly into a dynamic program that demonstrated the out-and-out talent of the entire ensemble.
The second piece on the program came from conductor/composer David R. Holsinger, entitled "Havendance." (The composition is one of a three-part work composed for Holsinger's three children, Haven, Niles and Tracey.) The energetic and eclectic melody soared from cartoonishness to turbulence, heavily engaging both oboes and horns.
Following "Havendance" was director Brian Drake's own composition, "V," a work he originally wrote for the Peabody wind ensemble. The four-part piece is based on the works of recently deceased author Kurt Vonnegut. "I'm not a big reader," Drake admitted, but after reading Slaughterhouse-Five he became an avid fan of Vonnegut's literature.
The first movement in "V," "Hapless Hero" is a piece that, in Drake's estimation, "goes through adversity": it is meant to reflect the trials and tribulations typically facing of Vonnegut's protagonists. The melody of this piece persistently relied on a variety instruments and "got [repeatedly] reset," as Drake described it.
"Unstuck," the second movement, reflects the comedy characteristic of Vonnegut's work. Appropriately enough, the introduction of this piece could only be described as "goofy." The somewhat choppy beginning of the piece swiftly crescendoed to a swelling vibrancy of melody, with frequent pauses to allow comical instrument play.
Perhaps the most atmospheric movement in the piece, "Storm" represents Vonnegut's villains who, as Drake explains, "usually come in the abstract forms of society and ideas." "Storm" was fittingly thunderous and slow at first, building in speed and intensity to establish a melody reminiscent of Gotham City. The piece ended in increasing tranquility and transitioned smoothly, almost hopefully into the final movement, "So It Goes."
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