READY.SET.GO. is the depiction of training and mastering one’s craft to reach a certain goal. The piece keeps a steady and intense pace while involving challenging grooves and colors — like the structure of a training montage. As the piece goes on — like the support of the people who want the best for you — the piece gets filled with energy and strength, ultimately leading to a sonic illustration of success. This piece is a reminder that even with the littlest bit of faith you can go far, and when there are people who believe in you, then your world is limitless.

Katahj Copley has written over 100 works, including pieces for chamber ensembles, wind ensembles, and orchestra. His compositions have been performed and commissioned by universities, organizations, and professional ensembles, including the Cavaliers Brass, California Band Director Association, Admiral Launch Duo, and “The President’s Own” Marine Band. Katahj has also received critical acclaim internationally with pieces being performed in Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and Australia. In 2023, he received his Masters in Music Composition from the University of Texas at Austin – studying with Omar Thomas and Yevgeniy Sharlat. He is currently studying music composition at Michigan State University. 

Grainger initially wrote Colonial Song in 1911 as a piano piece as a gift to his mother, Rose. Of his piece, Grainger wrote that it was “an attempt to write a melody as typical of the Australian countryside as Stephen Foster’s exquisite songs are typical of rural America”. Although the piece seems to have been intended as part of a series of ‘sentimentals,’ Grainger never wrote any other pieces in this series. Unlike many of Grainger’s other compositions, the melodies of Colonial Song are not based on folk song, but are original melodies.

Percy Grainger was an Australian-born composer, pianist and champion of the saxophone and the concert band. Grainger was an innovative musician who anticipated many forms of twentieth century music well before they became established by other composers. In 1932, he became Dean of Music at New York University, and underscored his reputation as an experimenter by putting jazz on the syllabus and inviting Duke Ellington as a guest lecturer. Twice he was offered honorary doctorates of music, but turned them down, explaining, “I feel that my music must be regarded as a product of non-education.”

“Throughout time and regardless of origin, immigrants have shown a spiritual courage and resolve to survive that has found countless families suffering perilous journeys in search of safety. Many have been lost along the way. As a child of Cuban parents who fled oppression (leaving much behind to build a new life), my respect and empathy for all immigrants runs deep. Although my parents’ (still traumatic) exoduses were not by sea, several family members’ and friends’ journeys were. Throughout my life I have heard stories of near losses and rafts washing ashore, empty. I still recall the feelings since childhood — wondering who they were, and what happened to them.

This piece is in no way intended as a contemporary statement, rather as an empathic look at humanity’s struggles to protect innocent families throughout history, and a tribute to my own ancestors’ courage. Many of us are descents of immigrants at some point in our deep histories, regardless of era, or origin.

The piece is written using two authentic Afro-Cuban forms: Guaguancó and Son-Montuno.

1. Opening Chorale:Depicts a treacherous journey, for example, as seas toss about a small raft and its occupants. At the end of the chorale, the listener can almost visualize someone falling overboard and descending into the depths with others still in the raft, crying out with reaching hands as rain and darkness beat down.
2. Guaguancó(3/2 Rumba Clave): A seamless flashback to a memory; this dignified soul at home, living peacefully.
3. Son Montuno(2/3 Son Clave): Still a flashback — urgency sets in at home as turmoil intensifies into a pursuit, and the courageous decision to flee from danger comes to the forefront. The piece returns to the present (remaining souls), and the intense finale depicts the will of the human spirit to survive and carry on, to thrive and contribute, now in their new home — in honor of their lost loved ones’ memories and courage.”

– note from composer

Michele Fernández is a published composer, active guest clinician, adjudicator and performer. Her Jazz and Symphonic compositions have been premiered at Midwest, CBDNA, IAJE, MEA’s and All-State /Regional venues as well as professional venues. Michele recently retired from teaching in Miami after 30 years, where (among other teaching positions) her Miami Senior HS ensembles earned top honors/gained international acclaim. Her groups have been selected for Midwest Clinic (Chicago ’93 & ’98), IAJE (Boston ’94 & NYC ’97), Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland ’96), FMEA (Tampa ’94 & ’97) and various national publications. She and her students were the subject of a documentary on “CBS Sunday Morning”, cover story in Band Director’s Guide and featured as an outstanding educator in Downbeat Magazine. Before focusing on writing/clinics, she served as an active oboist in the Miami area, as well as a rhythm section player in a busy Afro-Latin /Jazz group. 

Les Misérables is a musical based on the novel Les Misérables by French poet and novelist Victor Hugo. Set in early 19th-century France, it is the story of Jean Valjean, a French peasant, and his quest for redemption after serving nineteen years in jail for having stolen a loaf of bread for his sister’s starving child. Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a kindly bishop inspires him by a tremendous act of mercy, but he is relentlessly tracked down by a police inspector named Javert. Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters are swept into a revolutionary period in France, where a group of young idealists make their last stand at a street barricade. This medley contains At the End of the Day, I Dreamed a Dream, Master of the House, On My Own, and Do You Hear the People Sing?

Warren Barker composed and conducted music for more than 30 tv series including seven years as composer-conductor for “BEWITCHED.” He was a member of the arranging staff for the Oscar winning motion picture “HELLO DOLLY.” He also served as conductor-arranger and recording artist for Warner Bros. and Capitol Records. His compositions and arrangements have been performed and recorded by a variety of musical artists from Frank Sinatra to the Hollywood Bowl and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. He received writing commissions from many outstanding music organizations including The United States Air Force Band, The Royal Australian Navy, the Northshore Concert Band, and the Norwegian Army Staff Band. Barker was a member of the American Bandmasters Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, and Broadcast Music, Inc.

“joyRiDE drew inspiration from an earlier period in my life. Nearly ten years ago, in the summer of 2005, I was on stage at Carnegie Hall in New York City playing alto saxophone as a senior in my high school band. When my band director, Jon Gomez, first received word that our high school music department was selected to perform in New York, he asked me if I’d like to write something to open the concert and commemorate the trip —- something that was bursting with joy. “Maybe,” he suggested, “it would be cool to take something more traditional, like Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, and blend it with something more modern, like John Adams.” The idea was so simple and so astounding that the assignment excited me immediately — it excited me so much that within ten days, I had completed the first complete draft of joyRiDE, a two-and-a-half-minute concert opener that borrows Beethoven’s infamous melody and dresses it in a tie-dye blazer of rhythm and texture that nod humbly to John Adams’s Short Ride on a Fast Machine.”

– note from composer

Michael Markowski graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Film from Arizona State University in 2010. Markowski has never studied music at a university, however, he has continued his education by participating in a number of programs including “the art of orchestration” with television and film orchestrator Steven Scott Smalley, and in 2008, was invited to be a part of the National Band Association’s Young Composer and Conductor Mentorship program. Notable performances of his music include The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, the U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West, the U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America, and numerous university ensembles. For the last several years, he has arranged, co-composed, and been music director for an original musical celebrating the life of Judy Garland aptly titled Judy: The Musical. He is a member of ASCAP and currently lives in Astoria, New York.

Intrinsic Light is a term for the color or sensation we experience in complete darkness, due to the spontaneous activity of neurons in the retina. My goal with this piece was to represent this phenomenon through sound. Reflecting on this concept prompted a deeper, metaphorical realization: even in times of darkness, we are able to observe, generate, and experience light, and that coming together to make music is one of the ways in which we can do this. Intrinsic Light was commissioned by the Ontario Band Association in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Ontario Music Educators’ Association.

Cait Nishimura is a Canadian composer, musician, and educator. Known for writing nature-inspired, programmatic music, Cait has quickly established herself as a prominent voice in the concert band community. Cait’s music has been presented at The Midwest Clinic, MusicFest Canada, and numerous other conferences and festivals across North America. Her work has become increasingly popular among educational music programs and within the professional new music scene, with new works being regularly commissioned and performed by ensembles and individuals around the world. Cait is committed to creating contemporary music that is approachable, relevant, and enjoyable for all; before transitioning to a full-time career as a composer, she taught instrumental music and continues to prioritize and advocate for the value of music education. As a lifelong environmentalist, she not only draws inspiration from the natural world but also uses her platform to advocate for conservation awareness and action.  

Cait was the winner of the Canadian Band Association’s composition prize in 2017.

Novo Lenio, two Latin words meaning a new and better change, is a piece for wind symphony in three contiguous movements. Each movement acts as musical documentation of a time period for Upper St Clair High School. Key to each movement are musical quotes from the school’s alma mater as well as a new theme representing change and betterment. Each time the alma mater and the new theme appear, they sound different, so as to describe the mood of the time period being depicted. In the first movement , Remembrance, the two themes seem to sound somewhat somber. The movement was inspired by a walkthrough of the old school halfway through its demolition, and the memories that the partially standing structures brought back. Qui Non Proficit Deficit, the second movement, depicts the construction of the new school. This Latin phrase translates as ‘He who does not progress, weakens’. It is also the Latin phrase that appears on the crest of the Upper St. Clair School District. The movement is meant to sound like the dissonance of construction. Just when the tension of the music needs to break, the third movement, A New Beginning, is introduced. The movement portrays the glorious look of Upper St. Clair’s new school. The theme representing change and betterment is meant to sound full and proud.

Samuel Hazo received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Duquesne University where he served on the Board of Governors and was awarded as Duquesne’s Outstanding Graduate in Music Education. He resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his wife and children.  In 2003, Mr. Hazo became the first composer to be awarded the winner of both composition contests sponsored by the National Band Association. He has composed for the professional, university and public school levels in addition to writing original scores for television, radio and the stage. His original symphonic compositions include performances with actors Brooke Shields, James Earl Jones, David Conrad and Richard Kiley. He has also written symphonic arrangements for three-time Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams. Mr. Hazo’s compositions have been performed and recorded worldwide, including performances by the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra (national tour), the Birmingham Symphonic Winds (UK) and the Klavier Wind Project’s recordings with Eugene Migliaro Corporon. Mr. Hazo has been a music teacher at every educational grade level from kindergarten through college, including tenure as a high school and university director. Recordings of his compositions appear on Klavier Records and Mark Records.

Chorale and Shaker Dance was commissioned by the Bloomington (Minn.) Jefferson High School Band. However, the community-based Medalist Concert Band, also of Bloomington, premiered the work in March 1972 at the Music Educators National Convention, with the composer conducting. The work combines an original chorale tune and the traditional Shaker song The Gift to Be Simple. Zdechlik transforms, varies, and juxtaposes both themes throughout the entire composition, incorporating intricate counterpoint and jazz-influenced syncopated rhythms. The Shaker melody does not appear in its entirety until near the end of the piece, when the trumpet section plays the tune over a flurry of activity in the upper woodwinds and a sonorous low-brass accompaniment. A short allegro section follows, and the work draws to a close with several dissonant whole notes that resolve into a brilliant D major chord.

John Zdechlik earned his Ph.D. in theory and composition from the University of Minnesota. In 1970, Zdechlik began his tenure at Lakewood Community College (now Century College) in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, where he served for nearly three decades as conductor, professor, music department chair, and resident composer until his retirement in 1997. Owing to his early success as a composer for the concert band medium, the vast majority of Zdechlik’s future output was also for bands, most of which are commissions from high school or college ensembles. Dozens of his works have been published by Neil A. Kjos Music Company, and Zdechlik has conducted extensively throughout the United States, Japan, and Europe. Zdechlik was elected to the American Bandmasters Association in 1989.